Be "SELF"-Centered, Not Self-Centered: A Dialogue on Spirituality

This book is an intimate, sacred dialogue that attempts to capture the essence of the journey into enlightenment. It is a snapshot of many hours of dialogue with "Source," the intuitive voice heard in deep calmness, meditation, and in the spontaneity of the day-to-day.

It contains a broad range of material and conversation on daily living, spiritual practice, metaphysics, health, and healing. It discusses age-old issues in the Universe that are both tangible and intangible, and it focuses on our journey towards enlightenment through the conscious awakening and unfoldment of the inner Self.

Whatever our path, it is vital to understand that the root of spirituality lies in going beyond mind and body into a vast consciousness that we normally do not access. Resting in this experience, we rediscover our true source of happiness, love, wisdom, and peace. From that tangible knowing, we can then do anything without the limitations of our mind. Even a glimpse of something beyond gives us tremendous inspiration and confidence in discovering who we truly are. We are all in essence spiritual beings experiencing a material life; we are not merely physical beings blindly discerning life's purpose. We already are the great "Self." It is matter of calming the mind to dive deeper into what is already within us.

This book is divided into four parts. Part I discusses general questions on the nature of God, Source, and enlightenment. Metaphysical questions on death, the nature of Spirit, and our sacred role on the planet are answered. It also dives deep into issues of karma/destiny, reincarnation, and other realms of existence.

Part II outlines daily living from the perspective of Source. In-depth questions on gurus, masters, and mentors are answered in a way that the reader can appreciate. Part II then discusses spiritual practice and the mind at great length with particular emphasis on the "inner enemies"--those mental tendencies that obscure our experience of enlightenment. It also discusses relationships in depth. Part III focuses on spiritual phenomena such as channeling, psychic powers, and the inner workings of healing. UFO's are also mentioned. It stresses that we must go even beyond all phenomena to the root of consciousness for true enlightenment. Otherwise we may get stuck in the focus on the external world. Part IV addresses general health and healing. It is open ended to allow greater contemplation on what is real health (the state of enlightenment) and what is needed for inner change. It calls for a deeper level of understanding about the mind and body so that our medical system can ultimately transform to incorporate our many needs and levels of being.

Rama Pemmaraju Rao MD is a board-certified physician who specializes in Internal Medicine and Psychiatric Medicine. He is currently assistant clinical professor at University of Alabama Medical School/Children's Hospital in Psychiatry/Child Psychiatric Medicine. He also deals with primary care medical issues as well.

He continues to deepen his process in training and education in Integrative and Complementary Medicine. His lifelong goal is to bring the best of East and West into the medical setting, to afford optimal healing. His ultimate vision is to create a broad new paradigm in health and medicine through teaching, education, and through the manifestation of new clinic models that blend the Orient and the Occident.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao is a native Texan born in San Antonio, Texas, and whose parents and ancestry are from South India. He has blended the best of East and West in his life and has seen first-hand issues in the human condition that warrant a broader outlook and approach to health and healing.

He completed medical training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, and continued residency in Medicine's Psychiatry, and Child Psychiatry at Baylor Affiliated Hospitals, Harvard Medical School (Children's Hospital), and completed Internal Medicine at Dallas Presbyterian Hospitals.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao appears regularly on television and radio for all affiliates in Birmingham, Alabama, on health, healing, and spirituality.

He has had a lifelong background in Yoga and its practices. His deepest dream is to convey the teachings and principles of spirituality and healing inspired by the ideals of a number of meditation masters he has personally followed throughout the world.

His original Guru is Swami Satchidananda who is his most revered personal master and mentor he has known since childhood. Swami Satchidananda is the Guru and founder of Integral Yoga© who came to the United States in the sixties and whose teachings are well known throughout the West.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao's spiritual journey has further led him to the intimate quest of the heart and the search for the Divine Mother. In this process, he has been extremely fortunate to receive the direct energy, guidance, and grace of a number of different embodiments of the Divine Mother around the world.

These women have included Mother Meera (Dornberg/Thalheim Germany), *Mata Amritananda (MaCenter/San Ramon, CA), Suma Ching Hai, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda^® (Siddha Yoga^® lineage, South Fallsburg, NY), Karunamayi Vijayeshwari (SMVA Trust NY), and Anandi Ma (Dhyan Yoga^®, Antioch, CA).

He is also particularly grateful for the Guidance of Master Subramaniya of the Saiva Siddhanta San Marga Temple in Kaui, Hawaii.

Dr. Pemmaraju Rao's philosophy of life is that we are forever growing and learning on the path to enlightenment. He feels there is nothing that is "not spiritual" if we simply shift our focus, increase our contemplation and introspection, as well as deepen our insight. Real spirituality, he feels is truly being one's Self and accepting everything about others and ourselves in every given moment. We must be who we are and learn and grow from wherever we are. One cannot ignore issues in Psychology 101 and claim to be spiritual. He constantly looks to the enlightened masters as examples of what we must all become. In fact, he feels we are already enlightened. Ultimately everything reveals itself to us in its own time when we approach and return to God or Source directly within our own beings.

It is a matter of uncovering layer by layer "that which we are not in order to experience the enlightened state." Ultimate perfect health is the experience of enlightenment; everything we do represents our quest for health and healing through life's journey of Self-Realization and unfoldment.

