The Choice is Ours

Mayank Goel, CESP, JNU.

mayankgoel90@gmail.com

Material science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering and their study in detail. It started ages ago but the major breakthrough occurred in late 19^th Century when William Gibbs demonstrated thermodynamics properties. Even then the scientists had no concept of evolution of life and the presence of such wide diversity of living entities on this planet until Darwin formulated his theory.

Sir Charles Darwin formulated his idea of ‘natural selection’ in 1838 and was developing his own theory of evolution till 1858. It was only towards the end of 1859 that Darwin’s publication on the origin of species explained natural selection in detail and presented evidence leading to increasingly wide acceptance of the occurrence of evolution. This caused uproar and implied that humans didn’t have a special place in the universe.

Darwin’s theory of evolution is a theory in crisis in light of the tremendous advances we have made in molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics over the past 50 years. We now know that there is in fact many thousands of irreducibly complex structure on the cellular level also. Specified complexity pervades the microscopic biological world. Well known biologist, Michael Denton wrote “Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, weighing less than 10^-12 grams; each in effect a veritable micro-miniaturised factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up of one hundred thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machinery built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.”

The amazing part is that to understand or observe this irreducible complexity we do not need a microscope. The eye, the ear and the heart; all are exemplary examples of this complexity though they are not recognised as such in Darwin’s theory. Darwin himself confessed, “To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for adjusting different amounts of light and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration could have been formed by the natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”

However, even if we were to believe Darwin’s theory then it seems that the evolution has stopped ever since we became humans. What follows next, after we become humans is unknown to material scientist. For this reason, the present life seems to be purposeless, aimless which has forced all of us to follow the philosophy of ‘Eat, drink and be merry.’ Such an ideology is enforced by the material science because of the lack of perception regarding ‘soul’. Scientists think that they can prove and detect everything. It is indeed their biggest mistake! Just like the scientists can never see light but it is responsible for sight. In its presence, everything else becomes visible. Similarly, we can never detect soul but it is responsible for consciousness and life. In its presence, the dead matter becomes conscious. ‘Janmädy asya yato 'nvayäd itaratas cärthesv abhigyanah [SB 1.1.1]. That source of everything is life and is fully conscious of everything what is happening. Anvayät, indirectly and directly, fully conscious. That is life.’ Even Bhagavad-Gita confirms this in 2.13 ‘That which pervades the entire body through consciousness you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.’

It is not the evolution of matter because matter in itself is unconscious, non-living and an inferior energy. The conscious, living, spiritual energy is required to move matter and create new things. In the production process also, it is the labour that is the most important input as it augments the value of the material goods. It is the living entities that move the dead matter for their usage. Instead of the evolution of the bodies, it is the evolution of the soul from the lower consciousness to higher consciousness in different species of life or different material bodies. Darwin had simply visualised the matter and had completely failed to see the soul that drives this change. We are spirit souls entangled in various temporary bodies and are continuously transmigrating from one body to another  (B.G. 2.13). Constantly the cells within our bodies are changing that makes our bodies to change. This change is instituted by the presence of soul. Thus, we are regularly changing our bodies and are always in dynamism.

Soul is transmigrating from aquatic life to flora, then to insect life, bird life, animals, and finally to humans. Within humans also, the evolution occurs from uncivilised life to civilised life. This civilised life of a human represents the culmination of evolution due to the developed consciousness. Thus, this becomes the junction where nature provides us the choice to choose. Other species or forms of life have no choice because  their thinking ability is too low due to undeveloped consciousness. They can never manipulate or exploit their natural environment to make it adjust to themselves but it is rather the animals, plants, etc. that adjust themselves to nature via stimuli. It is only the human life that offers us this choice due to our fully developed consciousness. At this junction of life, we can either choose to glide down into the cyclical process of evolution or can choose to elevate ourselves to a higher consciousness, Godly life by the process of self realisation; possible only in this very unique life. Essentially, this becomes the sole purpose of human life which is distinct and unique; not available to other species. We should ponder if human life is not special then why evolution culminated at humans? Is it mere by chance?

The lack of knowledge and a higher understanding makes us believe this temporary world to be the top-most reality. But, even the great scientists like Albert Einstein felt that there is something beyond material perception unknown to material science. In his words, “Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discerning concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion.” He had idea about the spirit present beyond the matter. 

We can understand the nature of soul even from the unsatisfied quest we have. Everyone's struggle for existence and unending wish for immortality signifies the search for eternal life. This is the characteristic of soul; it is immortal. but, due to the material covering we perceive ourselves to be mere bodies. Only this human life can make us achieve eternal life because of our developed consciousness that we imbibe through the evolutionary process! Otherwise, mundane things are very easily done by animals. Directing our total time and energy to do those very ordinary things of eating, sleeping, mating and defending in more and more sophisticated way is total wastage of this special opportunity. We should live comfortably but should be aware of the ultimate goal and thus, work in the right direction. The real success is therefore in elevating ourselves ti the highest consciousness to complete the evolutionary process. But, the choice is ours.

References:

•  Cremo, Michael A. and Thompson, Richard L.; Human Devolution
•  Darwin, Charles; The Origin of Species, and The Descent of Man
• Denton, Michael; Evolution: A Theory in Crisis.
• Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta; Life comes from life