The Cycle of Time is a version of history that was virtually forgotten, even though it was common to all great civilizations of antiquity. It tells us of a time when humankind experienced the highest stage of civilization and how this was eventually lost. It also points to the possibility of a return to that state.

A growing number of books are now bringing up the subject of ancient wisdom and the search for a 'lost knowledge'. Labelled as 'alternative history', most of these writings inevitably end with a questionmark. As Graham Hancock puts it in his best-selling Fingerprint of the Gods: “'There are certain structures in the world, certain ideas, certain intellectual treasures, that are truly mysterious. I am beginning to suspect that the human race may have placed itself in grave jeopardy by failing to consider the implications of these mysteries…”

One thing seems to be certain: there exist huge gaps when it comes to explaining our origin and our understanding of ancient history.

In the midst of so many theories, there is an interesting view to consider. It comes from India, the place once called the land of dharma - a path that remembered humankind's ancestors as enlightened beings who lived in a land of truth. The images of deities depicted in Hindu temples are but a reflection of a bygone era; an attempt to preserve the memories of a still remoter culture, whose traces were lost in the shadows of the past.

Unfortunately, these very images have sufficed for Hindus to be taken as infidels and to be openly persecuted by foreign iconoclasts and inquisitors in their own land. Only recently has India began to get rid of centuries of a colonial mindset and started exploring its unparalleled heritage from a different perspective. A new breed of historians and indologists are part of this scenario, together with the revival of an ancient system of yoga.

It was in India that the quest for a lost knowledge developed into a myriad of paths and managed to produce a number of methods and schools of thoughts, which aimed for a complete understanding of life. No efforts, time and resources were spared in the attempts of knowing the eternal self and its interaction with nature and the divine.

This was the cradle of metaphysics, the land where a few illuminated souls realized that our original nature is kind and peaceful, and that we have come to this world to enjoy life according to certain rules. Living in harmony with the laws that govern life was believed to be the means to return to a state of fullness and completion.

The Cycle of Time is a non-fiction account based on research and experience, a collage of quotes from old and contemporary sages. It aims to reveal the essence of the existing patterns between events and their relation with the human consciousness.

More than a perspective or reading of history, the Cycle is a journey of the spirit through time. The teachings that the concept of cyclic time encodes are profound and will certainly require the meditative experience to be understood in its deeper aspects.

I hope this can be the beginning of a journey for you as it was for me. For this is indeed a fascinating perspective - one that is not only able to scrutinize the distant past but also dares to envision the future and beyond.

Simone Boger