Oh, my dear, divine ones, you are all standing within the greatest illusion. Everywhere you turn you try to grasp for a little happiness and love. You reach out for material security to find that one day or another it slips through your hands. Everywhere you turn you think that your circumstances are real and you cry out in this nightmare of creation. What can you really call your own? What is there really to control? Do you have any true anchor in this world? Those whom you call your loved ones will one day be swept away into the unseen. Those lovers who pledge an eternal relationship to each other slip away under the spell of death. Who will look at your body when the bodily instrument you so dearly cling to is laid to rest? Even your family members may be frightened to look at your cold face in death. Many will forget you and fight over your estate. The circumstances you find yourself in are certainly for your highest and best learning at any given moment. However, what you are experiencing is only one infinitesimal fraction in a moment of dynamic creation that has no end. There is no beginning or end to the cycle of birth and death. It goes on for eons and most are clueless as to the notion that it is desire that binds one deeply to the earth plane and other dimensions. It is desire that closes one into the limitations of a physical body.

The only anchor that is true, the only thing that cuts through the illusion of all levels is to rest in your own eternal Self. It is the only energy that never withers. When you open the floodgates of the Self, you will discover it is unending, ever-new bliss. It continuously recharges and refreshes you. The experience of Me never goes stale. You can face any situation because you have permanently opened that which continuously satisfies you from within. National, world, galactic or universal crisis can be occurring, yet you will remain in total equipoise and equanimity while taking care immediately of what is at hand.

If you are truly sincere, if your motive is pure, if your intent is such that you truly wish to know your Self, then a true guru will appear in your life or in one lifetime or another. Those people who fall under the sway of ones who delude or trick them have their lessons to learn. There are good doctors and not-so-good doctors, even wicked or incompetent ones. It is the same with gurus and you must develop discrimination and discernment.

Your heart is on an eternal journey. The spiritual master will come in the form of teachings from nature, your friends, so-called enemies, and your family. Learn and understand these lessons well. Cry out from within with utmost sincerity that a true spiritual master be brought to you. When you are ready from within, knowingly or unknowingly, the master will appear. He will reflect where you are in your longing and in the purity of your mind. Those who have been cheated by masters, teachers and others created those situations from this life or other lives so that they can learn discernment. What comes to you will reflect where you are in your inner state. If you find one who you feel is not the highest and best for you (for whatever reason), your inner voice will tell you. It will say, "You have learned what the lesson was from this person; now seek something higher and better." If you do not listen, then you may get stuck in that situation. My dear one, always keep in mind that those who have the highest intention, motivation and sincerity will find the right spiritual mentor. Remember, most of you are not really looking, so there is no need for a spiritual master. It is rare and difficult to find such a one who has walked the arduous spiritual path and can then turn around to help others. Also, most who attain the highest realization of Me do not want to continue to teach. They want to enjoy their newfound freedom on their own without any new burdens. Only those few rare souls who are totally selfless and have an unusual love for humanity will elect to formally help others and take on the role of formal guru. There are many Self-realized people in the world; look carefully! Yet there are few gurus.

Of course not! Even I am continuously learning! I create and then step back to learn about what I created! In your Hindu religion are there not images of Saraswati (the goddess of wisdom and learning) with a book in her hands? The young gal is forever learning silent lessons. So you must, also. I draw many lessons from the free-will choices that beings make and create. I am the witness, yet even I grow with ever-expanding creation.

A guru has master level lessons to learn. A student at the Ph.D. level must learn unique lessons and tasks, just as a kindergarten student has learning to do appropriate to that level. It is the same with masters. They have their issues to deal with that are unique to their level. To be a master one has to be at a "point of no return" from within. This means that they are in a state of unending bliss. There is no fall from this state back into the ups and downs of the mind, for the river of bliss that flows within them permanently floods their entire being. Lessons for them include patience and understanding for those who are not at that point of no return. Masters may wrestle with Me regarding their duty to remain in a body to serve others when they would rather sail in the ocean of consciousness without a body. Sometimes they are also tested in their faith when I send them many obstacles that they must face in order to get their mission and work done on the planet. Did not Mother Theresa and other saints suffer greatly? Through their struggle they became beacons of light to the world. However, do not think that each must suffer in order to complete their mission on earth. It is true that masters must take on more burdens than most (and often in silence) because more is expected of them. Masters silently take on the karma of others and work it out through their own system. This is one reason why Christ died for others’ sins, for he took on the negative energies of others so that they would evolve faster. It is the same with other gurus.

You do not have to only seek the inspiration from those master teachers and gurus from the past. They send their blessings and you may follow their principles, but there are Buddhas, Siddhas, and enlightened masters among you today. They have existed throughout the ages and will appear to you in your daily life when you are ready to receive and hear them.

Never forget that the highest karma is to know that you are a Buddha. You all are nothing less than that.

Ultimately, dear ones, empower yourself to find your Self. Even if a thousand Buddhas, ten thousand archangels, and hundreds of gurus were to show up at your door and offer you guidance, it is you who must take their wisdom and plan out a map for yourself. Think clearly and coolly about any issue that arises. Always note that common sense is the child cradled upon the mother of inner guidance. Your mother can only cook your food; you alone must eat it.

The greatest knowledge and gift are to understand that everything is already within you.

Do not be swayed by others. Only you know what is ultimately best for you. Your system will tell you what is right for you. Rain is a blessing for a farmer but a curse for the sun brick baker.