Hidden Treasure: Uncovering the Truth in Your Life Story

by Gangaji

Overview

An inspiring book from one of our greatest living spiritual teachers.

Just as the life stories of the Buddha and Christ have served those on the spiritual path for millennia, our own lives can serve as important teaching stories. In Hidden Treasure, one of the great spiritual teachers of our time, Gangaji, uses the telling of her own life story to help readers unveil the truth in their own.

Antoinette (Toni) Roberson Varner was given the name Gangaji by her teacher Sri H. W. L. Poonja in 1990. Before that meeting, she had pursued many paths to enlightenment. Raised in the 1950s in the racially divided South, she married young and had a daughter. Following the dissolution of her first marriage, she moved to Northern California and immersed herself in the spiritual culture that was flourishing there; but her efforts to achieve lasting fulfillment ultimately fell short. In the wake of her disillusionment, she made a final prayer for help. The answer to her prayer came unexpectedly, taking her to India and to the meeting that would change everything. On the banks of the River Ganges, she met Poonja, also known as Papaji, who opened her mind to the eternal presence of being.

In this life-changing book, Gangaji guides readers in recognizing that while their life stories follow universal patterns of human suffering, by uncovering and speaking the truth of these stories, they can open the doorway to the possibility of living freely and in truth. Hidden Treasure invites readers to discover the fulfillment that can exist for anyone, right here, right now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399160530
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/13/2012
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

GANGAJI is dedicated to the recognition of peace and freedom inherent in all being. An internationally renowned teacher and the author of The Diamond in Your Pocket, she is supported by her foundation's global network of volunteers. Gangaji shares her direct experience of the essential message she received from her teacher Papaji and offers it to all who want to discover a true and lasting fulfillment. She lives with her husband in Oregon and offers retreats in the United States, Copenhagen, Canada, Europe, England, and Australia.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part One

Chapter 1 Stories 3

Chapter 2 My Story 23

Chapter 3 Hidden Treasure: A Teaching Story 41

Part Two

Chapter 4 Inquiry: Discovering Your Inner Nakedness 49

Chapter 5 Harmony 69

Chapter 6 Reversal of Fortune 91

Chapter 7 Hell 115

Chapter 8 Offer of Redemption 131

Chapter 9 Cynicism, Refusal, Denial 143

Chapter 10 The Right Question 153

Chapter 11 Discovery 161

Part Three

Chapter 12 Open End 181

Chapter 13 Silent Awareness 197

Acknowledgments 208

Editorial Reviews

A provider is killed when traveling and his family becomes impoverished. Just when the situation seems hopeless, a stranger arrives to reveal treasure hidden under the floorboards of their home. With this simple parable, Gangaji (You Are That) outlines the strife, the joy, and the unforeseen shocks that life brings. The treasure, hidden nearby all along, is treated as a metaphor for spiritual yearning, reminding seekers that answers lie within. Alongside this plain yet revealing story, Gangaji recounts a life's journey that encompasses her difficult childhood, a broken marriage, the thrills of the counterculture, and spiritual revelations received from guru Sri H.W.L. Poonja. Gangaji speaks of finding conscious space through cultivating stillness and silence, and although her practices derive from Hinduism, there is less of a defined religious tradition than a general sense of spiritual wisdom in her writings. This gently flowing but often disarming volume invites readers to examine the narratives that shape them, and is a call to pass beyond personal stories to find a deeper, more universal self. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly