An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

Nelson Mandela (1918– )
Viewed by many as a kind of secular saint for the way he forgave those 
who had kept him in jail for 27 years, Nelson Mandela became the first 
President of South Africa after the fall of the Apartheid system of racial 
segregation. Anthony Sampson’s biography tells of the background to 
Rolihlahla Mandela, who was a Xhosa and the scion of the Transkei 
Tembu royal dynasty. From childhood he was imbued with the concept of 
ubuntu,
African brotherhood, which involves compassion for and soli-
darity with others. He was also influenced by the Methodism of his mother 

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Spiritual and Mystical Experiences
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and missionary teachers. His education was befitting to his station, under-
taken by his uncle at Mqhekezweni or the Great Place, among the Tembu 
elders. Later he studied law and his opposition to the system of Apartheid 
hardened. He joined the African National Congress and developed into a 
fiery rebel. He stressed to his biographer that he was ‘no angel’.
He was arrested several times and each time made a stand against the 
system, which made an impression world-wide. At the age of 46 he was 
imprisoned for life on the notorious Robben Island. Prison brought about 
a change in him, which was to have far-reaching consequences for his 
country and the whole world. There he reflected on the situation in South 
Africa and realized that in order to avoid the bloodbath widely seen as 
inevitable, he needed to negotiate with the enemy. He also learned to con-
trol his temper and despite very much seeing political opposition as a team 
effort, he began to emerge as the leader. He established links with the major 
churches in South Africa as they mobilized against the regime, particularly 
with Desmond Tutu. Once President, Mandela established freedom for all 
religions, recognizing the part that the different faiths had played in the 
transformation of the country, from providing education and health care 
for blacks when the regime did not, to supporting the struggle for change.
Universal protest against Apartheid turned him into the world’s most 
famous prisoner. It is a measure of the man that he was able to cope with 
his iconic status on his release, retaining an engaging, natural, humorous 
manner. He and President F. W. De Klerk managed to put aside their 
considerable differences and over a long period, work out a transition of 
power. They were rewarded by the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Nelson 
Mandela had not only forgiven his oppressors, but had managed to bring 
his colleagues in the ANC with him – no mean feat. They often baulked 
at his compassion, his leniency towards prison guards and Afrikaners, but 
Mandela was not to be moved. As president, Mandela set up The Truth 
and Reconciliation Commission, an imaginative way of coming to 
terms with the past based on forgiveness, an example of 
ubuntu 
in action. 
Mandela gave a third of his presidential salary to a charity, handed over 
to his successor gracefully and now lives a simple life. His life is an 
example of true humanity in the face of adversity.