Abhishiktananda ( sa, अभिषिक्तानन्द, Abhiṣiktānanda; 30 August 1910, in Saint Briac,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
– 7 December 1973, in
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
), born Henri Le Saux, was a French monk who, having moved to India in 1948 in search of a more radical form of spiritual life, adopted ''
sannyasa
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...
'' in accordance with Indian tradition and became one of the pioneers of Hindu-Christian dialogue. Multiple contacts with prominent saints such as
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi (; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage and '' jivanmukta'' (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
He was born in Tiruchuli, T ...
advaita
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...
'' during the last years of his life.
Biography
Early years and Benedictine monastic life (1910–1948)
Le Saux was born on 30 August 1910 in St Briac, a small town on the north coast of Brittany. He was the first child of Alfred Le Saux and Louise Sonnerfaud, who gave him the names Henri Briac Marie. In 1921 his parents sent him to the minor seminary at Châteaugiron, from which in 1925 he went to the major seminary at Rennes. From his boyhood he had felt a monastic vocation: "What has drawn me from the beginning and what still leads me on, is the hope of finding there the presence of God more immediately than anywhere else..." At the age of 19 he was admitted as a postulant to the Benedictine monastery at Sainte-Anne de Kergonan where he spent another nineteen years (with a short break between the years 1939 and 1941 when he was required to participate in the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
as a sergeant of the French Army).
The call to India was heard by Le Saux at Kergonan as early as 1934, within five years of entering the monastery. It was closely related to his vocation to a more radical contemplative life that he lacked within the existing framework of western monasticism. He expressed this feeling in his characteristic phrase that became his motto: "''Beyond, always beyond.''" In May 1947 he wrote to the Bishop of
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with be ...
, asking his help in "settling somewhere in the neighborhood of Tiruchi so that, living in some hermitage, he might there lead the contemplative life ... in the closest possible conformity with the traditions of Indian sannyasa." The letter was eventually replied by a French priest, Jules Monchanin, who had left for India in 1939 at the age of 44. The latter did his best to help Le Saux in arranging his arrival to India. In his correspondence of 7 August 1947, Monchanin advised his future partner: "Learn as much English as you can. You will have no objection to a purely vegetarian diet (essential for the life of a sannyasi). You will need unshakable courage ... complete detachment from the things of the West, and a profound love for India..."
Sannyasa life (1948–1968)
Le Saux arrived to
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
on 15 August 1948 and a few days later joined Jules Monchanin in Kulittalai (
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
). In January 1949 the two seekers visited the
ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions.
Etymology
The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi (; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage and '' jivanmukta'' (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
He was born in Tiruchuli, T ...
(1879 – 1950), at the foot of
Arunachala
Arunachala (IAST: , 'Red Mountain') is a hill in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, and one of the five main Shaiva holy places in South India. The Arunachalesvara Temple to Shiva is located at the base of the hill. The hill is also known by the nam ...
mountain in
Tiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvann ...
(Tamil Nadu). Le Saux's meeting with the sage had a profound effect on his life as he recounted it in his diary: "I consider this stay at Tiruvannamalai as a real retreat and at the same time as an initiation into Hindu monastic life. I want to ... enter into the great silence and peace which, as I have read and also been told, is to be found at the ashram..." The ''darshana'' of Sri Ramana Maharshi became for him the first introduction into the wisdom of ''advaita'': "In the contemporary Sage of
Arunachala
Arunachala (IAST: , 'Red Mountain') is a hill in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, and one of the five main Shaiva holy places in South India. The Arunachalesvara Temple to Shiva is located at the base of the hill. The hill is also known by the nam ...
it was the unique Sage of eternal India that appeared to me... it was a call which pierced through everything, rent it in pieces and opened a mighty abyss."
In 1950 Le Saux and Monchanin following their monastic vocation and emerging spiritual ideal, established the Saccidananda Ashram (Shantivanam) on the banks of the
holy river
Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cler ...
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...
