What does Nelson Mandela mean to you?

It has been deeply moving for me these past couple of days to watch people from all walks of life, from all corners of the world, being asked that same question and to witness their responses.

Whether they are heads of state in some of the biggest countries of the world or ordinary South Africans in their own neighborhoods, people have been emotionally expressing their love and respect for the man that South Africans affectionately call Tata Madiba, the loving father of their nation.

It brought tears to my eyes to listen to the calm, subdued reminisces of Mandela by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu during a press conference, speaking as only he can. It was equally touching to see a live broadcast of members of the South African parliament, during a special session of that body, as one member after another shared what Mandela had meant to them personally.

One South African parliament representative at the podium, his fist raised in salute, managed to get all the other parliamentary members on their feet — on the floor of the parliament, mind you, during an official session — to sing in unison the words of an old liberation song, “Rolihlahla”, that had often been sung and marched to during the long years of apartheid:

Rolihlahla Mandela,
Freedom is in your hands!
Show us the way to freedom
In our land of Africa...

It is a song that those of us who were involved in the anti-apartheid movement worldwide, in support of the liberation struggle within the borders of South Africa, knew well. Hearing that song sung by South Africans to a marching beat had always, for me, signaled the coming death of the apartheid regime as we knew it. After all, with freedom in Mandela's hands, how could we lose?

But perhaps the most poignant comment came during one interview I saw with someone associated with the South African government, a person involved in the communications side of things. He said that it is a bit limiting to say that Madiba is the father of the South African nation. In fact, he said, Mandela is "the father of global humanity".

A father figure — yes, that is what Mandela means most of all to me.

In a world where father figures serving as positive role models often seem in short supply, Mandela filled that role for many. One young South African who was interviewed said just as much: that there was no real father at home and, in a broader sense, Mandela represented the missing father role in that young person's life as a guiding moral hand and a force for good.

As someone who similarly grew up in a dysfunctional family background, I too look up to Mandela in much the same way — as the father of his own immediate family and of his nation, surely, but also the father of global humanity. And in a very wide sense, Mandela was my father too.

But what does he mean to you? What about the man and his life has inspired you?

In the spirit of Madiba’s life and commitment to inclusion of everyone as members of one family, I invite you to share below, in this humble space in a small corner of the Internet, your own memories, thoughts, opinions, commentary, whatever, on his passing. It would be my honor to hear from you — wherever in the world you are — and to have you share with us the meaning of Mandela in your own life and how his passing has touched you personally.

As South Africa prepares to host an unprecedented, international memorial service in Johannesburg to honor a very special human being, let us join in the honoring too by sharing our own responses to the often-asked question these days: What does Nelson Mandela, Tata Madiba, mean to you?

Come, brothers and sisters, and share it with us.