वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥२- २२॥
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि ।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही ॥२- २२॥
(Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 2, Verse 22)
The translation of
the above lines reads thus:
(http://www.eaglespace.com/spirit/gita_reincarnation.php)
Life and Death has been a subject of
study for centuries. Religious leaders
and Scientists are mystified how a new life is born, grows only to die in the
same way envisaged by the characteristics of that species. The unanswered questions are:
- · What is Life? What is its origin?
- · What is Death?
- · What is ageing? Why it happens?
- · Why should life happen if it were to die?
- · What happens to the soul while one is alive and then after death?
- · What is the purpose of living?
- · Is the soul of Human beings and that of animals and of the Plants the same?
This article on ‘Life – Religion Vs Science’ is the first of the series on various aspects of Life and Death.
What
is living and dying?
We never live or die. We exist because of drastic movement of
stored chemicals and energy in the Universe.
It is a complex physical and chemical reaction of energies that keeps
running within and without that we call life. Death is the stage when the body can no longer
withstand the pressure of energy interactions.
And the energy escapes back into the environment.
What
Religions say?
yanti deva-vrata
devan
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutani yanti bhutejya
yanti mad-yajino 'pi mam
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutani yanti bhutejya
yanti mad-yajino 'pi mam
(Chapter 9, Verse 25 Bhagvad Gita)
Depending
upon the thought process of the person (before death), his energy remains stuck
on a body, place or structure; has rebirth on earth after a period of time or
merges with the general Universe.
Romans 14:8
NIV
8 If we live, we live to
the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we
belong to the Lord. (http://www.biblestudytools.com/romans/14-8.html
Origin of Life
No one is sure when the Universe came into existence. It cannot come just like that nor can it exist all of a sudden. There was a gradual process wherein everything came into existence. Science speaks of various theories but has not come out with even a partial proof. Science exists because matter exists. And the scientist’s claim of mastery over matter is a big bluff! There is no concrete theoretical explanation of how matter came into existence and whether life came out of it. This makes religious theory relevant.
Materialistic versus Theist
Materialists believe that all living things originated from Matter. According to them, life started out of accidental fusion of chemical matters resulting in formation of a dynamic cell. Single celled organism like Amoeba is believed to be our Adam. They lived in ocean. More and more varieties of Cells formed. A single cell breaks into multiple cells in the process what we call Mitosis. Later on, Single cells join together by bonding and form complex structures according to Natural Selection- adapting to environment to which it existed. Some developed lungs and started to live both on land and in water. Some of them moved inward and lived on land. Some of them developed distinct organs of reproduction with a defined set of chromosomes and they began to multiply by Meiosis – the fusion of XX and XY chromosomes. So we have distinct Adam and Eve!
The ten avatars of Lord Vishnu seem to convey the same. Each Avatars speak of the evolution of Man from the Sea(Matter) to what we are now! They also convey how Homo sapiens evolved from the Narasimha, representing the wild carnivorous hunter in the forest to the Buddha, the enlightened Man seeking Universal Truth (moksha). And eventually, Man, in his attempt to be the Master of the Universe, turns destroyer of the world itself through self destruction and the destruction of the Environment (the Kalki)!
What the scientific theory of evolution doesn’t answer is how the matter itself came into existence from nowhere. The Big bang theorists and other evolutionists are not able to explain how the Universe came into existence. Where it came from and how it resulted in creation of matter and then to Life.
And Man has coined for us a
similitude, and has forgotten the fact of his creation, saying: ‘Who will
revive these bones when they have rotted away?’ Say: ‘He will revive them
who produced them at the first, for He is the Knower of every creation, Who has
appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold! You kindle from
it. Is it not He who created the heavens and the earth, able to create
the like of them? Yes, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the
All-Knowing.” (Quran 36:78-81)*
So science has no argument to contradict what the religion says about Life – its origin and thereafter.
(I reiterate that I am not against Science. But I believe that Science should give vital space to Religion when it comes to Research or Practice. Research should start from studies in theological work. Schools should impart theology from elementary level as a subject alongside science – call it the Theological Science.)
Why Study Theology to understand Life?
Scientific Research on life is based on the assumption that Man is made of matter – the five elements (Earth, Water, Air, Space and Fire) - the Pancha Bhootham represented by the Five senses in the Living! It does not consider the sixth element –The Maya or the Eternal! Besides, Science considers Life as matter with mind. It neither has meaning for soul nor does it consider it for any research. When you approach doctors, they check the body first and then go for symptoms by trial and error method based on what they have done in their Study. A psychiatrist relates circumstances and physical symptoms and declares that the patient concerned suffers from certain disease or mental symptom – the names of which they know the best! And every now and then we see in the Newspaper, new symptoms of disease found and new medicines come from nowhere! Are they treating us for sickness or to cover the symptoms with new combinations of chemicals? Religion has solutions for the problems that man suffers today! The solutions are both for prevention and cure.
The DNA and Life Beyond!
Physical and Psychological problems have their roots in the DNA. The DNA is the vital link between our ancestors and our progeny. The wonderful factor of the DNA is that it passes vital info on all activities of that species right from the stage of origin to the present and then to the future generations. A person whose ancestor suffered a particular situation or a trauma passes it on through DNA to the successive generations and thus makes him or her gullible to that trauma or situation. The traits and the situations are pre-destined well before Birth! Behavioral patterns are encoded and decoded in the DNA through generations and passed on through Karna Sarira or the Causal Body which is the Ultimate Energy Reservoir! Situations and Environment brings out those traits in the manner which is again pre-destined to happen. Traits like Falling in Love, Gluttony and Cowardice are carried in DNA! Marriages –whether love or arranged, and Death are pre – destined and recorded in the Causal Body well before birth!
Religion sees life as something divine – and they are so. Life is not made of five elements alone. It has an unseen one - The sixth Element or the Maya. Our body is in the conscious state and the mind is at the sub-conscious level, a vital link between the conscious and the unconscious level. The soul is the energy that links life and death. It is at the unconscious level – a link to the Maya. Karan Sarira or the Causal body/Maya is the Absolute – the one that is never born or that never dies. It is the transcendental state or the Bliss. It is Timelessness. It is closely linked to soul and goes along with it till one dies. Few of our ancestors have attained this state of Bliss and are bejeweled in our Scriptures.
All these points to one factor – Science which appears logical and factual is just a make believe world. Unless we take scientific research to higher level through mastery of religious doctrines, we will not reach anywhere closer to the concepts of Life and Death! A peep into the religious text can enrich the prospective research scientists studying about Life!
The OUM and the Science of Energy!
According to science, energy is the matter of state of Vibration. According to Hindu theology, the word OUM is the word that can cause ultimate energy in our body and take the body to the state of MAYA! The fourth letter of the word – the Silence after the three sounds OUM represents energy level at the State of Bliss! The Mandukya Upanishad has the answer to the entire question about the link to the origin of Life! (The readers can read invocation to The Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda given at the end of my article)
Conclusion
With so much resource about life at our disposal, it is a sad state of affairs that we still struggle to understand the meaning of life. The state of Maya is the link between the Creator and the creation. The study of MAYA –the sixth element – will help Man understand the mystery of Life!
For undersstanding the meaning of OHM and the concept of Karan Sarira or the Causal body read
Excerpts from : http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand/mand_invoc.html
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