Prison Program

What if there was a simple, immediate way you could make a real difference in an inmate’s life? There is...

Join us in shining a light behind prison walls.

“Gangaji’s wisdom brings out the deepest, most heartfelt insights. I can relate, in that though a caged man, it does not limit who I am internally. I choose to be free internally.” —Keith, Soledad Prison, CA

“I have met with men who are doing life in Folsom Prison, and watched them weep in the fulfillment of their own heart.” - Gangaji

Established in 1994, the Gangaji Foundation Prison Program offers programs that support men and women living behind bars in furthering their spiritual inquiry. Regardless of anyone's personal circumstance, it is possible to discover the peace and freedom that is alive within all of us.

Discovering freedom inside is the first step in ending the internal wars that can drive our minds, emotions, and unnecessary personal suffering. When we know who we are at the core, we can take real responsibility for our own happiness and our own choices.

NEW: Today, as well as receiving Gangaji's course by mail, Freedom Inside, many incarcerated men and women have access to Gangaji on a prison iPad.

Prison Program Timeline

1994

Gangaji responds to an invitation to visit Englewood FCI in Colorado

2000s

Program continues to grow and thrive, with prison visits, free resources, and a correspondence program.

2017

Freedom Inside course by mail launches offering workbooks, monthly newsletters, and inquiry worksheets.

2024

The Program goes digital. Courses, Videos, and Podcast become available on Edovo.com for the first time.

Freedom Inside: A Course in Self-Inquiry

Freedom Inside: A Course in Self-Inquiry is a course by mail designed especially for prisoners. Participants in the program receive the Freedom Inside workbooks and an on-going monthly newsletter. Each newsletter includes with new articles from Gangaji, worksheets for inquiry, and shares reports and letters of fellow prisoners. Learn More

Freedom Inside: A Course in Self-Inquiry

Freedom Inside: A Course in Self-Inquiry is a course by mail designed especially for incarcerated people. Participants in the program receive the Freedom Inside workbooks and an on-going monthly newsletter. Each newsletter includes with new articles from Gangaji, worksheets for inquiry, and shares reports and letters of fellow inmates.

Learn More

“The jewel that is the core of your being is alive within you in this very moment, untouched by all that has come to pass.”

The Correspondence Program

The Correspondence Program pairs inmates with volunteers to share their realizations and discoveries through letter writing. Writing letters is a powerful medium and offers everyone a profound opportunity to be in community, to share insights, and to deepen in their spiritual inquiry. Interested in becoming a volunteer correspondent?

Start Here

Digital Access to Resources for Inmates

Since the end of March 2024, the GF Prison Program is live on Edovo.com, who serve the incarcerated population by providing digital access to free learning resources. Potentially 450,000 Inmates (and counting) can now access Gangaji's videos, podcasts and the Freedom Inside course on an ipad. Through Edovo's platform incarcerated men and women can earn certification credits that can be a vital to successful parole hearings.

Books, Audios & Videos Available on Request

The Gangaji Foundation provides books, videos, and audios to inmates and prison libraries free-of-charge. If you know someone in prison who would like to receive a book, audio, or video, please ask them to write to us directly at Gangaji Foundation Prison Program, PO Box 716, Ashland, OR 97520. If you are a chaplain or resource manager, we also welcome your requests for your prison library.

Videos, articles, and podcasts that tell the story of the Prison Program.

Community Blog

The Passion of Inclusion

“For me, redemption means being included, and that means including myself. When you include...

Community Blog

Freedom and Addiction - I Learned I Have Choice

Karlis Williams was in and out of prison for 22 years, most of his adult life, and mostly for...

Video Clip

From Prison to Unconditional Love

In this clip Kenny Johnson, who met Gangaji when he was in prison more than 25 years ago, talks...

Video

I Am A Changed Man

Part of an interview with a member of Gangaji's Prison Program. Karlis Williams first heard about...

Audio

The Last Hustle: From Impossible Darkness to Unthinkable Light

Kenny Johnson was trapped in a life that seemed impossible to escape. You could call it a kind of...

Gangaji Blog

Freedom in Prison: Grace is Here Too

For more than 20 years, I have been speaking with people from all walks of life—good people, bad...

Letters from the Inside

We invite you to read a sample of the letters and worksheets we receive from those on the inside. Click on the icons below to enlarge each letter. To join the correspondence program Start Here