The Vedantic concept of origin of life was discussed in a paper presented by Phalguni Banerjee at the International Conference on Science and Spirituality for World Peace. The paper talks about the failure of modern science to provide any satisfactory answer regarding life and its deeper reality. In the paper, Phalguni Banerjee points out that a synthesis between the Vedantic idea and modern science can expand the domain of our scientific conception of Life and find some satisfactory answers. The paper was published in KangalaOnline (the site is no longer available).
Some excerpts from the paper
Science Magazine in its 125th Anniversary Issue came up with the title
“What Don’t We Know?” where it listed 125 crucial questions facing
science over the next quarter-century. A major question of foundational
importance that is listed is, “How and Where Did Life on Earth Arise?”
Over the years in an attempt to understand life, modern science has made extensive attempts to understand only the molecular constituents like RNA and DNA in the bodies of living entities.
In this regard Dr. TD Singh, founder director of Bhaktivedanta Institute, attended a lecture on the origin of life by the world-renowned reductionist, Professor Stanley Miller. Dr Singh asked him during the question and answer session, “Suppose I were to give you all of the ready-made biomolecules – DNA, proteins, lipids, sugars, etc. – would you be able to produce life within a test-tube by combining these molecules?” Professor Miller replied, “That I don’t know.”
The Vedantic idea is directly opposite to the idea of chemical evolution. Srila Prabhupada presented it in a very profound and simple way as, ‘Life comes from Life.’ According to Taittiriya Upanishad, ‘asadva idamagra asit’ or Brahman or Consciousness existed before the manifestation of the material world.
Thus Vyasadeva, the compiler of all Vedic literature exhorts that the prime duty of the human form of life is to inquire into the original basis of existence, which is Brahman or consciousness, “athato brahma jijnasa”.
Furthermore consciousness is one of the prime symptoms of life. Thus according to Vedanta life is really a very deep reality and the full realization of the characteristics, meaning and purpose of life requires the conception and help of more than any material principle.
According to Vedic knowledge the nature of dead matter and life are completely different. For example, consciousness is one of the symptoms of life which dead matter does not possess. The major problem, which appears in the present approach of modern science, is that it assumes (without having sufficient scientific evidence) that life is of the same nature as that of matter and then tries to understand life. This approach has been adopted by science for years and due to that ‘till date we don’t have any theory in modern science which could give us a clear scientific idea about life. Scientifically, the origin of matter as well as of life is not known.
This fact is also evident from the questions listed by Science Magazine
in its 125th anniversary issue. There is no final theory of matter.
Scientists – physicists and chemists – only try to understand the
properties of different chemical components that make up the various
lumps of matter and their physical and chemical properties. Biologists
and biochemists, following the footsteps of physicists and chemists, are
also on the wrong path – because they borrow the concept that life is a
product of chemical evolution. So in reality, they don’t study life.
Therefore they cannot go much further. Darwinian paradigm has ensured
that, the search for life was conducted only from a materialistic
approach. This idea is actually only a theory, although it is now
accepted and taught as if it was an unquestionable fact. Yet even after
so much effort is the origin of life remains an unsolved problem. Many
difficult questions raise the doubt that whether this paradigm can stand
a true scientific analysis. If this one sided assumption can be removed
from the studies on life and if the studies are carried out following
the indications given in the Vedic literature regarding life then modern
science may be able to provide many breakthrough findings on life and
its deeper reality.
Furthermore, Matter also comes from life. It begins the study of origin of life by including a divine or spiritual element coined as spiriton by Dr T. D. Singh. The vedantic paradigm is an ancient paradigm and has been well studied within the traditional schools of Vedanta throughout the ages. Thus the Vedantic conception of life is that it is non reducible to matter, like atoms, molecules, chemicals and forces.
According to Vedanta an ignorance of the original conception is the cause of sufferings. But when the actual Origin of both matter and life is understood, then peace and harmony are simultaneously achieved. Thus there is a great hope if scientists of the world can come together and study the question of Life by including the spiritual conceptions of world, including the Vedantic conception. Today in science, in a strictly materialistic approach, we are facing many difficult and intractable questions. Thus a synthesis between the Vedantic idea and modern science is sure to expand the domain of our scientific conception of Life.
Phalguni Banerjee is a Research Scholar in the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur. The conference was held at Imphal on November 23-24, 2007