By normal standards excellence in life means advancement in one'scareer, which subsequently leads to a life of satisfaction and efficient performance of duties towards the family, society and country. Some achieve excellence early in life, while others acquire it late, depending on the person'sefforts, aspirations and will power.
Excellence in life is a never-ending process as it requires directing of right knowledge in the right areas of human activity. This demands working at a higher level of efficiency, which means one has to become a jack-of-all-trades with mastery in the professional field, whatever it is. Man is born with inborn instincts which make him suitable for a particular profession, and if he gets the right profession, he advances ahead.
The author, who has led a varied life by serving in the Indian Navy for 14 years, and later joining the Atomic Energy Department to operate and maintain atomic power stations, says one should always aim high in his or her career, adopt a practical approach and learn to solve problems throughout life. This invariably requires a life-plan of studies?learning to live in the present, treating the past as an experience and living with hope in the future. This requires thinking and formation of habit to rely on self, rather than on others. In the process, good friends may help or they may try to push aside or pull you down, ?boost or break, encourage or discourage?, depending upon your relationship and how strong or weak it is.
One has to treat the present life as an opportunity, which, if lost, can never be regained. The present moment is to be treated as the best in life as it is meant to acquire right knowledge in the right direction, remembering that human life is unique and is given once only. For right knowledge and right direction one has to fix a goal in life and put in the best effort to achieve excellence.
The basic aspects of human life are four?devotional, knowledge, deeds and realisation of one'sreligious limits.
The religious aspect begins in childhood when as a child he or she accompanies his parents to a place of worship. He embarks on an outward journey, seeks his God in places of worship, undertakes fasts to purify himself, and studies his religious scriptures to understand the religious philosophy.
All this is possible only if one has the money to buy these and to have such money, one has to work and earn. This is the materialistic aspect of one'scareer. Here the author relates the story of Albert Einstein, the American scientist and founder of the Theory of Relativity. Once a student asked Einstein, if he could tell the velocity of light. Einstein replied, ?I don'tknow, my son.?
The student was shocked and disappointed that the Nobel Prize winner didn'tknow the velocity of light and said so to Einstein.
Einstein replied, ?I know where to look for it; you don'tand this is the difference between you and me.? Later Einstein said, ?The best minds reach a particular frontier, beyond which they can'tthink; beyond that frontier of science, God exists.?
In other words, all these aspects lead to higher earnings and advancement in career which help man to achieve excellence in life.
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