Chronology
of Swami Abhishiktananda's Life
On the summit of Arunachala (circa 1952)
“The place of birth and the changing circumstances of life are really of little importance to him who has chosen—or rather, has been granted—to exist in this world as no more than a sign, a linga, of the Lord, while his own self, his ‘I’, all that made him an individual in men’s eyes, has been swallowed up for good in the overwhelming experience of Him who alone IS.”
The Secret of Arunachala, Delhi (ISPCK), 1997, p. 117.
“There is only one Birth, at the very heart of Being, the birth in which Being is revealed to itself, in that 'place' beyond all place, from which all comes and to which all returns… There is but one Source.”
The Mountain of the Lord: Pilgrimage to Gangotri, Delhi (ISPCK), 1990, p.27.
France (1910 – 1948)
1910 August 30, born as Henri Le Saux in Saint-Briac, Brittany.
1921 Entered Minor Seminary of Châteaugiron.
1925 Entered Major Seminary at Rennes.
1929 October 15, entered the Benedictine Abbey of Kergonan.
1930 May 13, began his first year as a Benedictine novice.
1934 First heard the call of India.
1935 Solemn profession (May 30) and priestly ordination (December 21).
1939 Called up for military service at the outbreak of World War II.
1940 Captured by German troops (July), escaped and returned to the monastery.
1944 Death of his mother Louise Le Saux (Sonnerfaud).
1947 First correspondence with Bishop Mendonça (Tiruchirappalli) and Fr. Jules Monchanin.
1948
July 26, left France for India.
August 15, disembarked in Colombo (Sri Lanka).
August 17, joined Fr. Jules Monchanin in Kulittalai, Tamil Nadu, India.
India (1948 – 1973)
1949
January 24, visit to Sri Ramana Ashram (Tiruvannamalai) and first darshan of Sri Ramana Maharshi.
August, second darshan of Sri Ramana Maharshi.
1950 March 21, along with Jules Monchanin inaugurated Shantivanam Ashram at Kulittalai.
1951 October 11, dedicated the Shantivanam shrine and released the Ashram's Constitution entitled An Indian Benedictine Ashram.
1952
March 29, settled in the cave of Vanatti (Arunachala).
May 19 – August 10, three weeks in silence at the cave of Vanatti,
followed by a retreat at Arutpal Tirtham (cave) at the end of July.
1953 March, 3 – 31, retreat at Arutpal Tirtham (cave); meetings with Sri Harilal W.L. Poonja and Sundarammal; visit to the Patala Linga at Annamalaiyar Temple (Tiruvannamalai).
1954
April 20–27, at Skanda Ashram (Arunachala).
May 13 – July 12, in Tiruvannamalai (since May 26 in Sadei Sami cave).
November, death of his father Alfred Le Saux.
1955
Retreats at Arunachala (January, July and early December); trip to Elephanta with Fr. Francis Mahieu (July); meetings with Dr. Dinshaw Mehta (July and August).
December, 12–15, first meeting with his future guru Sri Gnanananda Giri (with Harold Rose).
1956
January 25, visited the Samadhi of Sadashiva Brahmendra (with J. Monchanin).
February 26, stayed at Tirukoyilur; February 29 – March 15, with Sri Gnanananda Giri.
November 5 – December 8, silent retreat of thirty-two days at the Mauna Mandir, Kumbakonam.
1957
March – September, tour around North India; meetings with Sri H.W.L. Poonja and Dr. Mehta.
October 10, death of Fr. Jules Monchanin.
December, theological conference at Shantivanam (with Fr. Dominique Van Rolleghem, Fr. Bede Griffiths, Dr. Raimon Panikkar).
1958
February, short stay at Arunachala.
December, the second theological conference at Shantivanam.
1959 Longer trips to the North and first pilgrimage to the Himalayas; first visit to Jyotiniketan Ashram (Bareilly) and meeting with Rev. Murray Rogers.
1960 June 18, obtained Indian citizenship.
1961
March 13, acquired a plot of land for his hermitage (kutiya) in Gyansu (Uttarkashi).
April, 16–30, at Almora; retreat-seminar organized together with Dr. Cuttat (Swiss Ambassador to India).
1962
April 1–7, the second "Cuttat Meeting" in Rajpur.
May – June, completed construction of his kutiya in Gyansu.
1963 Longer stays in the kutiya in Gyansu; first pilgrimage to Gangotri (May); retreat in Nagpur (December).
1965 First meeting with Sri Swami Chidananda Saraswati, Shivananda Ashram, Rishikesh.
1966 November, arrival of Lalit Sharma, an 18 years old Hindu disciple.
1968 August, formally relinquished his position at Shantivanam to Bede Griffiths and left for Gyansu where remained till March 1969.
1969 First correspondence with Marc Chaduc (the future Swami Ajatananda Saraswati).
1970 Stayed with young disciples, Ramesh Shrivastava and Lalit Sharma, in Gyansu (June and December).
1971
January – February, visits to Jyotiniketan.
March, stayed in Gyansu with Rev. Murray Rogers.
October 21, first meeting with Marc Chaduc, newly arrived to India (Delhi).
October – November, trips to Haridwar, Rishikesh and Phulchatti with Marc.
1972
January – February, stays in Delhi with Ramesh.
May 1–20, at Phulchatti Ashram with Marc; witnessed the first nirvikalpa samadhi experience of Marc (May 10, Vigil of the Ascension).
May 20–21, the "Upadesha of Fire" experience at Shivananda Ashram (Rishikesh) on the Pentecost Night.
May 22–26, the first "School of Prayer" in Rajpur.
July, stayed with Marc in Rajpur.
September 20 – December 2, intense spiritual study with Marc, Ajit and other friends in Rajpur.
1973
February 19–27, meeting with Mrs. Anne-Marie Stokes and trip to Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun.
March 12–26, in Rishikesh with Marc and Mrs. Stokes.
April, last stay in the Gyansu hermitage; drafted an essay on sannyasa and his views on the ecumenical diksha.
May 11–20, in Rajpur, Rishikesh and Phulchatti with Marc.
May 21–25, the second "School of Prayer" in Rajpur.
June 4–10, trip to Rishikesh and Haridwar with Marc.
June 27–30, sannyasa-diksha of Marc (who became Swami Ajatananda Saraswati) jointly conducted by Swami Abhishiktananda (jnana guru) and Swami Chidananda Saraswati (diksha guru).
July 10–14, meeting with Marc at Kaudyala and three days of intense spiritual experience at the Shiva temple of Ranagal.
July 14, heart attack and final awakening (Atma sakshatkara) in Rishikesh.
August 21, arrived at Roberts Nursing Home, Indore.
December 7, Mahasamadhi in Indore.