Consummate Exactitude- Importance of Precision

To be successful in life “Consummate Exactitude” is another personality trait which should be inculcated in life. It focuses on to be complete or perfect; supremely skilled; superb, it is a quality of being exact- exactness; preciseness; and accuracy. “Consummate Exactitude” is what makes an ordinary product turn into an extraordinary brand and an ordinary human being into an extraordinary achiever.

It is the key to tap our maximum potential that lies within us to achieve all the great things we desire? Most people fail to tap into their maximum potential because they do not know how to make full use of themselves. Brain is the most powerful tool created by higher power.

Every successful person uses their brain to help them achieve amazing results in their life and anyone who wants to be successful, should learn how to do this. Once we know exactly what we want to achieve in our life, we can then focus on all our potential toward a single direction just like a laser beam that will cut through all the obstacles in front of it. Successful people know exactly what they want in their lives, where they are going and what is their destination in life, they fully believe that it is possible to achieve that goal. If one does not believe that he can be successful, then how will he put in his full potential to make things happen?

Let us always keep our goals and our dreams in our mind. Successful people think about what they want to accomplish in their lives all the time. They can talk, walk and dream about it the whole day. Whenever we focus and think about what we want, we condition that thought into our subconscious and this allows us to act automatically to do what it takes to achieve what we want.

When we fully believe in something, we will do whatever it takes to achieve it. To make the full use of our potential, we must be 100% committed and willing to take action. The lack of action is one of the top killers of all successes. Most people will put things off and procrastinate and this is what causing them to fail in their lives. Therefore, decide to put in 100% commitment right now to achieve what you really desire in your life.

Now whatever action we have to take is with Consummate Exactitude, means preciseness, exactness; rigid nicety; excessive regard to forms or rules; rigid formality." Precision is the state of being precise as to meaning; preciseness; exactness; accuracy." This is the Fundamental building blocks for success.
To many people, the application of precision in their lives is related to their words and actions. We have precise speech, precise time keeping and the precision of a military drill.

The application of precision, as noted above, is part and parcel of being civilized. It is the discipline and order that is necessary for civilization to function successfully. Most people will never actually create objects to a high precision. It is understandable, therefore, that they overlook this important aspect of a civilization's infrastructure. To laypersons, precision is an abstract concept. This is not a criticism. If someone has not had precision manufacturing experience, either professionally or as a hobby, an understanding of the concept of precision is academic.

We are end users of powerful precision technologies that fuel our civilization and make our lives easier. Without manufacturing precision, cars and computers would not run, planes would not fly and CDs would not play. The precision we create is born out of necessity. A small mistake in precision can cause devastating casualties.

To achieve success means to become master in all aspects of living. Being successful for most people means having a loving marriage, working at a task that they love which is of real value to society and which supports them financially, knowing plenty of genuine friends, and belonging to a loving extended family. Success in all these areas leads to abundant living. But none of them is actually possible unless we get to details of precision.

For precision one needs vision and vision comes from passion and the end result comes from patience and determination to see the final outcome. This is in a nut shell what Consummate Exactitude is.

When the going gets rough, there can be times when the only thing that keeps us on track to success is our vision, patience, passion and determination that what we are doing is the right choice- so don’t stop keep moving with Consummate Exactitude.

Raksha Bandhan - Bond of Protection

Relationships are the essence of any festivity and it holds true for any Indian festival. Each occasion brings the family together which calls for a celebration. Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of one such relation - that of a brother and a sister. It is one of the widely celebrated Indian festivals. The term 'Raksha' means 'protection' and 'Bandhan' means, 'bond'. The underlying essence of the Hindu ideals of love and harmony is portrayed in all the festivals which are reminders of the oneness in all beings- and so very much in this one. With my brother sitting thousands of miles away, I am exploring the meaning of this festival, I am sure all my love and blessings are reaching him there too.

Raksha Bandhan, also known as 'Rakhi' is celebrating the divine bond of love between brother & sister. Sisters tie a delicate cord/ thread of 'Rakhi' on their brother's wrist, pulsating with sublime sentiment and pray for his long life. Brothers, in turn, give them enticing rakhi gifts and vows to protect and care for them lifelong. Thus, the affectionate festivity of Raksha Bandhan becomes a token of blessings, wishes, enthusiasm & love.

Sister shows respect to the brother in the form of adoration or worship. The sacred thread tied on a brother's wrist by the affectionate sister, is the ceremonial expression of her pious hope and wish that her brother be guided by spiritual vision. This symbolic thread is a token of remembrance and inspiration for the brother. Rakhi symbolizes the sacred relationship between a brother and his sister. Just as the brother gets the thread tied in order denote his promise to protect his sister, similarly, the sister prays to God for the protection of her brother. The greater the sister's spiritual emotion, devotion, her yearning towards God, the greater is the effect of her prayers on her brother's well being and his spiritual progress.

