From Prāṇāyāma to Gelassenheit: An Ontological Hermeneutics of Being

Abstract

This article offers a comparative ontological hermeneutics of being by placing the yogic discipline of prāṇāyāma (breath control) in dialogue with Meister Eckhart’s mystical theology, especially his notions of Abgeschiedenheit (detachment) and Gelassenheit (releasement). Through a trinitarian ontological lens (not the Christian dogma), it argues that both traditions—though rooted in different metaphysical frameworks—converge in affirming that true freedom and peace emerge not from self-assertion but from radical self-emptying and openness to the divine. Prāṇāyāma, grounded in the Yoga Sūtras and Upaniṣadic thought, is interpreted not simply as breath control but as a transformative discipline aimed at stilling the mind (citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ) and attuning the practitioner to the ground of being. Likewise, Eckhart’s path of detachment unfolds as a participation in the trinitarian dynamic kenosis. By correlating these approaches, the article develops an ontology of relationality—being as self-gift and receptivity—and highlights their therapeutic significance in light of contemporary neuroscience. It concludes by proposing a contemplative anthropology rooted in silence, love, and divine presence.