Annotated bibliography

Venkatesananda, S. (1984). The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha. SUNY Press (introduction by C. K. Chapple); and Venkatesananda (1993), Vasiṣṭha's Yoga, SUNY Press.

The working translations of the programme.

Mitra, V.-L. (1891–99). Yoga-Vāsishtha-Mahārāmāyana of Vālmīki, 4 vols. Calcutta.

The only complete English translation; available via the Internet Archive.

Aiyar, K. N. (1896). Laghu Yoga Vāsiṣṭha (English translation). Madras.

The classic abridgement; source of the widely quoted jīvanmukta portrait.

Slaje, W. (dir.); Krause-Stinner, S., & Stephan, P. Mokṣopāya — Textedition. Harrassowitz — Teil 4 (2014): Book V, Upaśāntiprakaraṇa; Teil 5 (2018): Book VI, Nirvāṇaprakaraṇa chs. 1–119.

The historical-critical edition of the ur-text.

Hanneder, J. (ed.) (2005). The Mokṣopāya, Yogavāsiṣṭha and Related Texts. Aachen: Shaker; incl. “The Mokṣopāya: An Introduction,” pp. 9–19.

Recension history and dating.

Hanneder, J. (1998). “Śaiva Tantric Material in the Yogavāsiṣṭha.” WZKS 42: 67–76.

Hanneder, J. (2009). “Dreams and other States of Consciousness in the Mokṣopāya.” DOI 10.11588/XAREP.00004408

Directly relevant to the states-of-consciousness argument.

Mainkar, T. G. (1977). The Vāsiṣṭha Rāmāyaṇa: A Study.

The earlier developmental account of the text's formation.

Atreya, B. L. (1936). The Philosophy of the Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha. Theosophical Publishing House.

The foundational philosophical monograph; free at the Internet Archive.

Chapple, C. K., & Chakrabarti, A. (eds.) (2015). Engaged Emancipation: Mind, Morals, and Make-Believe in the Mokṣopāya (Yogavāsiṣṭha). SUNY Press.

The modern scholarly hub; chapters by MacKenzie (phenomenology of transformation), Lo Turco (the story of Līlā), Timalsina (ābhāsa), Chakrabarti (dream and the external world), Chapple (ethics and psychology of the Upaśama book), Ganesathasan (dreams, fictions, morality), Fort (embodied liberation).

Slaje, W. (2000). “Liberation from Intentionality and Involvement: On the Concept of Jīvanmukti according to the Mokṣopāya.” Journal of Indian Philosophy, 28(2), 171–194. DOI 10.1023/A:1004742001659

The philological warrant for treating jīvanmukti as a lived, describable stance.

Fort, A. O. (1998). Jīvanmukti in Transformation: Embodied Liberation in Advaita and Neo-Vedānta. SUNY Press.

Argues for a distinct “Yogic Advaita” tradition centred on the Yogavāsiṣṭha.

Granoff, P. (1989). “The Yogavāsiṣṭha: The Continuing Search for a Context.” New Horizons of Research in Indology, 10, 181–205.

Chapple, C. K. (1986). Karma and Creativity. SUNY Press.

The three-stage redaction hypothesis.

Doniger O'Flaherty, W. (1984). Dreams, Illusion, and Other Realities. University of Chicago Press.

Shulman, D. (2012). More than Real: A History of the Imagination in South India. Harvard University Press.

“Uddālaka's Yoga in the Mokṣopāya” (2020). Religions, 11(3), 111.

The text's own meditation pedagogy.

Tubali, S. (2024). “The Yogavāsiṣṭha and the Philosophy of the Absurd.” Journal of Dharma Studies. DOI 10.1007/s42240-024-00171-2

Kovacs, H. (2020). “‘No Journey is Possible Outside of the Heart’: The Story of King Lavaṇa in Bedil's Muḥīṭ-i aʿẓam.” DOI 10.1163/25425552-12340011

Formoso, R. F. (2023). “La muerte también es sueño: leyendo el Yogavāsiṣṭha con Segismundo.” Endoxa. DOI 10.5944/endoxa.51.2023.31142

Narasimha, R. (2002). “A metaphysics of living systems: the Yōga-Vāsiṣṭha view.” Journal of Biosciences, 27(7), 645–650. DOI 10.1007/BF02708372

Faria, Abbé J. C. de (1819). De la cause du sommeil lucide, ou Étude de la nature de l'homme. Paris. English translation by M. Sardessai (2004) from the Goa copy.

Located hypnotic phenomena in the subject's own concentration and suggestibility, on the basis of some 5,000 subjects.