This ritual not only strengthens the bond of love between brothers and sisters, but also transcends the confines of the family. The celebration of Raksha Bandhan has its origin in religion and stretches further beyond its boundaries for a broader view of universal brotherhood which paves way for universal oneness. Love is the underlying essence of every religion. Unconditional love for all beings can be realized when one understands his true self, the spiritual self or the 'Atman' which is the same in all beings and which stretches beyond all seeming disparities. Spiritual oneness, is the ultimate end of observing rituals and festivals and same is recognized by the observance of Raksha Bandhan.

Raksha Bandhan thus serves as a reminder of our true nature, the real self which is lost in the apparent differences. So let us observe the rituals of the festival and celebrate it keeping in mind its essence, its true spiritual import. The spiritual significance of Raksha Bandhan is when one takes a sacred divine vow of purity with the God, to live a life of purity in thoughts, words and actions. Rakhi, tied on the right hand, is only symbolic and it is a gentle reminder that we must protect ourselves spiritually from the vices less we commit spiritual suicide in bondage of materialism.

This life of purity and the freedom from material bondage elevates the soul to its original pure religion of peace and silence. Raksha Bandhan is not an isolated festival, but it is an activity in a major event in the world cycle, for the purification of all souls as well as the elements.

It is important to protect our elevated conscience or divine intellect by not coming under the influence of anger, greed, arrogance, lust and attachment. When need turns into greed, believe it or not, one is on the highway to hell.

To cheat, deceive or steal are sinful acts and are opposite divinity. To pledge a life of purity and live a life of sin is to commit suicide. One may deceive others and maybe oneself, but one cannot fool the God. The wages of sin accumulate hundredfold if one is knowledgeable compared to that of being ignorant of the consequences.

On this auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan, August 24, 2010, let us take a moment for deep spiritual introspection and free ourselves from the bondage of greed, the lust for power and a slave of promiscuity and make God our eternal companion for true peace, happiness and prosperity.

Freedom n Boundary

As a small child I remember attending a debate on the topic; “Man is Born Free but everywhere he is in chains”. There was ‘for’ and ‘against’ discussion on this topic. As a child I don’t remember much on the discussion or whether ‘for’ was correct or ‘against’. But this phrase pondered my mind many times at different phases of my life. Let us try and analyze what exactly is freedom and what are these chains or boundaries.

There are few society bound chains on all of us, from our family, education, values, culture etc. These are healthy chains and are actually required for our overall growth and benefits.

But there are few chains which we put ourselves more often than others do. We try to conform to certain ideas, thoughts and when we do so, we are in fact slaves to those ideas and thoughts. Thoughts/Chains of resentment and guilt. These are the two emotions we keep holding. Forgiveness has power. Think about the chains which bound us when we fail to forgive: retaliation, isolation, revenge, retribution, reprisal, vindictiveness. Holding on to resentment calls for maintaining a constant supply of energy to the chains of defensiveness, suspicion, and anger.

Doing so takes up a lot of physical and emotional energy. We nurture our resentments like cherished pets. To be actually free, one has to break free from these chains. Forgiving yourself or someone else for the guilt or mistakes, but it does not mean one gets an opportunity to do the same mistake once again. Rather one should take it as an opportunity to correct oneself and become a better person, this is the best apology for the wrong deeds done in the past.

Freedom is the yearning of every heart. It is the quest of the human spirit. From the beginning of time, man has always searched for freedom in life. It is as if the seed of freedom is planted in the heart and soul. Every adventure of man has been the expression of this freedom; it has been the desire for, or the expression of his state of freedom.

Owning thousands of things doesn’t really make us free. Quite on the contrary, each object we own takes up not just physical but also mental space! And thus creates chains of attachment to materialistic goods. If one has to become truly free to travel in life and also have the internal capacity for creative thinking, declutter your life! This is one of the important ways to become free. Try it out today: Look at your cupboards, shelves and rooms and take note of all the things you hardly use but are still occupying some space. Start by giving these things away, either to relatives, charitable organizations, or to maids, drivers or sweepers, there are enough poor people in this country. It’s simple: The more we give, the lighter we feel from the chains of attachment to goods- and free we are.

