The light on the similarities and differences between Christian prayer and tantric meditation: the Hesychast controversy

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The light on the similarities and differences between Christian prayer and tantric meditation:
the Hesychast controversy
Octavia Mihalcea
Motto: Psalm 36:9 “in your light we see light”.
Introduction
Firstly, this paper is presenting from a historical and personal perspective the Christian Hesychast
controversy and the light it brings on the ascetic meditation. I have personal experience, as yoga
teacher, with ascetic celibacy, Brahmacharya (Devanagari:" ” , Bengali: " ”চ ) and ascetic
tantric meditation. Therefore, an inter-religious comparison is made between the Hesychasm (Greek:
“Ησυχασμός”) and the tantric yoga meditation, based on their similarities.
The Hesychast controversy is important due to the soteriological implication for Christianity. The
Hesichastic prayer is not the only method of theosis, but rather is used alongside deification enabled by
Eucharist and by helping the poor and the ones in need. Nevertheless, the Hesychasm method of prayer
is making visible that only deification in the light of God can bring salvation for (Ha)- Adam.
Secondly, this paper is focusing on the Palamist distinction between essence of God and divine
energies, while emphasizing the personal character of deification defended by Palamas. The last but not
the least, there are presented the historical consequences of the Hesychast controversy.
Chapter 1 The Hesychast Controversy and its historical conditions
1.1. The historical conditions that influenced the Hesychast Controversy
The historical conditions were characterized by instability and chaos created by the Ottoman
invasion. The Hesychasm emerged based on an older Orthodox tradition in order to preserve the
spiritual identity of the Christians. The Hesychast Controversy is rather rooted “in the general renewal
of the late thirteenth century Byzantine Church rather than in monasticism exclusively”(Papadakis &
Meyendorff, 1994, pg. 279). The Ottomans brought a different religion to the Byzantium. The
challenges of the Byzantine Empire determined St. Gregory Palamas to defend the defining aspects of
Orthodox Christianity, in order to define its distinctiveness as compared to other religious.
The Hesychast Controversy is as well an integral part of the schism between East and West due to
doctrinal differences, as the Filioque debate. Both the Hesychast controversy and the Filioque debate
were based on “two opposing systems of thought, the essentialist and the personalist approach to
trinitarian theology” (Papadakis & Meyendorff, 1994, pg. 287). It is the personal aspect of the Holly
Trinity, which inspired the work of Palamas.
1.2. What was at the heart of the Hesychast Controversy?
The Hesychast controversy marks a theological development on the soteriological consequences of
the Incarnation. At the heart of the Hesychast Controversy was the conflict between humanists and
theologians in Byzantium. The theological basis of the Hesychast Controversy was the distinction
made by St. Palamas between God’s essence and energies. The hesychast way of prayer was the visible
side, the spiritual practice on which this distinction was based. The prayer was having a redemptive
character based on the repetition of the following words: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me (a sinner). "

St. Palamas considered these divine energies to be uncreated, and such not an emanation of energy
from God, but rather God Itself. As such, God is present in all His creation, manifested through
uncreated energies.
The spiritual practices of hesychasts has traditionally focused on reciting the Jesus prayer together with
physical practices. The humanists attacked the notion that physical practices could open the door to
perception of the uncreated light. Such, the humanists’ approach deprived (Ha)- Adam of participation
in divine life.
St. Palamas considered that if the participation of (Ha)- Adam in divine life was not possible, there is
no reason for Christ’s Incarnation. “The triadic God revealed temporally by the Incarnation (the
historical experience of the personal God)” (Russell, 2019, pg. 223) made possible our salvation
through forgiveness of our sins. However, according to Palamas the divine essence of God remains
beyond our participation (even for the Saints), in order to preserve the distinction between the God, as
Creator and the ones being created by God.
Chapter 2 Inter-religious comparative analysis of the Hesychasm
2.1 The two different approaches in the Hesychast controversy
The two different approaches were from St. Palamas and the humanists’ approach, led by Barlaam.
Palamas made the distinction of what God is in essence and what God is as energy towards His
creation. The approach of Gregory Palamas was emphasizing not the individualism, but rather the
personal communion with the Holly Spirit. This personal communion (Palamas et al., 1988,
pg.46) is seen as: “the hypostatic or personal reality of the Spirit in that he possesses energies and
powers, although he does so in conjunction with the Father and the Son”.
For Palamas the knowledge of divine is possible by the grace of God. As previously mentioned, in his
approach St. Gregory Palamas emphasized the personal aspect of the divine energies that belong to the
essence of God, the “energies are God, personally present, not just a created grace in us” (Palamas et
al., 1982, pg. 124). Therefore, the divine light which shine within us is uncreated and can be made
visible through prayer. An example is given by the light on the Mt. Tabor during the Christ’s prayer to
God.
According to Barlaam “God can only be known indirectly, by the intellectual contemplation of His
works in nature” (Palamas et al., 1982, pg. 154). Barlaam was influenced by the Western doctrine of
knowledge created by intellect (mind, nous- Greek “νοῦς”). In response to this St. Palamas pointed out
that if God knowledge would be possible only through created grace, the personal aspect of the union
with God would be lost: “the direct and personal union of God and man becomes impossible”(Palamas
et al., 1982, pg.144).
For St. Palamas the divine uncreated light of God was possible to be seen “with the (transformed) eyes
of the body, Barlaam concludes that what can be perceived by the senses must be a sensible (and
therefore created) reality.” (Palamas et al., 1982, pg. 153). According to St. Palamas this light can be
perceived with the senses, however is uncreated and opening a transcendent path: “this mysterious
light, inaccessible, immaterial, uncreated, deifying, eternal...is at once accessible to sense perception
and yet transcends it” (Palamas et al., 1982, pg. 80).
The humanistic approach was based on the assumption that the knowledge of God, as a personal
experience through the senses or bodily exercises was impossible. According to St. Palamas perceiving
divine Presence” is not the simple result of "natural" efforts, whether intellectual, or ascetical, but
rather is the gift of personal divine communion, or deification (theōsis) that transcends all creatures”
(Palamas et al., 1988, pg.17).
Barlaam considered the distinction between God’s essence and energies to be rather an unnecessary