Roberts, M. A. (2016). “Abbé Faria (1756–1819): From Lucid Sleep to Hypnosis.” American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(5), 459–460.

“The Abbé Faria: A Neglected Figure in the History of Hypnosis.” Springer history-of-hypnosis chapter.

Braid, J. (1850). Observations on Trance: or, Human Hibernation. London: John Churchill.

Analyses the 1837 Lahore report of the yogi Haridas's burial-samādhi.

Chakraborty, A. (2024). “Hatha Yoga, Live Burial, and Human Hibernation: How the West (Mis)Conceptualized the Samadhis of Yogi Haridas.” Journal of Religion and Society, 26.

The critical-history caution against orientalist readings.

Siegel, L. (2014). Trance-Migrations: Stories of India, Tales of Hypnosis. University of Chicago Press.

Esdaile, J. (1846). Mesmerism in India, and Its Practical Application in Surgery and Medicine. London: Longman.

Scores of painless surgical operations under mesmeric trance in Bengal.

Ernst, W. (1995). “‘Under the influence’ in British India: James Esdaile's Mesmeric Hospital in Calcutta, and its critics.” Psychological Medicine, 25, 1113–1123.

“When Scottish Medicine Hospitalized Indian Magic: Dr James Esdaile's Mesmeric Surgery in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Bengal” (2024). British Journal for the History of Science.

Anand, B. K., Chhina, G. S., & Singh, B. (1961). “Studies on Shri Ramanand Yogi during his stay in an air-tight box.” Indian Journal of Medical Research, 49.

Elkins, G. R., Barabasz, A. F., Council, J. R., & Spiegel, D. (2015). “Advancing Research and Practice: The Revised APA Division 30 Definition of Hypnosis.” IJCEH, 63(1), 1–9.

Rosendahl, J., Alldredge, C. T., & Haddenhorst, A. (2024). “Meta-analytic evidence on the efficacy of hypnosis for mental and somatic health issues: a 20-year perspective.” Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1330238.

Umbrella review of 49 meta-analyses and 261 primary studies.

Geagea, D., Ogez, D., Kimble, R., & Tyack, Z. (2024). “Redefining hypnosis: a narrative review of theories.”

Jiang, H., White, M. P., Greicius, M. D., Waelde, L. C., & Spiegel, D. (2017). “Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity Associated with Hypnosis.” Cerebral Cortex, 27(8), 4083–4093.

Oakley, D. A., & Halligan, P. W. (2013). “Hypnotic suggestion: opportunities for cognitive neuroscience.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(8), 565–576. DOI 10.1038/NRN3538

Del Casale, A., et al. (2022). “Neural functional correlates of hypnosis and hypnoanalgesia: role of the cingulate cortex.” American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 64(1), 53–61. DOI 10.1080/00029157.2021.1895709

Malloggi, E., & Santarcangelo, E. L. (2023). “Physiological Correlates of Hypnotizability: Neural Mechanisms of Hypnosis and Prognostic Role in Medicine.”

Rainville, P., Duncan, G. H., Price, D. D., Carrier, B., & Bushnell, M. C. (1997). “Pain affect encoded in human anterior cingulate but not somatosensory cortex.” Science, 277, 968–971.

Kirsch, I. (1985). “Response expectancy as a determinant of experience and behavior.” American Psychologist, 40, 1189–1202.

Kirsch, I. (1994). “Hypnosis as a nondeceptive placebo.” American Psychologist, 49.

Hilgard, E. R. (1977). Divided Consciousness: Multiple Controls in Human Thought and Action.

Spanos, N. P. (1986). Sociocognitive account of hypnosis. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 9, 449–502.

Tellegen, A., & Atkinson, G. (1974). “Openness to absorbing and self-altering experiences.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 83, 268–277.

Kihlstrom, J. F. (1987). “The cognitive unconscious.” Science, 237, 1445–1452.

Kosslyn, S. M., Thompson, W. L., Costantini-Ferrando, M. F., Alpert, N. M., & Spiegel, D. (2000). “Hypnotic visual illusion alters color processing in the brain.” American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1279–1284.

Terhune, D. B., Cleeremans, A., Raz, A., & Lynn, S. J. (2017). “Hypnosis and top-down regulation of consciousness.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 81, 59–74.

Jensen, M. P., & Patterson, D. R. (2014). “Hypnotic approaches for chronic pain management.” American Psychologist, 69, 167–177.

Valentine, K. E., Milling, L. S., Clark, L. J., & Moriarty, C. L. (2019). “The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: a meta-analysis.” IJCEH, 67(3), 336–363.

Milling, L. S., Valentine, K. E., McCarley, H. S., & LoStimolo, L. M. (2019). “A meta-analysis of hypnotic interventions for depression symptoms.” American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 61(3).

