You know Ubuntu as an operating system. Mandela knew it as his life’s mission.

You know Ubuntu as an operating system. Mandela knew it as his life’s mission.

Yet the system’s name didn’t spring from nowhere. It’s inspired by a notion that’s even less tangible than a bunch of ones and zeroes; it describes, Obama said, the extent of Mandela’s compassion.

There is a word in South Africa — Ubuntu, a word that captures Mandela’s greatest gift: His recognition that we are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us. … He not only embodied Ubuntu, he taught millions to find that truth within themselves.