26 Facts About Bede Griffiths

Bede Griffiths OSB Cam, born Alan Richard Griffiths and known by the end of his life as Swami Dayananda, was a British Catholic priest and Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in South India and became a noted missionary.

Bede Griffiths's mother took the children and established residence in a smaller home which she maintained, though she had to find work to support herself and the children.

At age 12, Bede Griffiths was sent to Christ's Hospital, a private charity school for children from families of modest means.

Bede Griffiths excelled in his studies and earned a scholarship to the University of Oxford where, in 1925, he began his studies in English literature and philosophy at Magdalen College.

Bede Griffiths graduated from Oxford in 1929 with a degree in journalism.

Bede Griffiths noted a strong connection between the teachings of scripture and the rhythm of the nature around them.

Bede Griffiths was advised to gain some experience in the slums of London.

In November 1931, Bede Griffiths went to stay at the Benedictine monastery of Prinknash Abbey where he was impressed by the life.

Bede Griffiths was received by the abbey as a postulant a month after his reception into the Roman Catholic Church.

Bede Griffiths made his solemn profession in 1937 and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1940.

Bede Griffiths was chosen to be the obedientiary prior for the monastery at Farnborough in Hampshire.

Bede Griffiths led that house for four years, but was unable to generate sufficient financial support to keep the community going.

Bede Griffiths had already been introduced to Eastern thought, yoga and the Vedas and took interest in this proposed project.

The abbot at first refused permission, but later changed his mind and authorised Bede Griffiths to go to India with the Indian member of the community.

That project was eventually unsuccessful as Bede Griffiths left the location in 1958, saying that he found it "too Western".

Bede Griffiths then joined with a Belgian monk, Father Francis Acharya, OCSO, to establish Kristiya Sanyasa Samaj, Kurisumala Ashram, a Syriac Rite monastery of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Kerala.

At that point, Bede Griffiths took the Sanskrit name "Dayananda".

Later, in 1968, Bede Griffiths moved to the Saccidananda Ashram in Tamil Nadu, South India, which had been founded in 1950 by the French Benedictine monk Abhishiktananda, from the Abbey of Kergonan, along with another Frenchman, the Abbe Jules Monchanin.

Bede Griffiths resumed his studies of Indian thought, trying to relate it to Christian theology.

Bede Griffiths was welcomed by the Camaldolese monks, and he and the ashram became a part of their congregation.

Bede Griffiths was a strict vegetarian who followed a sattvic diet of fruit, vegetables and dairy products.

In January 1990, Bede Griffiths suffered a stroke in his room at the ashram.

Bede Griffiths arrived back at the ashram in October 1992, where an Australian film crew were awaiting him to make a documentary about his life, which was released as A Human Search.

Three days after the completion of filming, on his 86th birthday, Bede Griffiths had a major stroke.

Bede Griffiths died at Shantivanam on 13 May 1993, aged 86.

The archives of the Bede Griffiths Trust are located at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.