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Return to the Center: The Discovery of India
Bede Griffiths (1907-1993) was a British-born Benedictine monk who moved to India in 1955, adopted the appearance of a Hindu sanyasi (one whose whole life is focused on the search for God), adapted monastic life to Indian traditions, and became one of the great pioneers of East-West dialogue. In Return to the Center he offers the fruits of a lifetime spent in prayer and meditation. Griffiths believes that modern humans have lost touch with the center of their own life, and therefore with life itself. This center is “the place of meeting where the different religious traditions of the world have their source, and the ultimately meaning of human existence is to be found. . . . For a Christian this is manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.� Griffiths insists that we must find our way back to that center, and he illuminates the way for us by looking at the truths of Hinduism and Buddhism through a Christian lens. This edition is augmented by an additional chapter that narrates his move from England to India, describing what he was seeking and what he found.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
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Bede Griffiths
60Ìýbooks30ÌýfollowersBede Griffiths (1906-1993), born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known as Swami Dayananda (Bliss of Compassion), was a British-born Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in South India. He was born at Walton-on-Thames, England and studied literature at Magdalen College, Oxford under professor and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis, who became a lifelong friend. Griffiths recounts the story of his conversion in 1931 to Roman Catholicism while a student at Oxford in his autobiography The Golden String.
Although he remained a Catholic monk he adopted the trappings of Hindu monastic life and entered into dialogue with Hinduism.
Griffiths was a proponent of integral thought, which attempts to harmonize scientific and spiritual world views. In a 1983 interview he stated,
"We're now being challenged to create a theology which would use the findings of modern science and eastern mysticism which, as you know, coincide so much, and to evolve from that a new theology which would be much more adequate."
Although he remained a Catholic monk he adopted the trappings of Hindu monastic life and entered into dialogue with Hinduism.
Griffiths was a proponent of integral thought, which attempts to harmonize scientific and spiritual world views. In a 1983 interview he stated,
"We're now being challenged to create a theology which would use the findings of modern science and eastern mysticism which, as you know, coincide so much, and to evolve from that a new theology which would be much more adequate."
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