Judson Trapnell, PhD

This grant was given in support of Dr. Trapnell’s project to write a book on the life and thought of Henri Le Saux (Abhishiktananda), in the form of an intellectual and spiritual biography. Abhishiktananda was considered a daring pioneer in interreligious stuides due to his immersion in Hindu spirituality in India for twenty-five years while remaining committed to Jesus Christ. The thesis being explored in this book is that Abhishiktananda provides a clear example of how one may mature in one’s understanding of another religion, moving beyond initial distortions to fuller accuracy and empathy, in contrast to the limited approaches of many scholars of Hinduism and of most Christian missionaries.