“Your freedom ends where my nose begins”- is an old proverb. Our freedom guarantees us to do what is right, but not to throw mud on others or hurt them. Our freedom should not be hindrance in others freedom...freedom does not mean to do whatsoever I feel good, while it means live and let others live. These are the few chains, which we should respect and honor.

One can never truly be free because freedom has a price to pay and the price is giving up some of our freedom. But one can work to be free from all kinds of negative thoughts and emotions like, sorrow, grief, anger, greed and jealousy, as they are all illusions. These emotions are ephemeral. All the beings are bonded due to lack of knowledge but they get free and achieve liberation once they realize that the world is nothing but illusion. One who can surrender to Lord, and free himself form attachments to living and non living objects, can experience freedom. Once we get His unconditional support we gain freedom from fear, worry and despair.

On this independence day let us give off the chains that have bound us to the ordinary. We deserve the best and we shall get the best.

Friendship – Bond of Trust

This being the friendship week, I could not miss writing something on it. And here comes my small understanding of this big word.

One cannot choose his or her family but one can definitely choose friends, having great friends is a blessing. Choose your friends wisely; take time in making someone your best friend. Friend is a person who inspires us, who listens to us and is available when we need him or her. We know him more than any other in the whole world and when we are down or when we are shattered, we know to count on the friend for the ultimate guidance and knowledge. Friend can lift our spirits up and encourage us to continue with our efforts. A true friend will always stand by our side and he or she will help us out. And once friends it is like an asset for a lifetime. Not everyone is blessed with good friends.

Starting a friendship is very easy but keeping it for a lifetime requires a lot of work with this beautiful relationship. That shall only be possible if there is complete trust and faith in our friend. True friendship is all about care and trust. Friends are life no two views about it. There are many bonding that exist in the world, yet friendship is the most pleasant relationship.

Friendship is a bond of innocent feelings. For friendship to remain healthy, fresh, beautiful and cherish able, it needs to grow every day. This does not mean that you start planning for friendship holidays right away. But just like any other relationship, one really needs a fair amount of time to keep friendship vital. One has to work on this bond to flourish, it shall not happen automatically.

Wait! Never impose friendship, also think whether the other person finds your company pleasurable. If there is a positive wavelength between both, then of course it is a lifetime bond. Another enemy of friendship is possessiveness, it hinders the healthy growth of friendship. Never demand your friend to share all their personal issues with you.

When we wish to possess we don’t treat the person as human being but like an object, as if he or she is a personal property or belonging, and we wish to make that object become a part of our physical self, but because it is not possible to do this physically, then one does this by exercising a sense of physical right over that object or that person. The more we lack within, the more we wish to possess of our external. It is interesting to learn about areas of possessiveness. What do you wish to possess the most of and most often? That is the area of emptiness within that we wish to fill by its external manifestation. If one is empty of self-love? Then he is possessive in all his ‘love’ relationships. If one is ‘poor’ within? Then he clings on to all things material. Are you desperately seeking to run away from your own hole of ignorance and true self-knowledge? Then you possessively cling on to books and other such sources of external knowledge. Are you possessive of friends? Then, is it not that you have never found a friend in yourself? Be aware that good friendship is not about owning your friend. This is most likely the most frequently encountered problem. The things that can really damage friendship are jealousy and over-protectiveness. Get rid of these feelings - if you have them - or soon your friendship will have a sad ending.

Of course, in some cases you will need to end the friendship because the friendship had already been damaged beyond repair. To avoid such a stage in a relationship follow simple steps.

The first relationship has to be with one’s own self. We must have a very clear relationship with our self, knowing why we feel the way we do, why we think in a particular way and so on. The first step is to be aware of our own self. Then only we can have good relationship with anyone else in life, friendship or any other.

Second important thing is we should be very clear on our WHY? Why do we want a relationship? Is it for happiness, for security? If that is so, the best source of what we call happiness and security is the Divine. So establish a relationship with the Divine. What is Divinity? Divinity is present everywhere, also in those we consider close to us. And having a close relationship with our own psyche can give us everything we need, first when we are complete with our self then only we can have a good friendship with another person.

In daily life, how do we find divinity in our friend, spouse or companion, for instance? Be sincere and faithful. The key is to give without expectation. These things are possible if our understanding is healthy, if our consciousness is full of light and brightness. Fill the self with happiness first then give it your friends and have a blessed relationship for rest of your life. Enjoy friendship today and everyday of your life.

Once we have learned to be friends with our self and enjoy with other good friends, we can find a good friend in every relationship and make it really beautiful. Friend in mother, father, siblings, spouse, daughter, son, colleagues, boss, neighbor; imagine how wonderful the life shall be. Happy Friendship with all.