complexity. Nevertheless, the personal existentialist approach of St. Palamas is rather based on divine
'simplicity', because is not referring to different entities (energy and essences), but rather to “the
personal Divine Being which is revealed both in essence and in free acts—or energies—of
God” (Palamas et al., 1982, pg. Xiii).
2.2 What these approaches have in common and/or how they differ from tantric meditation?
Ascetic tantric meditation is based on an inner contemplative practice leading to bliss and deification.
The focus of the comparative analysis between the Hesychast inner prayer and the tantric ascetic
meditation is on their soteriological implications. The approach of Tantra yoga’s contemplation
technique is seen as well as a mean to achieve deification.
Tantra yoga is using bodily techniques as support for the inner practice of contemplation meant to
attain Samadhi or eternal bliss. For the yoga practitioner, “the Inner Fire, developed in the ...Navel ...by
means of breath-control ... extracting …from the air and storing it in the Navel centre, (is) to be
released as Blissfulness” (Douglas, 1971, pg. 73).
St. Palamas defended as well the role of the human body in the meditative prayer, while this physical
technique was accompanying the Hesychast to enable the vision of the uncreated light. This
is comparable with ascetic meditation of tantra yoga. However, the vision of the light in Hesychasm is
not a mechanical way of obtaining grace through using the intellect (nous) in the form of visualizations,
but rather a gift from God for the ones praying with pure heart: “The principle of spiritual
contemplation...is a knowledge which arises not from intellectual study but from purity,...the mystical
and ineffable contemplation and taste of eternal light’’ (Russell, 2019, pg 149).
The Hesychast prayer was combined with “techniques involving the fixing of the eyes on the middle of
the body or the heart, as well as the regulation of one's breathing”(Papadakis & Meyendorff, 1994,
pg. 279). This technique is apparently similar with the Yogi approach described by Patanjali: while
concentrating on one point “the lotus of the heart”, the seat of the mind, the Yogi can see the light “in
the form of the light of the sun, the moon, the planets and the jewels”(Baba, 1976, pg. 19). However,
this approach is rather based on intellect (nous), as the one of Barlaam, while for St. Palamas is the
focus on the purity of the heart, instead of intellect (nous).
The approach of Palamas was “centered on one basic truth: the living God is accessible to personal
experience, because He shared His own life with humanity” (Palamas et al., 1982,pg.3). Therefore,
theosis is possible for every human-being ((Ha)-Adam), as a gift from God. However, the Hesychast
prayer is not “as an automatic or infallible means for acquiring the gift of grace”(Papadakis &
Meyendorff, 1994, pg. 278).Receiving grace cannot be controlled and does not involve being absorbed
into God, which will deny its personal character: “sharing in God's own "glory"-so far as this is
possible to the creature-does not constitute absorption or identification with the divine” (Papadakis &
Meyendorff, 1994, pg. 299).
Samadhi (Sanskrit ''") from the yoga meditative practice is also based on total absorption of the
mind (nous) and senses in the consciousness of the divine. Based on the text of Bhagavad Gita, the sins
are taking by the Deity (Prabhupada, 2021 volume 2 , Vers 27, pg 33). However, for the yoga
practitioner the personal character of the deification is lost.
The yogi can control the vision of light through two methods of enlightenment (Samadhi)(Eliade &
Trask, 1970, pg.91). Nevertheless, both techniques are not maintaining the personal character of the
soul. The first method is rather individual than personal and knowledge (nous) based. The second one
involves being absorbed and becoming bound to eternal Dis-incarnations. Dis-incarnations are
described as systematic processes enabled by the Yoga meditatieve technique, objective and
impersonal, which enable the “Dis-incarnate” to be "absorbed in Prakrti”- " ”   (Sanskrit), which is
the original or primary substance (Baba, 1976, pg. 10). To conclude, there is a way to attain the bliss, or
the vision of light through knowledge and practice of yoga and another natural way through absorption

