A Commemoration of Sri Swami Abhishiktananda

Swami Abhishiktananda, one of the most prominent spiritual figures of the twentieth century, arrived in India in 1948 as a Benedictine monk and spent the last twenty-five years of his life there. These years completely changed his spiritual vision and culminated in a profound awakening in July 1973. Despite his premature departure at the age of sixty-three, Swami Ji continues to inspire new generations of spiritual seekers even now after four decades. Therefore the fortieth anniversary of his Mahasamadhi became a most meaningful and auspicious opportunity to pay tribute to his pioneering work and message in the field of interreligious dialogue. From December 6 to 8, 2013, more than one hundred participants, among whom were eminent religious leaders of India, monks and nuns, and scholars belonging to different traditions, gathered in Rishikesh, at the Ajatananda Ashram [1], for a truly interreligious and intermonastic Retreat-Seminar.

This unique event was jointly organized by the Ajatananda Interreligious Trust and the Abhishiktananda Centre for Interreligious Dialogue (Delhi). It offered the participants an exceptional opportunity to discuss their views on the “The Place of Spiritual Experience in Interreligious Dialogue Today”, while spending several days living together as one community. For some of them it was an exceptional chance to share their vivid memories of Swami Ji. The convivial atmosphere of this gathering, enhanced by daily common prayers and silent meditation, shared meals and informal discussion, was actually a tremendous experience of unity beyond words.

Swami Atmananda Udasin, the convener of the Interreligious-Retreat-Seminar and Head Monk of Ajatananda Ashram as well as Director of the Abhishiktananda Centre, introduced the theme of the Seminar to the audience by focusing on the importance of spiritual experience in view of the legacy of Swami Abhishiktananda:

It was a privilege to have H.H. Sri Vivek Muni Ji as the Retreat-Seminar’s Chief Guest. A direct disciple and successor of H.H. Sri Sushil Kumar Muni Ji, one of the greatest Jain Acharyas of contemporary India and foremost figure in the field of interreligious dialogue, Sri Vivek Muni Ji left a great impression on the audience through his radiant presence and powerful words. He was extremely delighted to participate in this celebration of Swami Abhishiktananda’s life and unitive vision. In his address he underlined the importance of such qualities as ahimsa (non-violence), prema (pure love) and samanvaya (harmony) to foster cooperation between all religions of the world:

The Divine Life Society (Shivananda Ashram, Rishikesh) with whom Swami Abhishiktananda—as well as his principal disciple, Swami Ajatananda—was closely associated for almost a decade, was represented by its two spiritual heads: H.H. Swami Vimalananda, President, and H.H. Swami Padmanabhananda, General Secretary. Swami Vimalananda gave a first-hand testimony of his many meetings with Swami Abhishiktananda in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also the direct witness of the wonderful dialogue over the years between Swami Abhishiktananda and H.H. Swami Chidananda:

Swami Padmanabhananda shared his views on the nature of spiritual experience. He drew the audience’s attention to the fact that spiritual experience transcends the concepts of the mind and therefore all philosophical representations of Truth:

The Rev. Dr. Monodeep Daniel, BAC, Secretary of the Delhi Brotherhood Society, who personally knew Swami Abhishiktananda—as Swami Ji often stayed at his home in Bareilly in the 1960s—gave a very interesting testimony on the practical interreligious and intrareligious dialogue in the life of Swami Ji.

The Buddhist community was represented by monks of different traditions and schools: Ven. Dr. Tashi Samphel, Professor at the Central University of Tibetan Studies (Sarnath, Varanasi) and Director of the Songtsen Library (Dehradun), Ven. Khenpo Ngawang Woser, Professor at the Deer Park Institute (Bir, Himachal Pradesh) as well as by two groups of Venerable monks belonging to Theravada and Vajrayana (Drikung) traditions who beautifully performed contemplative chanting of the Holy Sutras at different moments of the event.

A significant contribution was made by scholars both from India and abroad among whom there were: Professor Tikam Chand Jain, Head of the Centre for Jain Studies at the Teerthanker Mahaveer University (Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh); Dr. (Mrs.) Milena Carrara, President of the Raimon Panikkar Vivarium Foundation (Tavertet, Spain); and Dr. (Mrs.) Uma Marina Vesci, a close friend of Swami Abhishiktananda, an Indologist and Historian of Religions (Delhi).

