Mystic Mantra: ‘I am because we are’

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb,” are words of that eminent South African leader that could inspire us when the United Nations commemorates Nelson Mandela International Day (July 18). Let’s aspire to climb hills rather than tarry in the plains.

Hills are seen as sacred places in many religions. Mount Kailash is regarded as the abode of Lord Shiv. Mount Arafat or the “Mount of Mercy” is held sacred by Muslims. Mount Sinai is where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” is the core of Christianity and atop Mount Calvary he offered the supreme sacrifice of his life.

Although God is omnipresent, we often describe God as the “Uparwalla” — literally, the “one above”. The epithet “Most High” appears well over 50 times in the Bible for God who is “high and lofty” and is “high above the nations”. Such expressions stem from ancient cosmologies that held that mountains almost touched heaven and made divine vision possible.

Although “highs” facilitate divine encounter and worship, “high” can also be used negatively to assert power and domination. The archetypal negative high place is Babel where man sought to control God. One can also get a hallucinatory “high” through alcohol, drugs or powerplay. Such highs are but preludes to inevitable “lows”; avoid them!

We must all aim high, climb new hills, inspire others not to be content with the mediocrity of the plains, but to plod on despite dangers on unmapped pathways, doubts about our competence, and dread about what lies ahead. Mandela said, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Before he rose to greatness, Mandela’s life was hell: 28 years in prison braving the cruelty of Afrikaner guards, backbreaking labour, unpalatable food, inhabitable cell and so on. The powerful strove to break Mandela’s body, but his spirit was indomitable.

Our competitive society forces us to forge ahead at any cost. This leads to cutthroat competition with everyone as a “competitor” rather than a “co-operator”.

Yet, Mandela and social rights activist Desmond Tutu have popularised the “Ubuntu” philosophy — “I am because we are” — stressing that our lives are inextricably interconnected. Thus, there’s need to help everyone rise collectively, a sarvodaya.

Let’s not do extraordinary things but ordinary things in an extraordinary way. Sania Mirza, the first-ever Indian woman to have won a Wimbledon title said, “I’ve always believed that my job is to try and give my best on the tennis courts.” Do your best! That most high “Uparwalla” will surely carry you higher than you can imagine.