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

Shortly after graduation Griffiths, with fellow Oxford alumni Martyn Skinner and Hugh Waterman, settled in a cottage in the Cotswolds and began what they called an "experiment in common living".

He made his solemn profession in 1937 (a year before the death of his mother in a car accident) and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1940.

[3] During Griffiths' time at Farnborough, he had come to know Father Benedict Alapatt, a European-born monk of Indian descent who was greatly interested in establishing a monastery in his homeland.

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

"[citation needed] After arriving and visiting some spiritual centres in the country, they settled in Kengeri in Bangalore with the goal of building a monastery there.

[4] Griffiths then joined with a Belgian monk, Father Francis Acharya, OCSO, to establish Kristiya Sanyasa Samaj, Kurisumala Ashram ("Mountain of the Cross"), a Syriac Rite monastery of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Kerala.

He also visited the United States during the period, giving a number of talks about East–West dialogue and being interviewed by CBS television.

Later, in 1968, Griffiths moved to the Saccidananda Ashram (also known as Shantivanam; Tamil for "forest of peace") in Tamil Nadu, South India,[5] which had been founded in 1950 by the French Benedictine monk Abhishiktananda (Dom Henri Le Saux, OSB), from the Abbey of Kergonan, along with another Frenchman, the Abbé Jules Monchanin.

During this period, Griffiths desired to reconnect himself with the Benedictine order and sought a monastic congregation which would accept him in the way of life he had developed over the decades.

The following year, he began a period of extensive travel, making annual visits to the United States, then later to Europe, where he met the Dalai Lama.

He 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.