Participants of the Retreat-Seminar were especially moved by the testimony of Sri Lalit Sharma who was one of the first Indian disciples of Swami Abhishiktananda. He met Swami Ji for the first time in Dehradun (North India) in November 1966 at the young age of eighteeen and gradually developed a genuine guru-disciple relationship with him. Lalit Ji cherished a deep spiritual intimacy with Swami Ji for over almost seven years and acknowledges him as the spiritual master who changed his life. His words came directly from the heart:

Sri Swami Prem Vivekananda Udasin (Secretary, Sadhana Kendra Ashram, Dehradun, Uttarakhand) delivered the message and blessing of H.H. Sri Chandra Swami Ji Udasin who emphasized that:

The Ven. Khenpo Ngawang Woser communicated to the audience the message of H.E. Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, one of the leading present-day Tibetan Buddhist masters, who highlighted the importance of interreligious dialogue and cooperation in this age of rampant global materialism. According to him,

Among other speakers there were: Sri Swami Aruljyothi Ananda, OCD (Jeevan Jyoti Ashram, Tamil Nadu); Sri Swami Atmananda Tirtha (Samanvaya Tirtham, Kerala); Sri Darshan Singh (General Manager, Gurdwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand); Rev. Fr. Korko Moses, SJ (Dhyana Vanam Ashram, Tamil Nadu); Rev. Sister Jaya, SSA (Vardan Ashram, Uttarakhand); Sri Mansoor Abdullah (Delhi); Sri Swami Muktananda Yati (One World School of Vedanta, Kerala); Rev. Sister Paula, SRA (Nitya Chaitanya Vihara, Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh); Sri Swami Radhagiridhar (Sri Sri Radha Ma Ashram, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu); Sri Swami Tanmayananda (Sri Sri Ma Anandamayee Ashram, Dehradun, Uttarakhand); Sri Swami Anandavesh (Arya Samaj, Gurukul Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, Shukratal, Uttar Pradesh), Sri Swami Tirthananda Udasin (Rishikesh, Uttarakhand); and Dr. Maxim Demchenko (Moscow, Russia).

Beside all these touching and inspiring sharings, greetings and blessings were received from: H.H. Swami Nityananda Giri (Sri Gnanananda Niketan, Tirukoyilur, Tamil Nadu); H.H. Baba Shivarudra Balyogi (Dehradun, Uttarakhand); Ven. Geshe Lhakdor (Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh); Hazrat Inam Hasan Gudri Shah Baba V (Ajmer, Rajasthan); and Pir Ibrahim Abdurrahman Farajajé (Berkley/Istanbul).

The Interreligious Retreat-Seminar was also marked by a memorable visit of its participants to Sadhana Kendra Ashram, the residence of H.H. Sri Chandra Swami Udasin, which is located at the Himalayan foothills and on the banks of the holy Yamuna river. The trip—which took place on the first day of the event—was a rare opportunity for teachers and seekers from different traditions to sit in silence together at the feet of a realized Sage who also personally knew Swami Abhishiktananda, and who holds him in great esteem. The satsang with H.H. Sri Chandra Swami was followed by a short but memorable pilgrimage to the Sri Sri Ma Anandamayee Ashram in Dehradun where she attained Mahasamadhi in 1982. Sri Sri Ma Anandamayee was a highly realized female-sage who always emphasized in her teachings the unique essence of all religions: “I am a Hindu, I am a Muslim, I am a Christian. . . .”, as she used to say. A special reception was also organized at the Centre for Tibetan and Himalayan Studies (Songtsen Library), one of the renowned places of learning of Tibetan Buddhism in North India.

The celebration of the date of the Mahasamadhi, December 7, was opened in the early hours with a havan ceremony presided over by H.H. Swami Vimalananda Saraswati and officiated by Hindu pandits from Rishikesh who graciously invited monks of different religious traditions to participate and even chant their Scriptures. In the evening, an interreligious music concert was held and created such a profound atmosphere of unity and brotherhood that it truly became one of the highlights of the Retreat-Seminar. Several monks from neighbouring ashrams as well as many villagers took part in this marvelous event. Indeed, music is a unique sign to convey the spirit of oneness beyond concepts. For more than three hours, musicians—representing Hindu, Sufi, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian communities— performed with exceptional enthusiasm and talent bhajans, shabads, qawwalis, sutras, hymns and other religious compositions. The performance of the Sufi master Ustad Abdul Hameed Sabri was especially amazing and reached out to the “soul” of the audience.

The three-day program ended with bhandara, a festive meal offered to hundreds of monks, nuns and participants, as well as ashramites of Rishikesh and the entire village of Tapovan. All experienced the spirit of oneness irrespective of religious and cultural background, and felt the warm welcome of the organizing team—and of course, the living presence of Swami Abhishiktananda whose spiritual journey and outstanding contribution to the dialogue of unity were duly and splendidly commemorated at the event.

      *This Report authored by Dr. Maxim Demchenko was first published online in Dilatato Corde, Vol. IV, No. 2, July-December 2014 (http://www.dimmid.org), and is reproduced here with the kind permission of the General Secretary, DIMMID.

[1] Ajatananda Ashram is an interreligious monastic ashram on the Ganges, in Rishikesh (North India). The ashram is inspired by the vision of Swami Abhishktananda and his principal disciple, Swami Ajatananda (Marc Chaduc). Website: www.ajatananda.org