(Cauvery), with the aim of allowing monks of different traditions to live together in contemplation, sharing the "''silent communion in the quest of the Unique''". In accordance with Indian tradition they adopted new names for themselves: Le Saux became Abhishikteshvarananda ("Bliss of the Anointed Lord"), later shortened to Abhishiktananda, and Monchanin as Parama Arubi Ananda ("Bliss of the Supreme Formless One"). The daily routine in the ''ashram'' was based on the three '' sandhyavandanam-s'' (prayers at the meeting points of day and night and at midday), enriched with
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
and Tamil texts and hymns. Much time was given to spiritual and indological study, although the two monks remained in silence for the greater part of the day.
From 1952 to 1955, Abhishiktananda made several visits to the sacred mountain of Arunachala, of which this account can be found in his book ''The Secret of Arunachala'' (published posthumously in 1975). During these visits he experienced lengthy stays in the mountain's caves, dedicating most of his time to contemplation. In 1953 he met a well known teacher of ''advaita'', Sri H.W.L. Poonja (also known later as "Papaji"), who had a deep impact on his spiritual quest. In 1955 in Tirukoilur, his first meeting with the contemporary sage Swami Sri Gnanananda Giri took place: "I could not resist making the great prostration of our Hindu tradition, and to whom I believe I might give myself over completely ... I now know what India means by the term
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
...". Further on Sri Gnanananda became Swamiji's ''guru'' and his teachings are eloquently described in Swami Abhishiktananda's publication ''Guru and Disciple'' (1970). Sri Gnanananda's message was focused on the practice of '' dhyana'' (meditation):
Abhishiktananda's deep devotion to the ''guru'' is clearly seen in his letters of that period: "Here for a fortnight with my Guru. I have been totally "caught" ... If that man were to ask me tomorrow to set out on the roads naked and silent like
Sadasiva Brahmendra
Sadasiva Brahmendra was a saint, composer of Carnatic music and Advaita philosopher who lived near Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, during the 18th century. Only a few of his compositions have survived, but they are recognised as great compositions of ...
, I would be unable to refuse ... In him I have felt the truth of advaita..."
Later in the 1960s, Abhishiktananda commenced regular pilgrimages to Northern India and in 1968 he left Shantivanam forever having passed it to
Bede Griffiths
Bede Griffiths OSB Cam (17 December 1906 – 13 May 1993), born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known by the end of his life as Swami Dayananda ("bliss of compassion"), was a British-born priest and Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in Sou ...
OSB Cam (1906–1993) for the ongoing development of the ''ashram''.
In 1950 Henri Le Saux visited Srirangam temple. Despite the temple barring non-Hindus from entry, he ventured into it. James Stuart, who accompanied him at the time noted that he diverted his eyes from the sign stating such, and continued into the temple premises. Once inside the temple he refused to take part in Hindu rituals, as he stated in a letter:
Final years and awakening (1968–1973)
In October 1968, Abhishiktananda settled in a small ''kutiya'' at Gyansu (a kilometre away from Uttarkashi), where he would spend six to eight months in solitude during the years 1969 to 1971. His main purpose was to lead a contemplative life, of which he wrote to a close friend, Odette Baumer-Despeigne: "...To be living here as a rule is going to be a new experience. I can scarcely hope to be that acosmic being of whom I wrote in
Gangotri
Gangotri is a town and a ''Nagar Panchayat'' (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirat ...
, but at least I might be able to be something of that sort..." During this period he was also participating in a series of interreligious meetings, conferences and study sessions, including participation in the All-India Seminar in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
(15 May–20 June 1969), etc.
