Swami Abhishiktanada (Henri le Saux, 1910-1973) was born and raised in France but went to India as a Benedictine monk in 1948. His attraction to Hinduism led him on a path which resulted in his adopting the life of an Indian holy man. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of this great pioneer of interreligious dialogue, Monastic Interreligious Dialogue sponsored a symposium in January 2010 at Shantivanam, the ashram he founded with another French priest.
The editors William Skudlarek and Bettina Baumer have assembled eight essays to illustrate Abhishiktanada's relevance to those on spiritual journeys today and also to single him out as a model for moving ahead in interreligious dialogue. We were impressed with a piece by Fabrice Blee on this spiritual teacher's use of exile and wandering as a means of drawing closer to the heart of Hinduism. Michael Amaladoss does a fine job probing Abhishiktanada's formidable challenges to Indian and Western theology. Fausto Gianfreda examines this Benedictine priest's adoration of the Eucharist, and Vinaya Chaitanya assesses his experience of the Upanishads.
