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Griffiths Bede Cyprian Consiglio

Return to the Center

Griffiths Bede,  Cyprian Consiglio

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English
Orbis Books (USA)
15 May 2024
Interfaith relations
RETURN TO THE CENTER

The Discovery of India

Bede Griffiths

Introduction by Cyprian Consiglio, O.S.B. Cam

A new edition of a classic work of spiritual discovery.

A new edition of a classic work of spiritual discovery.

“I sit here on the veranda of my cell, watching the sun set behind the trees, and recall the day, nearly fifty years ago, when I watched the same suns setting over the playing-fields at school. My cell is a thatched hut surrounded by trees. I can listen to the birds singing as I did then, and watch the trees making dark patterns against the sky as the light fades, but I have travelled a long way both in space and time since then. . . .”

Bede Griffiths (1907-1993), a British-born Benedictine monk, moved to India in 1955, adopted the appearance of a Hindu sannyasi—one whose whole life is focused on the search for God—and became one of the great pioneers of East-West dialogue.

In Return to the Center Griffiths offers the fruits of a lifetime spent in prayer and meditation. He 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 ultimate meaning of human existence is to be found. . . . For a Christian this is manifested in the person of Jesus Christ.” Griffiths illuminates the way for us each to find our own way back to the center by looking at the truths of Hinduism and Buddhism through a Christian lens. In these short reflections he reflects “on what India has done to me, on how my mind has developed, on the changes which have taken place in my way of life and in the depths of my soul.”

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. In addition, a lengthy introduction by Cyprian Consiglio, former prior of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, offers a biographical profile of Griffiths and assesses his significance as a “Christocentric perrenialist.”
By:  
Introduction by:  
Imprint:   Orbis Books (USA)
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 210mm,  Width: 137mm,  Spine: 13mm
Weight:   544g
ISBN:   9781626985636
ISBN 10:   1626985634
Pages:   224
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Book
Publisher's Status:   Active
Contents Introduction: A Christocentric Perennialist by Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Part I The Marriage of East and West 1. The Discovery of India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Part II Return to the Center 1. A Sannyasi in India. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 2. The Sacred Mystery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 3. The Revelation of the Mystery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 4. Who Am I?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 5. The One and the Many. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 6. Sin and Redemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 7. The Cosmic Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 8. The Mystery of Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 9. The Ultimate Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 10. The One Spirit in All Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 11. Myth and Reality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 12. Krishna and Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 13. The Buddha and Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 14. Death and Resurrection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 15. The Eternal Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 16. The Christian Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 17. The Mystery of Nirvana and Brahman . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 18. The Mystery of the Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 19. Yoga, the Way of Union. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

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.

Reviews for Return to the Center

"""The story of the conquest of Canaan under Joshua was weaponized by western Christian empires to colonize North America, South Africa, and Australia. The same story is being used today by Christian and Jewish Zionists [to] occupy Palestinian land and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people. . . . This book is an important read for anyone who is looking for a fresh theological reflection on the Book of Joshua and a justice-oriented praxis for the Christian church today.""--Rev Dr. Mitri Raheb, founder and president, Dar al-Kalima University, Bethlehem, Palestine"


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