Abhishiktananda (; 30 August 1910, in Saint Briac,
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
–7 December 1973, in
Indore
Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
), born Henri Le Saux, was a French-born Indian monk. He moved to India in 1948 in search of a more radical form of spiritual life, adopted ''
sannyasa
''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hinduism, Hindu system of four life stages known as ''ashrama (stage), ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''Gṛhastha, grihast ...
'' 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, Sri Gnanananda Giri, and Sri H.W.L. Poonja led him to profound advaitic experience as well as to final recognition of the truth of '' 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
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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 (), also known as 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 being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...
, 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 to 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 in 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 in
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
on 15 August 1948, and a few days later joined Jules Monchanin in
Kulittalai
Kulithalai () is a municipality in Karur district & Sub-urb of Tiruchirapalli City in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The recorded history of Kulithalai is known from Cheras, followed by medieval Chola period of the 9th century and has been ru ...
(
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
). In January 1949 the two seekers visited the
ashram
An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism.
Etymology
The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879 – 1950), at the foot of
Arunachala
Annamalai (IAST: , 'Red Mountain') is a hill in Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu, and one of the five main Shaivism, Shaiva holy places in South India. The Arunachalesvara Temple to Shiva is located at the base of the hill. The hill is al ...
mountain in
Tiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city and the administrative headquarters of Tiruvannamalai District in the Indian state of ...
(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
Annamalai (IAST: , 'Red Mountain') is a hill in Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu, and one of the five main Shaivism, Shaiva holy places in South India. The Arunachalesvara Temple to Shiva is located at the base of the hill. The hill is al ...
it was the unique Sage of eternal India that appeared to me... it was a call that 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 cleri ...
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a Rivers of India, major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari River, Godavari and Krishna River, Krishna.
The catchment area of the Kaveri basin i ...
(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
Sandhyavandanam (, or 'salutation during the twilight')
is a mandatory religious ritual centring around the recitation of the Gayatri mantra, traditionally supposed to be performed three times a day by ''Dvija'' communities of Hindus, particula ...
-s'' (prayers at the meeting points of day and night and at midday), enriched with
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
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 ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
...". 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
Dhyana may refer to:
Meditative practices in Indian religions
* Dhyana in Buddhism (Pāli: ''jhāna'')
* Dhyana in Hinduism
* Jain Dhyāna, see Jain meditation
Other
*''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener
Sir John Kenneth ...
'' (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 (17th Century) was a saint, composer of Carnatic music and Advaita philosopher and Sishya of the great saint Shri Paramasivendra Saraswati (57th Shankaracharya of Moolamnaya Sarvajna Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham), who liv ...
, 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 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 Bha ...
, 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
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
(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 Hinduism, Hindu spiritual organization and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India. The Society has branches around the world, with its headquarters in Rishi ...
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 which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...
in
Rishikesh
Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...
, 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 (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...
, 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, Patrick D'Souza, Jacques Dupuis,
Sita Ram Goel
Sita Ram Goel (16 October 1921 – 3 December 2003) was an Indian Hindu nationalist writer, and publisher known for his literature pertaining to Hinduism and Hindu nationalism in the late twentieth century. His work has been both celebrated an ...
,
Ram Swarup
Ram Swarup (Hindi: राम स्वरूप; – ), born Ram Swarup Agarwal, was an Indian author and one of the most important thought leaders of the Hindu revivalist movement.Adelheid Herrmann-Pfandt: Hindutva zwischen „Dekolonisierung� ...
, 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 dialogueSwami 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 (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.