swami abhishiktananda (1910-1973; aka dom henri le saux) was a french benedictine monk and priest who felt called to live in india in order to set up contemplative monasteries there. he ended up staying the rest of his life and discovering more than he had bargained for in the general life of india and particularly in advaita vedanta. he never renounced his vocation as a monk or a priest, and he is said to have achieved final awakening right near the end of his life. i was introduced to swami abhishiktananda by my amma sr. pascaline coff and had the great privilege of collecting and translating his french poems a few years back.

this year on december 7th marks the 50th anniversary of swami abhishiktananda’s mahaprasthana (great departure). several of us who admire swamiji and his message of awakening and interreligious respect and affection will celebrate on december 6th at 10.00 am central standard time.

prior cyprian consiglio, fr. adam bucko, jon sweeney, and others will be gathering on zoom to share meditation, song, and talk on swamiji. if you’d like to attend as well, you can email jonmsweeney@gmail.com to receive the zoom link.

pax/shanti