Palsson, O. S. (2006). “Standardized hypnosis treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.” IJCEH, 54, 51–64.

Nader, K., Schafe, G. E., & LeDoux, J. E. (2000). “Fear memories require protein synthesis in the amygdala for reconsolidation after retrieval.” Nature, 406, 722–726.

Ecker, B., Ticic, R., & Hulley, L. (2012). Unlocking the Emotional Brain. Routledge.

Northoff, G., et al. (2006). “Self-referential processing in our brain — a meta-analysis of imaging studies on the self.” NeuroImage, 31(1), 440–457.

Josipovic, Z. (2019). “Nondual awareness: consciousness-as-such as non-representational reflexivity.” Progress in Brain Research, 244, 273–298. DOI 10.1016/BS.PBR.2018.10.021

Josipovic, Z. (2021). “Implicit–explicit gradient of nondual awareness or consciousness as such.” Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2021(2). DOI 10.1093/NC/NIAB031

Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2015). “Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(9), 515–523.

Rosen, S. (ed.) (1982). My Voice Will Go with You: The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson. Norton.

Watkins, J. G., & Watkins, H. H. (1997). Ego States: Theory and Therapy. Norton.

Olendzki, N., Elkins, G. R., Slonena, E., Hung, J., & Rhodes, J. R. (2020). “Mindful Hypnotherapy to Reduce Stress and Increase Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.” IJCEH, 68(2), 151–166. DOI 10.1080/00207144.2020.1722028

The structural template for a contemplative-hypnotic protocol.

Slonena, E. E., & Elkins, G. R. (2021). “Effects of a brief mindful hypnosis intervention on stress reactivity.” IJCEH, 69(4), 453–467.

Elkins, G. R., & Olendzki, N. (2019). Mindful Hypnotherapy: The Basics for Clinical Practice. Springer.

“Effect of Mindful Hypnotherapy on Psychological Distress: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” (2026). Behavioral Sciences, 16(1), 107.

Yapko, M. (2011). Mindfulness and Hypnosis. Norton.

Alladin, A. (2008). Cognitive Hypnotherapy. Wiley.

Parker, S., Bharati, S. V., & Fernandez, M. (2013). “Defining yoga-nidra: traditional accounts, physiological research, and future directions.” International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 23(1), 11–16.

Hoye, S., & Reddy, S. (2016). “Yoga-nidra and hypnosis.” International Journal of Health Education and Promotion, 53(4), 117–125.

Moszeik, E. N., von Oertzen, T., & Renner, K. H. (2020). “Effectiveness of a short Yoga Nidra meditation on stress, sleep, and well-being in a large and diverse sample.” Current Psychology.

Eastman-Mueller, H., et al. (2013). “iRest Yoga-Nidra on the college campus.” International Journal of Yoga Therapy, 23(2), 15–24.

Bhide, S. R., Bhargav, H., Gangadhar, B. N., & Desai, G. (2023). “Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Yoga Philosophy: A Perspective on the Need for Yoga-Based Counselling Program in Common Mental Disorders.” Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. DOI 10.1177/02537176211051987

“Consciousness, Cognition, and Selfhood: A Dialogue Between the Yogavāsiṣṭha and Western Psychological Thought” (2026). International Journal of Research & Technology.

Prabhu, H. R. A., & Bhat, P. (2013). “Mind and consciousness in yoga–Vedanta: a comparative analysis with western psychological concepts.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(6), 182. DOI 10.4103/0019-5545.105524

Rao, K. R., Paranjpe, A. C., & Dalal, A. K. (eds.) (2008). Handbook of Indian Psychology.

Thompson, E. (2015). Waking, Dreaming, Being. Columbia University Press.

Timalsina, S. (2008). “Consciousness in Indian Philosophy: The Advaita Doctrine of ‘Awareness Only’.”

Gallardo, L. M., & Chetri, S. (2026). Hypnosis as a Mechanism of Emotion Regulation and Self-Integration. Behavioral Sciences, 16(3), 395. DOI 10.3390/bs16030395

The defining paper.

The FP20 Fundamental Peace Scale — instrument.

Available on this site at /fp20.

Gallardo, L. M. (2025). Mapping Global Pain and Trauma: A Framework for Transitioning from Shadow to Fundamental Peace. Zenodo. [DOI pending]

Gallardo, L. M. (2026). The Global Roadmap from Pain to Fundamental Peace: A Blueprint for 10 Billion Happy by 2050. Zenodo. [DOI pending]

Gallardo, L. M. (2020). “Fundamental Peace” (essay), World Happiness Foundation.

The concept's first public articulation.