However, one of the main events of his final years was the meeting with a young Frenchman who later became his one true and prominent disciple, Marc Chaduc. Their correspondence commenced in the late 1960s. In one of his first letters Abhishiktananda, replying to Marc's questions regarding the possibility of a permanent stay in India, states: "...The essential thing is to penetrate the interior mystery to which India bears witness so intensely.... Without a contemplative sense, to come to India is absolutely useless..." Chaduc arrived in India on 29 September 1971 at the age of twenty-seven and met Abhishiktananda a few weeks later in Delhi on 21 October. The first ten days spent together in Delhi led to an unparalleled ''guru''-disciple relationship between the two which brought about a revolutionary change in Abhishiktananda's life: "I have found in him (Chaduc) a truly total disciple. With him and two young Hindus I experience from the other end what the guru is. It is really the chela (disciple) who makes the guru, and you have to have lived it, in order to grasp this relationship "beyond words..." Abhishiktananda subsequently sent Chaduc on a pilgrimage, including to Sri Ramana's Ashram and Arunachala, where Abhishiktananda had previously encountered a profound spiritual experience: "There is no question that Arunachala is a powerful magnet. How I should like to lead you round from cave to cave..." During the last twenty months of his life Abhishiktananda's ''advaitic'' experience deepened and he realizes the truth of the Upanishads with utter clarity: "The mantra Om Tat Sat sings all day long ... That madhu (honey) which everything is to everything else, that constant take-off into the Beyond, the golden Purusha full of glory – you know it so well..."
On 30 June 1973, Abhishiktananda, along with the then President of the
Divine Life Society
The Divine Life Society (DLS) is a Hindu spiritual organisation and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India. Today it has branches around the world, the headquarters being situated in Rishikesh. ...
,
Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Chidananda Saraswati (24 September 1916 – 28 August 2008) was President of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. He is well known in India as a yogi, dnyani and spiritual leader. He succeeded as President of the Divine Life Society in 1 ...
, arranged on the banks of the
Ganga
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
in
Rishikesh
Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints meditat ...
, a very simple rite of ''sannyasa-diksha'' (initiation into ''sannyasa'') for Chaduc, after which he became known as Swami Ajatananda Saraswati. Abhishiktananda was deeply moved by this experience which he considered to be the very culmination of his own life. He had a clearer vision of the fact that the truth is not conditioned by any concepts, myths or symbols and lies beyond them all: "We have to descend into the ultimate depths to recognize that there is no common denominator at the level of ''namarupa'' (name and form). So we should accept ''namarupa'' of the most varied kinds ... We should penetrate the depth of each other's mystery ... Take off from each of them as from a springboard, towards the bottomless ocean..."
His posthumous book, ''The Further Shore'', which he wrote several months before his ''mahasamadhi'', reflects his last experiences and his disciple Swami Ajatananda draws attention in the book's foreword to the fact that "...nothing that Swamiji wrote had not been lived by him, realized in himself. This is the beauty of his written work, which was the fruit of his silence."
On 14 July 1973, Abhishiktananda was struck by a heart attack that he himself described as a "spiritual awakening". The remaining several months of his life were spent in a state of bliss and realization, expressed by himself in his writings: "O I have found the Grail ... The quest for the Grail is basically nothing else than the quest for the Self ... It is yourself that you are seeking through everything. And in this quest you are running about everywhere, whereas the Grail is here, close at hand, you only have to open your eyes ... There is only the Awakening."
In the evening of 7 December 1973 in
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...
, Abhishiktananda underwent another brief heart attack and at about 11 pm he died. His last words were "God's will be done."
Legacy
In order to foster the message and the writings of Abhishiktananda through the publication of his books and unpublished manuscripts,
Raimon Panikkar
Raimon Panikkar Alemany, also known as Raimundo Panikkar and Raymond Panikkar (November 2, 1918 – August 26, 2010), was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and a proponent of Interfaith dialogue. As a scholar, he specialized in comparative reli ...
Sita Ram Goel
Sita Ram Goel (16 October 1921 – 3 December 2003) was an Indian historian, religious and political activist, writer, and publisher in the late twentieth century. He had Marxist leanings during the 1940s, but later became an outspoken anti-co ...
