Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux): Christian Nondualism and Hindu Advaita

Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux) was a French Benedictine monk who went to India to establish a true Indian Christian monasticism. Together with Jules Monchanin, he founded the Christian ashram Shantivanam. Abhishiktananda tried to emulate the advaitic (nondual) experience of the Hindu sage Ramana Maharshi. Abhishiktananda is inconsistent in how he interprets his experience. This reflects inconsistencies in Ramana’s own interpretation of advaita. Ramana was not the traditional advaitin that Abhishiktananda believed him to be. He relied on many non-traditional sources, including yoga, tantra, neo-Hinduism, theosophy and even Christianity. Furthermore, the story of Ramana's enlightenment is not as simple as Abhishiktananda assumed. This book explores Abhishiktananda's Hindu/Christian experience and how it changed his Christian beliefs. Using comparative philosophy, this book also analyzes what nondual experience means for our perception, our thinking, our ethics, our experience of reality, and our relation to God.