Newly revised for 2026, with a new preface from Gangaji. 

“The permission to simply be myself is the invitation to you to be yourself.” —Gangaji, from the new preface.

After a difficult childhood in the deep South and with her marriage failing, Toni Varner arrived in San Francisco looking for happiness. Joining the counterculture, she spent two decades on a spiritual search. Then, in 1990, she met Papaji, an awakened master in the lineage of Sri Ramana Maharshi. She had never wanted a guru, and she certainly hadn't wanted an Indian name. But when she met Papaji, he stopped her in her tracks. In meeting him, she discovered the source of true fulfillment.

Written by biographer Roslyn Moore, Just Like You is Gangaji’s candid, inspiring, and often humorous account of her journey told through intimate conversations, photographs, penetrating questions and answers, and letters exchanged with Papaji. Gangaji says she is just like you and offers herself as living proof that it is possible for anyone to stop telling their story of suffering, to wake up to what is here, and to live life truly and freely.

Available as an eBook or in Paperback. Free eBook offered to With Gangaji Library Members.

“I am just like you.” —Gangaji

On her life journey, Gangaji discovered that longing itself is the doorway home. She shares that discovery with people from all walks of life—not as someone who has the answers to their lives, but as someone who can support them in turning inward and discovering the peace beneath the stories, fears, and effort to become someone else. She invites you to simply “stop and let yourself be found.”

With Gangaji is a place to bring your questions and insights to Gangaji and a global community committed to supporting one another in self-discovery. With Gangaji includes monthly live meetings with Gangaji, a global forum, and full access to a rich Library of teachings and conversations. It is an ongoing space for inquiry, connection, and discovery. 

The newly revised eBook edition of Just Like You is included as a free download with Full Membership or Library Access. The library also includes Finding Home, a six-part audio documentary that offers a powerful companion to the book in Gangaji’s own voice. 

Learn More / Join With Gangaji