Swami Abhishiktananda

Overview

Swami Abhishiktananda (Henri le Saux, 1910-1973) is one of the most intriguing spiritual figures of the twentieth century. A Breton-born Benedictine monk who moved to India in 1948, he initially hoped to Christianize India along the lines of his order. His deep encounter with Hindu spirituality, particularly the experience of non-duality, led him on an even more challenging and adventurous path, adopting the appearance and life of an Indian holy man and choosing a new name meaning "Bliss of the Anointed Lord". His last years were spent living as a hermit in the Himalayas.

Abhishiktananda's writings reflect an extraordinary search for God in the story of a man prepared to risk everything, caught in the tension between two traditions, but ultimately finding reconciliation in the truth beyond opposites.

Shirley du Boulay, has written biographies of Bede Griffiths, Desmond Tutu, and St. Teresa of Avila, as well as The Cave of the Heart, an award-winning biography of Swami Abhishiktananda.