Before the Beginning and After the End

by Rishi Kumar Mishra

This work presents to the reader a rare opportunity to delve ito the fundamental mysteries of the universe.It covers various aspects of creation and cosmos.How did the cosmos originate and what is it's future? Of what is it made? Who is the 'I',the individual self,and what is it's place in the universe? These questions have,at one time or other, troubled each one of us. The book is an exploration of the Vedic knowledge. It takes the reader beyond "the Universe of Physics" as expounded by our modern day scientists, and fathoms the secrets that lie beneath. This book is directed as much as the specialists as it is at readers who have a keen interest in the secrets of the universe.

653 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Riku Sayuj · Rating 2 out of 5]

'This is the sort of book that gives spirituality a bad name among the scientific community' - That was the single line review I had in mind after I completed the first half of the book. This was because the first half was all about trying to redefine Sanskrit terms like 'Wak' and 'Mana' to fit the modern concepts of Physics and it was a clear force fit for most of the effort.

But the second haf of the book abandons this fruitless attempt and focuses on just exploring the strong spiritual material of the Vedas without comparing constantly with modern findings. This was a productive section of the book and a truly humbling experience for me. The practical application of Vedic learning and the long manual on Yoga is worth further study.

The last portion of the book is a highly technical study of Sanskrit terminologies that is hard to follow and to place in context. The section on the study of grammar etc was just a fattening-up exercise for the book.

The appendices include some wonderful research articles from major scholars and a wonderful short story by Isaac Asimov.

All in all, the second half of the book made it worth trudging through this huge huge book and all the headache of clearing one's way through the jumble of arcane Sanskrit words that surely out-numbers English words in this work.

[Andromeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a sincere writer who has presented the facts pertaining to Hinduism, its philosophy, scriptures, and teachings the way that they originally are. The book is for someone who has at least more than a just rudimentary knowledge of the religion. It serves as a good introduction to Swami Sivananda's "All about Hinduism"