THE CHURCH OF ABHISHIKTÅNANDA (HENRI LE SAUX) A Thesis Submitted to the University of Stirling for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in the Faculty of Human Sciences April 2009 Enrico Beltramini Religious Studies 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................. 6 DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT ......................................................................................................................... 7 Declaration .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Copyright ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DEDICATION ..................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Interreligious Dialogue or Intercultural Dialogue ...................................................................................................... 10 Henri Le Saux - Abhishiktånanda ................................................................................................................................ 13 The Subject of This Dissertation .................................................................................................................................. 19 Abhishiktånanda and Theology ................................................................................................................................... 25 The Content of This Work ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER ONE: AD FONTES .................................................................................................................................. 30 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 30 The Rise of the Modernity ............................................................................................................................................ 32 The Church in the Twentieth Century .......................................................................................................................... 35 2 La Nouvelle Théologie ................................................................................................................................................. 40 The “Ressourcement” ................................................................................................................................................. 43 The Influence of the Orthodox Theology ..................................................................................................................... 46 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER TWO: THE CHURCH AND VATICAN II ............................................................................................. 52 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 52 The Pre-Vatican II Church .......................................................................................................................................... 53 The Church as an Institution ....................................................................................................................................... 56 Ecclesiology and Vatican II ......................................................................................................................................... 60 Church as Koinonia ..................................................................................................................................................... 64 Church as a Sacrament and Servant ........................................................................................................................... 67 Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue ..................................................................................................................... 70 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER THREE: A CHRISTIAN MONK IN INDIA ........................................................................................... 75 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 75 Life in France (1910-1948) ......................................................................................................................................... 76 Life in India (1948-1957) ............................................................................................................................................ 82 Sri Ramaˆa and Arunåchala ........................................................................................................................................ 83 Sri Gnånånanda and Mauna Mandir .......................................................................................................................... 87 Shantivanam ................................................................................................................................................................ 88 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 94 CHAPER FOUR: BETWEEN THE HIMALAYAS AND THE CHURCH ............................................................... 96 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 96 Life in India (1958-1968) ............................................................................................................................................ 97 A life of Solitude .......................................................................................................................................................... 98 A Life in Communion ................................................................................................................................................. 102 Abhishiktånanda and the Church .............................................................................................................................. 106 Life in India (1969-1973) .......................................................................................................................................... 110 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 115 CHAPTER FIVE: THE CONTEMPLATIVE SOUL OF THE CHURCH ............................................................... 116 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 116 The Monastic Vocation .............................................................................................................................................. 117 The Legacy of the Ashram ......................................................................................................................................... 120 A Desert Father ......................................................................................................................................................... 125 The Church and Samnyåsa ........................................................................................................................................ 129 The Unknown Christ of Hinduism ............................................................................................................................. 133 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................. 137 CHAPTER SIX: THE CHURCH OF ABHISHIKTÅNANDA ................................................................................ 139 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 139 The Monastic Tradition and Nouvelle Théologie .....................................................................................................