Beyond the experience of duality

Talks and Articles

This page contains transcripts of talks and articles by Fr Bede

Advent and the Isa Upanishad

Photo courtesy of Nigelle de Visme (Sita Devi) December 17th is the birthdate of Father Bede and I started writing this piece with that in mind, growing out of what I was trying to articulate for this month’s Zoom Ashram theme, on a link between Advent and the purnamadah purnamidam Shanti mantra

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Meath Conlan and Fr Bede

      Advent 2024 This is a crowd funding appeal for the publication of Meath’s book on Fr Bede. The post contains some extracts from the book Hi dear Sangha members and friends!  This is Rev Meath Conlan, living quietly in retirement in Armadale, Western Australia. I am now

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Go Beyond

  ‘Go Beyond’: Fr Bede and the Ancient Wisdom  Notes on a visit to Shantivanam Ashram, India by Harry Underhill Fr. Bede Griffiths, although 84 years old and in poor health, still has the charismatic vision and vigour of the prophet. With his gentle face and deep set eyes of

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The Season of Advent

A sign of Hope in traditions that are practiced across diversity of cultures and religions   Advent is a season that carries with it a special mix of excitement and introspection than any other time of the year. Imagine a family getting together around the warm glow of an Advent

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The Season of Advent

Some may have difficulty with the word ‘God’. It can be substituted with words such as Divinity, Infinite Self, Unity, Fullness, Eternity, Peace, Freedom, Compassion, Love, Source, Foundation etc: or whatever word a person feels comfortable with. I used the word ‘Eternity’ for God.     We are in the season

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A New Song of Creation

 by John Martin Sahajananda This new book by Br Martin is a courageous attempt to show the convergence of Christian and Vedic teachings. He sets out to show that human spirituality is not confined by religious boundaries, but is universal and eternal. Br Martin sets out the Song as a

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Fr Bede’s Stroke

 Last January I had this experience that medically they call a stroke, and it was a death of the mind, you see. Suddenly a terrific force hit me and everything went. I thought I was going to die.. which is very important! I was going to die and I prepared

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The Adventure of Faith

Bede Griffiths I entered Magdalen College, Oxford, as an undergraduate in October 1925 just after C. S. Lewis entered as a fellow and tutor in English literature. For the first two years I had no contact with him, as I was reading classics, but in my third year I decided

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Arrival in India

April 17th 1955 (Archbishops House, Bangalore, India) My Dear Micheline & Mary Here I am at Bangalore at last after all these years of waiting.  We arrived this morning at 6.30 a.m.  I think that Fr Benedict told you that before we left England we had a telegram from the Archbishop saying that

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Arrival in Scotland

Pluscarden Priory January 31st 1952 My Dear Dorothy, This is to wish you very many happy returns of your birthday and to assure you of my special prayers for you on Sunday.  I had hoped that we might have spent it together, but the Lord is apparently determined that we shall not

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Fr Bede on our capacity for God

I think that I can best answer your questions by saying that every human being is born with a capacity for God.  As a result of sin this capacity is often obscured or distorted or totally buried, but it always remains – it is the ‘image of God’ in each of

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The Word of The Cross

In this reading [1 Cor 1:17-31], St. Paul contrasts the Gospel with the mentality both of “the Jews and the Greeks.” The Jews demanded signs of divine power, and in the Gospel from time to time Jews would demand such a sign from Jesus. It was traditional in Israel that

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