New lights on yoga and hesychasm

This article by Antoine Zigmund-Cerbu, a Romanian-born orientalist who died in 1964, offers an overview of research conducted in Western Europe between 1950 and 1960 on the origins of hesychasm and its relationship with Indian yoga. Proceeding through critical reviews of articles and works published by byzantinologists, indologists, and theologians, the author examines the convergences and divergences between the two traditions: postures, breathing techniques, control of mental flow, and the symbolism of the heart. He provides important philological clarifications, particularly on the notion of "monological" prayer in John Climacus and on the dating of the hesychast breathing technique. The article also emphasizes the need to adapt certain hesychast practices beyond the monastic framework in order to make them accessible to laypeople, while cautioning against too hasty an assimilation with Indian disciplines or Western psychotherapeutic methods such as autogenic training.