Home
Buy Spiritual Books, Tapes, CDs & Sacred Art
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Gangaji
(1942-present, United States)
Biography Excerpt:
Born in Texas in 1942, Gangaji grew up in
Mississippi. A member of a noncommunicative, alcoholic family, her childhood
was not a joyful one. Even after marrying and giving birth to a daughter,
the South did not feel like home to her. Upon moving to San Francisco in
1972, Gangaji immersed herself in a seach for spirit. Following a divorce
and a period of political activism, she took Buddhist vows, practiced Zen
and Vipassana meditation, and helped run a Tibetan Buddhist center
Gangaji continued to experience a persistent
longing for truth and fulfilment and prayed that she might find her teacher.
This prayer was answered in India in1990 when she met Poonjaji (affectionately
known as Papaji), a disciple of Ramana Marharshi, in India.Upon meeting
Poonjaji, Gangaji experienced a profound release and a sense of having
found that which she was seeking. Simply and directly, he pointed out,
“You are freedom. You are truth.” This realization penetrated Gangaji to
the very core and her life was never the same.
Enlightenment Story Excerpt:
There is no formula for discovering the
truth of who you are. When I first was on the path of seeking truth, I
was quite certain that I could make this discovery on my own. Besides,
I had seen the horrors of the guru scene, and I thought that I was certainly
above that.
Finally, I recognized that I could
not; that my mental process continued to spin in circles, always just missing
the revelation of truth. There had been experiences of oneness, experiences
of bliss, but I always just missed the eternal ground of truth.
By the standards of our culture, I was
successful in life, but I remained disillusioned. Disillusioned with myself
and disillusioned with the constant, everyday attention I had on fixing
myself.