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A Monk of the West, Christianity and the Doctrine of NonDualism translated by Alvin Moore, Jr. and Marie M. Hansen (Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Perennis, 2004). Pp. 136.
The advance of Hindu-Christian dialogue, in comparison to many other interfaith discussions, has been noticeably unremarkable throughout much of the last century. Many have attributed this measured pace to the resilience of unyielding doctrinal interpretations that emphasize the incompatibilities of these two perspectives. However, a few 20th century Christian scholars, the likes of Henri Le Saux, Bede Griffiths, Jacques Dupuis, Sister Sara Grant and Wayne Teasdale, have largely ignored these interpretations and immersed themselves fully into the philosophy and practice of both Christianity and Hinduism, only to discover a deep resonance and kinship between the two. The result of their work has been to periodically infuse these interfaith discussions with renewed vitality and enthusiasm. More recently, a newly translated work of 'Elias the Monk' - a Cistercian monk whose civilian name was Alphonse Levée - offers a bold and erudite addition to this assemblage of work and experience. Published originally in French in 1982, under the simple authorship of "A Monk of the West", Christianity and the Doctrine...