henri le saux

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

this year is the 50th anniversary of the passing of swami abhishiktananda, benedictine monk and sannyasi. and i was invited by dimmid to write an essay on how/why swamiji’s life and message are still important and instructive for their journal dilitato corde.

swami abhsihiktananda was, it’s said plenty but bears repeating, a pioneer of interreligious dialogue, leaving his native france in 1948 for india and never returning. his embrace of advaita and his struggle to articulate his spiritual message in terms honest to the reality of his “double belonging” to the church and to the vedantic tradition make him an immensely compelling figure.

as i did with fr. bede griffiths a few months ago, rather than focusing on the more outgoing aspects of swami abhishiktananda’s thought and life, i turned to the foundations of his formation in monasticism. in this essay i look at his close and at times fraught relationship with the psalms.

it was good fun to write, requested as more of a reflection than a scholarly essay, so i placed myself in this one more than i usually do. other interesting takes are being added as the issue fills up in celebration.

requiescat in pace et lux perpetua luceat ei.