Biography:Gangaji

From HandWiki

Gangaji (/ˈɡɑːŋɡədʒi/ GAHNG-gə-jee; born Merle Antoinette Roberson in Texas, 1942) is an American Neo-Advaita spiritual teacher and writer.[1]

Early life

Gangaji was born Merle Antoinette Roberson[2][3][4] in Texas in 1942, and grew up in Mississippi.[5]

After graduating from the University of Mississippi, she married her first husband and had a child, then became a teacher in Memphis, Tennessee.[5][1] The couple moved to California in 1972 and later divorced.[5] Gangaji became interested in spirituality, then met and married her second husband, Eli Jaxon-Bear.[5][1] For a time, the two operated a Tibetan Buddhism Dharma center overseen by Kalu Rinpoche.[1] In 1990, Gangaji and Jaxon-Bear went to India, where she met H. W. L. Poonja, better known as Papaji.[1] Afterwards, Gangaji devoted herself to holding satsang when she returned to the West.[1]

Teachings

Gangaji holds satsang, which is strongly influenced by Ramana Maharshi and Papaji.[1] She started the Gangaji Foundation, which sponsors live events and publishes her books and other media.[1]

A video of Gangaji teaching about peace was used in the video game The Witness.[6][7]

Personal life

In October 2005, Gangaji and husband Eli Jaxon-Bear separated after he admitted to a three-year affair with an adult female student.[8] The two reunited three months later and subsequently merged their foundations.[8]

Bibliography

Books

Chapters

  • Robinson, Rita, ed (2007). Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Wisdom: The Feminine Face of Awakening. O Books. pp. 209–231. ISBN 978-1-84694-068-2. 
  • Shapiro, Ed; Shapiro, Deb, eds (2009). Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World. Sterling Ethos. ISBN 978-1-4027-6001-3. 

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Lucas, Phillip Charles (2011-11-01). "When a Movement Is Not a Movement" (in en). Nova Religio 15 (2): 93–114. doi:10.1525/nr.2011.15.2.93. ISSN 1092-6690. https://online.ucpress.edu/nr/article/15/2/93/70569/When-a-Movement-Is-Not-a-MovementRamana-Maharshi. 
  2. ↑ Altman, Michael J. (2022-04-28). "Spirituality: The hippies and the seekers find India". Hinduism in America: An introduction. Religion in America. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/b22841. ISBN 978-1-138-38938-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=QaFhEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT173. 
  3. ↑ Vliegenthart, Dave (2018). The secular religion of Franklin Merrell-Wolff: An intellectual history of anti-intellectualism in modern America. Numen Book Series. Leiden: Brill. p. 270. ISBN 978-90-04-36107-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=tsZKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA270. 
  4. ↑ Wessinger, Catherine (2013-01-09). "The second generation leaders of the Theosophical Society (Adyar)". in Hammer, Olav. Handbook of the Theosophical current. Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion. Leiden: Brill. pp. 33-50, at p. 44. ISBN 978-90-04-23596-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=0VozAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA44. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Gangaji; Moore, Roslyn (2003). Just Like You, An Autobiography. Do Publishing. p. 137. ISBN 0-9646999-2-3. 
  6. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (2016-01-25). "The Witness: The Kotaku Review" (in en). https://kotaku.com/the-witness-the-kotaku-review-1754919626. 
  7. ↑ Grubb, Jeff (2016-09-13). "The Witness: What it means" (in en-US). https://venturebeat.com/business/the-witness-what-it-means/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Plain, Robert (October 14, 2006). "Spiritual leaders' split leads to consolidation of groups". Ashland Daily Tidings. http://www.dailytidings.com/2006/1014/stories/1014_gangaji.php. 

Further reading

  • Downing, Jerry N. (2000). Between Conviction and Uncertainty. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-4627-1. 



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