(18th July 1918 – 5th
Dec 2013)
We all wake up with the news of the demise of tenacious,
courageous, anti-apartheid but yet so kind and humble soul – Nelson Mandela,
the first black South African President.
It is so sad to hear this news. But as the life cycle goes
on, so both life and death are sure to happen but what matters most is that how
we add value to the life. We all are living because we have given this life but
do we ever think that why we have been gifted with this life. Only few of the
thousands get the real meaning and purpose of this life and set their life as
an example to follow for the generations to come.
In this regard, we must take the lessons from the life of Shri
Nelson Mandela. He never put their weapons down in the adverse situations but
challenged everyone. For their tireless struggle for freedom, equality, humanity
and concern about the people, he was awarded with the life imprisonment for
which he spent his precious 27 years in the prison but this eventually led South Africa to
democracy. And when he released from the prison he set the direction of his
life and plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life’s work, striving to
attain goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier.
He was the Father of their nation. And the second non-Indian
after Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan who was awarded with the India’s highest
civilian award Bharat Ratna.
We all pray for their departed soul a heavenly and
peaceful journey in the abode of God. We all miss you.
Some of the best teachings from their own life are as:
1. 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.
2. It always seems impossible until
it's done.
3. Lead from the back — and let
others believe they are in front.
4. A good head and a good heart are
always a formidable combination.
5. Do not judge me by my successes,
judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again