of the personal being into Deity, which “is provisional, even if it may last for thousands of cosmic
cycles”(Eliade & Trask, 1970, pg.91).
In tantra yoga, there are multiple “Gods” to be assimilate from outside within as part of the method of
reaching the bliss. In the Hesychastic prayer, the vision of light is coming from within and not from
outside and it is not mind-controlled. For St. Palamas, “polytheism is a demonic delusion, the demons
themselves being taken for gods” (Palamas et al., 1982, pg. 119). For St. Palamas the distinction of the
Godhead/Deity in essence and energies is important to defend against polytheism, since “such a union
of a creature with the divine essence would create infinite hypostases which would be tantamount to
polytheism” (Papadakis & Meyendorff, 1994, pg. 278).
While linking immortality with freedom, in tantra yoga everything is becoming Brahman, while in the
same time is being detached from its personal character “the act of offering is Brahman. The offering
itself is Brahman. The Fire is Brahman. He by whom the offering is made is Brahman. By him who is
absorbed” (Avalon & Woodroffe, 2012, pg 182). As opposed to this view, for St. Palamas even the
transcendence of God is personal: “the person (or hypostasis), in virtue of its freedom … possesses an
openness, a capacity to love the other and therefore, particularly, to love God, and to know Him in
love” (Palamas et al., 1982, pg.14).
Chapter 3 Importance of defending hesychasm
St. Palamas was an ambassador of Orthodoxy for the Muslim Ottomans, defending like the Apostles
and other Martyrs the Christian religion. By doing this he was preserving the Orthodox identity and re-
ascertaining the Christians belief in Christ.
Also, St. Palamas was defending the Hesychasm in order to preserve the essence of the Orthodox
Christianity, which was endangered by “the newly-attained autonomy of the intellect and of nature
itself in a new society” based on “purely human achievement” in the West (Meyendorff, 1998, pg.2).
Since he used the distinction essence-energies, the Orthodox distinctiveness of the mystery of our
Creator was preserved.
According to Meyendorff (Meyendorff, 1998, pg. 1) the work of Palamas “transcends the limits of
one school of spirituality and renews in its deepest essence the life of the Christian Mystery”. The
preservation of the Christian Mystery was possible through the distinction made by St. Palamas
between the unknowable divine essence and the divine energies, knowable by grace.
The defense of the hesychasts was important for St. Gregory because through the
mysteries (Incarnation), humans are admitted to a real union with God and His knowledge.
St. Palamas through his work emphasized the importance of meditative praying, using the
Hesychast method. This method is meant to offer in its stillness the possibility to became aware of
the light of God from within. Hesychast prayer made visible that when repenting truly from our heart
by praying in quietness a Eucharist moment in Christ can be experienced.
Chapter 4 Resolution of the Hesychasm controversy and its historical consequences
Through this controversy of the 14th century, a confrontation between Eastern and Western
theological approaches took place. The controversy was resolved by a council of the Byzantine
Church in 1341.This council condemned Barlaam. The hesychasts’ technique was declared
Orthodox. The Synod approved as well the essence-energy distinction.
However, the Hesychast controversy lead to a further separation between East and West,. While the
intent of St. Palamas was to defend Hesychasm, as a unique component of theosis, this was rather
making more difficult the re-conciliatory efforts with the West. This meant no support from the West
during the Ottoman invasion for the East.
However, while the political factors were rather weakening Byzantium, from a spiritual vantage

point the Hesychast controversy was enforcing the Orthodox tradition. St. Palamas provided a
theological justification for the centuries-old Orthodox practices.
Therefore, the Palamism was playing an important role in endorsing officially the Orthodox
Christianity principles of faith.
Conclusions
Hesychasm, as expressed by St. Gregory Palamas, is a personal meditative prayer to Christ, which is an
important trademark for the ascetic monastical lifestyle. While is encompassing a psycho-physical
method of prayer similar to yoga meditation and use of mantras like in tantra yoga, is rather granting
immortality and freedom through a personal approach. It is an awakening of the conscience to
repentance of sins, which brings the acknowledgment of divine light within us, while preserving the
mystery of creation.
In tantra yoga, the contemplating practice used to attain the bliss is rather approaching the light of God
from exterior, by using visualizations. Therefore is using the intellect as a vehicle to become one with
the divine consciousness. While in the Hesychast prayer becoming aware of God’s light, is from inside
out, by connecting to God through God’s energies, already present in our heart.
By preserving the belief in one God, the Hesychasm is having significant soteriological implications
and is enabling (Ha)-Adam to become God, while defending the identity of Christians.
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