Orbis Books has produced another fine volume in its Essential Writings series by making available the key texts of Swami Abhishiktananda, also known as Father Henri le Saux OSB (1910–73).

Shirley du Boulay, who selected and edited Abhishiktanada’s writings, is to be commended for presenting to the greater world this monk who was born in the West and flourished in the East. She has written biographies of two such monastic figures—Bede Griffiths and Abhishiktananda—both of which I have read and enjoyed. The later, not as well known in the West as the former, will certainly become more known because of her work.

After reading The Cave of the Heart, du Boulay’s biography of Abhishiktananda, I found myself intrigued by him. Although her biography was quite complete in its historical scope, I found that I wanted to read more of what Abhishiktananda himself had to say. Fortunately, it was precisely at that time that this Essential Writings book arrived at my door.

For the reader who is unfamiliar with the person of Abhishiktananda, du Boulay kindly offers a twenty-page summary of her biography. She divides Abhishiktananda’s essential writings into nine categories: Benedictine Monk, Advaita, East West, Immersion into Hinduism, The Life of a Hermit, Christianity, God, Prayer, and Awakening. The categories contain excerpts both from Abhishiktananda’s personal letters and his publications, small jewels of his wisdom and spiritual insight taken from his earliest works and continuing to the final years of his life. At the beginning of each category, du Boulay offers the reader a brief introduction to the given topic.

When I first began reading this book, I asked myself, “Am I going to get a good idea of what Abhishiktananda is all about?” After reading the Essential Writings, I would have to say, “No, not as much as I would have liked.” Indeed, du Boulay offers many of Abhishiktananda’s core ideas, yet I was left hungry for more. Perhaps one of the main purposes of an Essential Writings book is to provide the reader with spiritual appetizers. The real problem with appetizers, however, is that no one is truly satisfied by them; we are satisfied rather by feasts.

In her biography du Boulay made much of Abhishiktananda’s struggle with traditional Catholicism and his authentic experience of the very different world of Hinduism. I read the Essential Writings hoping to hear and learn much more about this tension. I wanted to know exactly why Abhishiktananda struggled so much. Unfortunately, this book was not able to help. I got to taste Abhishiktananda’s writings, but I was left with the need to know more.

One of the pitfalls of presenting an Essential Writings book is that, on any given topic, such as prayer, it is impossible to get a good sense of how the author’s thought evolved. In other words, if two texts on a given topic that were written twenty years apart are placed next to each other, how is the reader to come to understand how Abhishiktananda’s ideas changed over the years he lived in India? I think each one of us could admit that, after any given span of life, let alone twenty years, we are changed people. Change is slow, of course, but there is change.

The importance of Abhishiktananda is that he was indeed a spiritual pioneer! He was at the vanguard of the Second Vatican Council’s desire for the church to be in dialogue with people of other faith traditions. Ultimately, du Boulay’s book, through no fault of her own, lacks context. The thematic arrangement is both enjoyable and helpful, but perhaps this book would have been even more helpful if the editor had given more attention to the evolution of Abhishiktananda’s thought. It could be that the specified length of the book made this impossible. Another option would have been to focus on fewer than nine categories and include within each category a broader pallet of Abhishiktananda’s writings.

In any case, this book is an important resource for the many people unfamiliar with this holy person. In an age of intolerance and religious fundamentalism, it is so important to foster greater peace among peoples and cultures and to recognize bridge builders. Interreligious dialogue, so often limited to mere theological and/or social exchanges, rarely goes into the deep waters of religious experience. Abhishiktananda posits, “Anyone who disdainfully rejects a priori the experience of the depths to which the Vedantic tradition bears witness only proves thereby the meanness of his spirit and the shallowness of his own spiritual experience.”

I was first introduced to Abhishiktananda by a hermit living on our monastery grounds. That hermit had extensive experience with Abhishiktananda, Bede Griffiths, and Osage Monastery (which was inspired by Griffiths’ insistence on the necessity of dialogue between East and West and is, unfortunately, to close in 2008). This hermit recommended Abhishiktananda as a monk who was completely immersed in the experience of India and the Hindu monastic model. Abhishiktananda was to say of himself, “Now I am a real Hindu hermit!” while at the same time insisting that he was a Christian.
After reading the Essential Writings, I wanted to read more of his complete works, for his books show him to be a mature theologian and a profound thinker. In truth, if my hermit friend had not loaned me a number of Abhishiktananda’s complete books, it would have been very difficult to get any of his complete works in English! I searched a number of online bookstores and found that it is nearly impossible to acquire his primary texts at an affordable price. They are worth having, though, if one enjoys feasts rather than appetizers. Nevertheless, du Boulay’s Essential Writing book is well worth the read, for the wisdom of Abhishiktananda is both challenging and unforgettable.