the garden of Realization of Self

Beyond the land of peace, beyond the land of dreams,
beyond the land of silence lies the garden of Realization of Self.
(Paramahansa Yogananda)

God is at work even in midst of suffering

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited

island.



He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and everyday he scanned

the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.



Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of

driftwood to protect himself from the elements and to store his few

possessions.



One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little

hut in flames with smoke rolling up to the sky.



The worst had happened! Everything was lost!



He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger: "God, how could you

do this to me?" he cried.



Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was

approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.



"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.



"We saw your smoke signal!" they replied.



Moral of the story:



It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we

shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the

midst of pain and suffering.



Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the

ground: it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.



You may want to consider passing this on … because you never know who

feels like their hut is on fire today!






"Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to
practice it. It is more paying from the point of view of health also."

CW I p.33.Complete works of Swami Vivekananda.Volume I.



"Can anyone get
liberation, my child, unless He Himself removes shackles? Have deep faith
in God. Look upon the Master as your refuge, even as children regard their
parents."

TN348.Swami Tapasyananda and
Swami Nikhilananda. Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother;
Life and Conversations. Madras:
Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1977.

Spirituality in Married Life

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

After the birth of one or two children, husband and wife should live as brother and sister and talk only of God. Then the minds of both will be drawn to God, and the wife will be a help to the husband on the path of spirituality. None can taste divine bliss without giving up his animal feeling.

- from "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna"

Work unto death

Work unto death — I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will work with you. This life comes and goes —wealth, fame, enjoyments are only of a few days. It is better, far better to die on the field of duty, preaching the truth, than to die like a worldly worm. Advance!

— Swami Vivekananda

The Lord knows the course of our thoughts ...

Deliver me, O Jesus,
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,
From the desire of being popular,
From the fear of being humiliated,
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being suspected.
(Mother Teresa, `Mother Teresa, A Simple Path')

The Lord knows the course of our thoughts. He
does not reveal Himself to us until we have surrendered
to Him our last worldly desire; until each of us
says: "Father, guide and possess me."
(Paramahansa Yogananda, `Spiritual Diary')

os version details within database

select dbms_utility.port_string from dual;

I got the following output

Connected.

PORT_STRING

HP9000/800-64.0.8.1.0

1 row selected.