In Memoriam: Sri Eknath Easwaran (1911-1999)
During the predawn hours of October 26, 1999, Sri Eknath Easwaran, a man who did a great deal toward promoting understanding and harmony among followers of the world’s religious traditions, died peacefully with his wife Christine at his side and surrounded by many of his closest students.
Born in Kerala, India, he had taught English for some years at a major Indian university before coming to the U.S. in 1959 on a Fulbright grant. While here, he found that students and others were especially interested in what he had to say about meditation. This led him to leave the professional pursuits of academia and found the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in northern California. A prolific author and translator, he published the best-selling book Meditation in 1978 and followed it with such others as Words to Live By and Take Your Time. The obituary notice published by his disciples in the journal Blue Mountain noted that, “The thousands who attend Blue Mountain Center and the hundreds of thousands who read his books look to him for guidance in seeing past the fever and fret of modern society to the changeless ground of existence which supports all life and extends beyond this life.” His wife and students have committed themselves to carry forward his vision. For more information about this remarkable man and his work, contact the Blue Mountain Center; Box 256; Tomales, CA 94971.
Born in Kerala, India, he had taught English for some years at a major Indian university before coming to the U.S. in 1959 on a Fulbright grant. While here, he found that students and others were especially interested in what he had to say about meditation. This led him to leave the professional pursuits of academia and found the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in northern California. A prolific author and translator, he published the best-selling book Meditation in 1978 and followed it with such others as Words to Live By and Take Your Time. The obituary notice published by his disciples in the journal Blue Mountain noted that, “The thousands who attend Blue Mountain Center and the hundreds of thousands who read his books look to him for guidance in seeing past the fever and fret of modern society to the changeless ground of existence which supports all life and extends beyond this life.” His wife and students have committed themselves to carry forward his vision. For more information about this remarkable man and his work, contact the Blue Mountain Center; Box 256; Tomales, CA 94971.
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Fr. James Wiseman, OSB, is a monk of Saint Anselm’s Abbey in Washington, DC, and teaches theology at the Abbey School and at Catholic University. He served as Chair of the Board and President of MID, has been editor of the MID bulletin since 1998, and again serves as a member of the Board of Directors of MID.
Sri Eknath Easwaran’s twenty-six books on meditation and the classics of world mysticism have been translated into twenty-four languages in Europe, China, Japan, India, and Latin America, with over one million copies currently in print. Commentaries by him on current events and trends have appeared in the International Herald Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, and the Christian Science Monitor.