A Conversation With Gangaji

Musician and composer Scott Reich incorporates Gangaji's spoken word into a his new composition entitled "This Space of Stillness."  “I write music to create a place of refuge - for myself, and for all who are drawn to a place of deeper peace.”

“We are here to retreat from the trouble, so that actually when the trouble returns, we have a bigger capacity, a stronger foundation to meet whatever appears.” When we choose to walk on a spiritual path, our first aspiration may be to transcend our problems or at least transcend the world’s problems. From the mundane to the catastrophic, problems are part of living a human life. So where is peace? What if true fulfillment is realized when we actually stop trying to transcend what Gangaji calls “trouble?”

“Maybe grace, deliverance comes to get you.  Knocks on your door and says, ‘You have a chance to be at peace.’  In your willingness to take that chance, to accept that invitation to be at peace, then you have an opportunity to share this peace, everywhere.” Living our daily lives, we may find ourselves actually attracted to war. We can also be fed up with that attraction.  We can recognize that there is no need to postpone peace in our own minds. In this podcast, Gangaji speaks about the roots of war and the opportunity of being at peace for ourselves and the world.

The human desire for understanding is powerful. We naturally want to understand where we fit in or how best to fix a problem. Understanding satisfies particular needs in our daily life, but on the spiritual path, is understanding enough? Gangaji addresses the crucial difference between realization and understanding that transforms our life experience.  

When we are willing to set aside our beliefs, our thoughts, our powers of mind for an instant, the peace we long for and search for, is immediately revealed. In this lively exchange, Gangaji speaks to the experience of “losing our peace” because some thing has changed, and where finally it is always found. “You live your life in Truth, you live your life knowing that even though ‘my breath changes, and my feelings change, and my body changes,’ this Peace does not change. It is here, always.” 

Perhaps your search for peace and happiness has taken you down many different roads. It may be rooted in a desire for security, spiritual attainments,  personal power, or even just an end to feeling afraid. In this monologue, Gangaji shares how it is possible to discover the limitless peace of being that is not subject to our ideas, definitions, or circumstances. “What this appearance in your consciousness is about, first of all and finally, is to invite you to this space of stillness that is your heart, now.“  

Many spiritual seekers hope to realize a “quiet mind” What is actually possible given the stream of thoughts that go through our minds every day? In this month’s podcast, Gangaji speaks to the life-changing opportunity to “overhear your stories” and stop following any thought no matter how elevated or mundane the thought is. BONUS: Gangaji reads a powerful report  from a prisoner who is participating in her Freedom Inside course by mail, and has a brief conversation about working with prisoners.

Take a moment to join Gangaji for a short, but revealing inquiry: "What blocks your fulfillment?" 

“To be true to the eternal truth of yourself is to ignore nothing.”  Our spiritual discovery of the absolute truth of one’s being can be turned into a hiding place, where we ignore harsh realities and deny the cruelest aspects of our shared humanity. Ignorance is not “bliss.” Rather, it is the root of all suffering. In this powerful monologue delivered in 1999, Gangaji shares that the end of ignorance and our willingness to be all is the “gold of self-realization.” 

“The more you are willing to face the helplessness of being human, the more being human is not the problem.” When we step onto the spiritual path, often we hope to transcend our fears. Our fear of death and loss can drive a lack of compassion and perpetuate our unnecessary suffering. Gangaji encourages us to meet our fear, not avoid it. In a moment of giving up control and simply being undeniably flawed, mortal, and very human, we can rest in the peace of who we are.

The sacred hunger for truth, for God, for love, for peace, for freedom is the force calling us home. This deep longing doesn’t leave us alone. It persists even with a lifetime of disillusionments or “unfulfilled promises.” No matter what spiritual path we have taken or not taken, Gangaji offers all this encouragement: “Let this hunger for Truth have you. It is a glorious feast, and it is time to stop circling the table. You have a place at this feast.”  

At its root the desire for control is an infantile thought: “What I want is what I should have.” We do have a limited capacity to control many things within our life circumstances, our relationships, or our emotions. But when we try to control what cannot be controlled, we suffer and cause others to suffer. On this podcast, Gangaji speaks to what that moment of letting go of control really is and what it reveals. She shares it “is the opportunity to realize what doesn't need to be controlled to be free, to be happy, to recognize itself.”

Many take a spiritual path in life with a sincere desire to contribute to the well-being of all sentient beings. In this month’s episode of Being Yourself, a young man asks, “How can I cultivate the heart of a Bodhisattva?” Gangaji speaks to how we can be true to the Bodhisattva heart in the face of our human, cultural, and spiritual conditioning.  

We naturally value self-reliance and independence especially in Western culture. Considering our personal survival, the desire to not be dependent on others makes sense, but is it real? In this podcast, Gangaji helps us discover the self we can truly rely on and the self-love that is revealed in that discovery.   “I would like to share with you exactly what I mean when I say self-reliant and how essential it is that you be completely, absolutely, totally self-reliant. First, you have to know what “self” means.”  

 As the new year approaches, we can to shift our focus from what we think we need to fix, and give our full attention to what is already whole and perfect. In this podcast, Gangaji speaks of the catalyst for a deeper awakening—the willingness to “unlearn” and open to what is fresh, alive, and who you are. Not a concept or memory of who you are, but as a true, living freshness. Also: We share a song in tribute to Amber Terrell.

On the spiritual search we often ask, “What do I have to do?” to find resolution and fulfillment. We look for “masters” of spirituality and enlightenment who we hope will tell us how to behave or will direct us in practices  necessary for true happiness. Gangaji makes clear that true resolution can be discovered when you set aside your cosmologies, theologies, and formulas for that which is much, much closer— the truth of who you are.  

Since 1990, Gangaji has shared Papaji’s invitation to call off the search. This essential teaching serves our conscious discovery of who we truly are and is profoundly relevant to living our daily lives. In this recording, Gangaji shares a teaching story, written by a sangha member, that is relatable and true. What is discovered when we are willing to completely call off the search and simply let ourselves be found?  

“Our minds can be agitated and we can still be aware of what is at peace, regardless of circumstances.”   Gangaji speaks to the maturity needed when we are confronted with significant life challenges.  It is absolutely possible to live our lives fully as Peace and as human beings with choices. In the midst of the challenges, we may find ourselves in individually and collectively, what is our response? Will we contribute to the “collective angst” or dive ever more deeply, and consciously, into the peace that is always present.

“Finally, integrity means honesty. But honesty is a moving target because of our conditioning. We have to be willing to be humbled in the recognition that what we perceived as being honest or truthful was revealed to be just a conditioned “version" of truth.”   When we recognize what we have long overlooked or denied, we can have one of the most valuable experiences a human being can have: to be humbled. In this podcast, Gangaji speaks about the natural integrity and vigilance revealed when we are truly willing to be humbled.  

This month our conversation on the subject of racism continues. Taking us more deeply to the underlying fear that is the source of racism, Gangaji speaks about the fear of death and the fear of our own and others’ freedom. Recalling her early life in Mississippi, she shares the moment when her racist conditioning was first challenged and how that awakening set her on the path to discovering true freedom.