, Ram Swarup, N. Shanta and James Stuart, founded the Abhishiktananda Society (Delhi) in 1978. The society was dissolved in 2008 after thirty years of contribution to Hindu-Christian dialogue Swami Atmananda Udasin, ''The Abhishiktananda Society Comes to a Successful Conclusion after Thirty Years of Contribution in Hindu-Christian Dialogue'' (1978-2008). A Letter from the President, MID Bulletin 80, January 2008. http://abhishiktananda.org.in/html/The_Abhishiktananda_Society.pdf and the publishing rights for his books in English and various Indian languages, were transferred to the
Delhi Brotherhood Society
The Delhi Brotherhood Society has its origin in the Cambridge Mission to Delhi, an 1877 Anglican church mission to India established by graduates of Cambridge University. Guided by Bishop and Regius Professor of Divinity Brooke Foss Westcott and ...
(DBS). As a result, a new section named the Abhishiktananda Centre for Interreligious Dialogue, was formed to carry on the task of promoting Abhishiktananda's writings in India and abroad in English. This work is also being continued in the West by the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID), which holds the world rights in all languages with the exception of the English and Indian languages. This centre also stores the Abhishiktananda Archives, where handwritten or typed manuscripts written by Abhishiktananda date between approximately forty to sixty-three years of age. It is planned to digitally scan the archives and make them available under specific conditions for scholars and researchers in India and abroad.
Selected bibliography
Primary
In English
*''Ascent to the Depth of the Heart. The Spiritual Diary (1948-1973) of Swami Abhishiktananda'', Delhi (ISPCK), 1998.
*''The Further Shore'', Delhi (ISPCK), 1975; reprinted with addition of "The Upanishads and Advaitic Experience" and poems, 1984.
*''Guru and Disciple: an Encounter with Sri Gnanananda, a Contemporary Spiritual Master'', London (SPCK), 1974; revised edition, Delhi (ISPCK), 1990; reprinted in 2000; new and enlarged edit.by Swami Atmananda Udasin, pref. by Swami Nityananda Giri, Chennai (Samata Books), 2012.
*''Prayer'', Delhi (ISPCK), 1967; new and enlarged edition, 1989; reprinted, Philadelphia (Westminster Press), 1973; reprinted, London (Canterbury Press Norwich), 2006; Revised and enlarged edition: ''Prayer: Exploring Contemplative Prayer through Eastern and Western Spirituality'', edit.by Swami Atmananda Udasin, foreword by Rev. Dr. James D.M. Stuart, Delhi (ISPCK), 2015.
"Saccidananda: A Christian Approach to Advaitic Experience", Delhi, ISPCK, 1974.
*''The Secret of Arunachala'', Delhi (ISPCK), 1979; reprinted 1988; revised edition, 1997.
In French
*''Eveil à soi – éveil à Dieu. Essai sur la prière'',Paris (Centurion), 1971, Paris (OEIL), 1986.
*''Gnânânanda. Un maître spirituel du pays tamoul'', Chambéry (Présence), 1970.
*''Initiation à la spiritualité des Upanishads. "Vers l'autre rive"'', Sisteron (Présence), 1979.
*''Intériorité et révélation. Essais théologiques'', Sisteron (Présence), 1982.
*''La montée au fond du cœur. Le journal intime du moine chrétien – sannyasi hindou'', introduction et notes de R. Panikkar, Paris (OEIL), 1986.
In Italian
*''Risveglio a sé, risveglio a Dio'' (Quaderni di Ricerca, 51), Troina (Servitium), 2011.
*''Gnanananda. Un maestro spirituale della terra Tamil. Raconti di Vanya'',ed. Stefano Rossi, Troina (Servitium), 2009.
*''Alle sorgenti del Gange. Pellegrinaggio spirituale'' (Quaderni di Ricerca, 46), new edition by Milena Carrara and Espedito D'Agostini, Troina (Servitium), 2005.
*''Ricordi d'Arunachala. Racconto di un eremita cristiano in terra hindu'', ed. Stefano Rossi, Padova (Ed. Messaggero), 2004.
