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LIFE COMES FROM LIFE
Srila Prabhupāda's morning walk with
Dr. T.D. Singh (Bhakti-svarupa Damodara Maharaja)
Dr. T. D. Singh [Sripad Bhakti-svarupa Damodara Maharaja]
Srila Prabhupada’s
Scientific Ambassador to the World
"First of all, you have to establish that life is not from matter. Matter is from life...", Srila Prabhupada.
Dr. T. D. Singh (Bhakti-svarupa Damodara) received his Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of California at Irvine in 1974. He is a scientist and spiritualist known for his pioneering efforts in synthesizing science and religion for a deeper understanding of life and the universe. He has contributed papers in the Journal of American Chemical Society and the Journal of Organic Chemistry in the field of fast proton transfer kinetics in model biological systems using stopped flow technique and NMR spectroscopy. He also worked on gas phase reaction mechanisms using Ion Cyclotron Resonance (ICR) spectroscopy.
He was trained in Vaishnava Vedanta studies from 1970 to 1977 under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and was appointed Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute in 1974. He has organized four International conferences on science and religion - First and Second World Congress for the Synthesis of Science and Religion (1986 & 1997), First International Conference on the Study of Consciousness within Science (1990), and Second International Congress on Life and Its Origin. Collectively thousands of prominent scientists and religious leaders including several Nobel Laureates participated. He has authored and edited several books including What is Matter and What is Life? (1977), Theobiology (1979), Synthesis of Science and Religion: Critical Essays and Dialogues (1987) and Thoughts on Synthesis of Science and Religion (2001).
Dr. T. D. Singh left this material world (died) on October 2, 2006.
Download Biography of
Dr. Singh [Bhaktisvarupa Damodara] PDF
LETTER TO SCIENTIST — LIFE COMES FROM LIFE
"All right, scientist, why is life not coming from matter now? You rascal. Why isn’t life coming from matter now? Actually such scientists are rascals. They childishly say that life came from matter, although they are not at all able to prove it. " (Recorded on April 19, 1973, In Cheviot Hills Park, Los Angeles) [From "Life Comes From Life" by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuapda]
"If we can prove that life comes from life, or the soul is from the supper soul, then all other things can be brought into serious consideration. So you try to prove that chemical combination can never bring about life, this is our main argument. If we can prove this, gradually we can prove that vedic knowledge is perfect. " (Bombay 17 December, 1975)
Atlanta,
My Dear Svarupa Damodara Prabhu,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 29, 1975. I have noted the contents carefully. Your book is selling very nicely in south India, people are appreciating it very much. This scientific book should be done very carefully, so that people in general may not be mislead by the over intelligent scientists. There are so many contradictory things, but we have our authority and they have their authority. Our knowledge is from vedic scriptures which we accept as definite and without any mistake. A modern scientist believes that there was no civilization before 3,000 years, our Bhagavatam was spoken by Sukadeva Goswami 5,000 years ago and he is explaining “as I have heard it from authority”, so we have got parampara system for millions of years. If there was no civilization before 3,000 years, then how this subject matter of knowledge could be discussed? How could it be received through the param-para system? So there is contradiction certainly. But the statement that there was no civilization 3,000 years ago can be adjusted by the conviction that there was civilization, millions and millions of years ago.
For more information regarding vedic astronomy you can consult any learned astronomer, there are many in Calcutta, my Guru Maharaja was also very learned in this field.
My point is life comes from life. They say life has come from chemicals, so how these things can be adjusted? Besides that the scientists change their theories after some years, this proves that they have no perfect knowledge, otherwise where is the necessity of changing? That is the basic point of our argument. Perfect knowledge is never changeable. If we can prove that life comes from life, or the soul is from the supper soul, then all other things can be brought into serious consideration. So you try to prove that chemical combination can never bring about life, this is our main argument. If we can prove this particular subject matter, that the soul cannot be manufactured by combination of chemicals, then gradually we can prove that vedic knowledge is perfect, while other sources of knowledge by speculation and imagination are all wrong.
The other day I was talking on the morning walk about the sun globe. They say because it is fiery there cannot be any life there, but sometimes we see a big iron factory is full of flames from the chimney at a long distance, but does it mean there is no life in the factory? Fire is one of the five material elements, and Bhagavad-gita says that the soul is never burnt by fire. So in the sunglobe globe if the living entities have a fiery body, just as fish have body suitable for living in the water, so how is it that there is no living entity in the sun globe if they have a body suitable to live in the sun globe? In the vedic literatures it is said that there are germs (agni pok) within the fire. There are so many contradictions, but we have our own defence. Why should we blindly accept imperfect scientists, they are imperfect because they are changing their position in the name of progress. The word progress is used when there is imperfection at the beginning. So this regular changing of standard knowledge in the name of progress proves that they are always imperfect. It is a fact that they are imperfect, because they gather knowledge with imperfect senses. At any rate we cannot deviate from vedic knowledge. Regarding coming to Mayapur festival, you must come, because after that we are going to Manipur.
I will send your corrections to the editors. Thank you.
I hope this letter finds you well.
Your ever well wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS.hda