I was reading an entry from “The Book of Awakening,” by Mark Nepo one morning recently and came across the word Ubuntu. It wasn’t one I had heard before and was fascinated to discover its meaning.
Ubuntu-I am because you are , you are because I am… (A Deep African Way of Being)
In only the way that Mark Nepo can, his short entry on this topic moved me to want to find out more about this philosophy. Ubuntu has its origins in Africa. It comes from the Nguni Bantu phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, which roughly translated means “humanity towards others.” Most religions, cultures, countries and peoples throughout the ages have always advocated for oneness, brotherhood, interconnectedness, and respect among peoples – human decency.
I’m happy to add “Ubuntu” to the long repertoire of words to describe the concept of community and sharing that it engenders. We’re all familiar with the “no man is an island” phrase which John Donne, an English author, penned. That was his way of expressing our need for each other. Another adage goes like this: “Two heads are better than one.” This also conjures up in one’s mind the idea of sharing, caring, and relating to another.
Perhaps, the well-known teaching called the Golden Rule that says: “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you” (Christianity) is synonymous with Ubuntu’s “humanity towards others.”
Desmond Tutu, South African theologian, and Nobel prize winner describes Ubuntu this way: “A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”
I like how Desmond Tutu addresses the concept of our perceived individuality. It’s very easy to get caught up in how individual we are and to take great pride in that. I know it’s very easy for me. It’s true that we are individuals but we are not alone in this world. Ubuntu is the antithesis of individuality.
Even Prime Ministers are into Ubuntu philosophy. Former President Bill Clinton embraces Ubuntu in his work with the Clinton Foundation which does philanthropic work. He says this: “So Ubuntu — for us it means that the world is too small, our wisdom too limited, our time here too short, to waste any more of it in winning fleeting victories at other people’s expense. We have to now find a way to triumph together.”
At a Labour Party Conference in the UK in 2006, he told the Labour delegates that society and collaboration is important because of Ubuntu. “If we were the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most wealthy, the most powerful person — and then found all of a sudden that we were alone on the planet, it wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans,” he said.
I hope you’re getting a better picture here of how Ubuntu works and why it’s important for all of us to know about it. Any philosophy, teaching, adage, proverb, or wise saying, that promotes brotherhood and peace, is in my opinion worth knowing about. Deep in every human heart is the need and cry for peace and good relationship with one other. We just don’t seem to know how to achieve it.
Ubuntu also works in business. Last, but not least, I found an article under virgin.com “How the Ubuntu Philosophy Can Have a Positive Impact on Your Business.” This was very informative and if you have the time, it’s a good read about how Ubuntu works in the world of business as well. Here’s a small excerpt from the article:
The next step for business worldwide is to embrace what I call ‘Ubuntupreneurship’. I see it as a hybrid of social entrepreneurship and capitalism 3.0 – what Richard Branson called business as a force for good. Ultimately, nature will lead us back to the core of living, which is the Ubuntu way of life. A life lived in reverence of one’s true self and that of others. We can already see it happening, simply by observing the way the world is embracing healthy living.
Getting to know one another better can only lead to better understanding and hopefully to a shared humanity. I’m glad that I stumbled upon Ubuntu philosophy through one of my favourite authors, Mark Nepo. It enriches my life to know about it. Hope it does the same for you.
NOTE: All information and photos internet based.
The “Book of Awakening” – Pg. 239 (July 22) – Entry on Ubuntu