*''Diario spirituale di un monaco cristiano-samnyasin hindu (1948-1973)'', ed. Milena Carrara, Milano (Mondadori), 2002.
In German
*''Das Feuer der Weisheit'', Bern/München/Wien (O.W. Barth Verlag), 1979; new edition, Grafing (Aquamarin Verlag), 2009.
*''Innere Erfahrung und Offenbarung. Theologische Ausätze zur Begegnung von Hinduismus und Christentum.'' (Salzburger Theologische Studien, 23), ed. Bettina Bäumer, Christian Hackbarth-Johnson and Ulrich Winkler, Innsbruck/Vienna (Tyrolia-Verlag), 2005.
*''Wege der Glückseligkeit: Begegnung indischer und christlicher Mystik'', Kösel Verlag, München 1995
*''Das Geheimnis des heiligen Berges. Als christlicher Mönch unter den Weisen Indiens'', Freiburg/Basel/Wien (Herder), 1989.
*''Der Weg zum anderen Ufer'', Köln (E.Diederichs), 1980.
*''Die Gegenwart Gottes erfahren'',Mainz (Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag), 1980.
In Spanish
* ''Gurú y discípulo. Un encuentro con Sri Gnanananda Giri, maestro espiritual contemporáneo''. Pequeña Tierra 2017
* ''Oración. Una mirada a la oración contemplativa en la espiritualidad oriental y occidental.'' Pequeña Tierra 2020
In Russian
*''Гуру и ученик'', перевод Максима Демченко, введение Свами Атмананды Удасина, предисловие Свами Нитьянанды Гири, Москва (Ганга), 2013.
Secondary
In English
* Du Boulay, Shirley, ''The Cave of the Heart: The Life of Swami Abhishiktananda'', Maryknoll (Orbis Books), 2005.
* Kalliath, Antony, ''The Word in the Cave: The Experiential Journey of Swami Abhishiktananda to the Point of Hindu-Christian Meeting'', New Delhi (Intercultural Publications), 1996.
* Oldmeadow, Harry, ''A Christian Pilgrim in India: The Spiritual Journey of Swami Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux)'', Bloomington (World Wisdom), 2008.
* Skudlarek, William (ed.), ''God's Harp String: The Life and Legacy of the Benedictine Monk Swami Abhishiktananda'', Brooklyn (Lantern Books), 2010.
* Skudlarek, William and Bäumer, Bettina (ed.), ''Witness to the Fullness of Light: The Vision and Relevance of the Benedictine Monk Swami Abhishiktananda'', Brooklyn (Lantern Books), 2011.
* Stuart, James, ''Swami Abhishiktananda: His Life Told through his Letters'', Delhi (ISPCK), 2000.
* Vandana Mataji (ed.), ''Swami Abhishiktananda: The Man and His Message'', Delhi (ISPCK), 1993.
In French
*Davy, M-M., ''Henri Le Saux – Swami Abhishiktananda. Le passeur entre deux rives'',Paris (Le Cerf), 1981.
*Davy, M-M., ''Henri Le Saux – Swami Abhishiktananda. Ecrits choisis et présentés par Marie-Madeleine Davy'', Paris (Albin Michel), 1991.
*Du Boulay, Shirley, ''La grotte du cœur. La vie de Swami Abhishiktananda, Henri Le Saux'', préf. par Raimon Panikkar, Paris (Le Cerf), 2007.
*Mandala, Patrick, ''Plénitude de l'Etre. Vie et enseignement de Sri Gnanananda. Témoignage d'Henri le Saux'', préf. par Swami Atmananda Udasin, Paris (Accarias l'Originel), 2015.
*Stuart, James, ''Le bénédictin et le grand éveil'', Paris (Jean Maisonneuve), 1999.
In Italian
*Conio, Caterina, ''Abhishiktananda sulle frontiere dell'incontro cristiano-hindu'',Assisi (Citadella), 1994.
In Russian
*Демченко, Максим, ''Путь Сатчитананды'', Москва (Ганга), 2008.