Introducing Bede Griffiths: Dialogue with Hinduism in Light of Vatican II

Abstract

Bede Griffiths (1906-1993) was an English Benedictine monk who was a pioneer in Christian-Hindu dialogue in the second half of the 20th century.  This essay provides an introduction to life and work by concentrating on his attempts to harmonize the spiritual tradition of the East and West within his own person and within the Church.  For Bede the interior life of contemplation provided the basis for community within the church and for interreligious dialogue.  Bede’s concern for the disclosure of God within the heart corresponded with the description of the conscience as the innermost sanctuary of God in every person at Vatican II.  The revelation of God at the core of every person moves in harmony with the disclosure of God in the external universe.  This availability of God to each individual provides the basis for comprehending the outworking of God’s universal will for the salvation of all people.