In keeping with the spirit of the author, I ‘begin at the end’ – “Reflections” is the last section of this Book, and here, in simple prose spanning seven pages, Mishraji has summed up the entire work succinctly, with the poetic flair of an Upanishadic Brāhman. It is almost like a Śūtra. Therefore, I begin at the end and will unravel a few key concepts looking for their thread through the entire volume:-

1. Mishraji says,  “I go back in time to the beginning. The whole universe is reduced to a speck. Matter, energy and space disappear. With the vanishing of these three, time also disappears. There is neither a beginning nor an end.”[1]

As we go back in time and reduce everything to a speck – we reach a state termed as Bindu in the Vedas . Mishraji explains [2]  ‘Western scholars often translate Bindu in terms of mathematics as the ‘point’, which geometrically speaking is ‘zero’ dimension. It has no measurement, no length or width or breadth; but in terms of Hindu philosophy, Bindu is a ‘vibrant’ idea that is pivotal to all creation. The term Bindu, as per the Nirukta of Yaska muni, on the one hand can be derived from the root √bhid means to pierce, to cleave therefore it is like the concept of a hole. On the other hand, it also means Indu or a bright drop, a spark of light.’