One of today's foremost mystics introduces readers to the thought of one of the most important spiritual teachers of the past century.
Bede Griffiths—English Benedictine monk and lifelong friend of C.S. Lewis, who was his tutor at Oxford—wrote in 1955 to a friend: "I'm going out to India to seek the other half of my soul." There, he explored the intersection of Hinduism and Christianity and was a driving force behind the growth of interspiritual awareness so common today, yet almost unheard of a half-century ago.
Wayne Teasdale, a longtime personal friend and student of Griffiths, provides readers with an intriguing view into the thoughts, beliefs and life of this champion of interreligious acceptance and harmony. This volume is the first in-depth study of Bede Griffiths' contemplative experience and thought.
Fully exploring the antecedents and development of Griffiths' theory that the Christian mystery can be expressed through the worldview of Hinduism, Bede Griffiths: An Introduction to His Interspiritual Thought is a vital starting point for any spiritual seeker who wants to understand the shared territories of these two great faiths.
Wayne Teasdale was a lay monk and best-selling author of The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions; Bede Griffiths: An Introduction to His Interspiritual Thought and A Monk in the World. As a member of the Bede Griffiths International Trust, Teasdale was an adjunct professor at DePaul University, Columbia College, and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Wayne Teasdale was coeditor of Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul: 30 Stories of Interspiritual Discovery.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Bede Griffiths viiPreface xiii
Part One: Background to a Christian Vedanta1. Bede's Quest for the Absolute 32. The Historical Context as Sannyasic Monasticism 173. Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Contemplative Theology 43
Part Two: The Possibility of a Christian Vedanta4. Bede's Theological Scheme, Myth, and the Cosmic Revelation 735. Christian Vedanta: Advaita, Saccidananda, and the Trinity 936. Christology, Tantrism, Sannyasa, and the Future of the Church 1367. Conclusion and Implications 177