Chapter 22 - Evolution and Science

The majority of today's scientists propagate the doctrine that life comes from matter. This assumption can neither be proven in a theoretical nor in an experimental way and is mainly based on blind belief. Srila Prabhupada often mentioned that this unproved dogma is the cause of substantial moral and spiritual damage all over the world and that this philosophy already caused enormous suffering. Therefore it is one of the primary duties of our movement to expose this fatal error and establish the Vedic viewpoint as a complete and superior explanation of reality.

This challenge and the consequent dialogues with materialistic scientists are especially directed by the members of our Bhaktivedanta Institute. But every member of our movement should at least be able to understand the most fundamental principles and main philosophical reasons which Prabhupada used to defeat atheistic dogmas.

The following are some of his quotations or references from Srila Prabhupada's books and literatures from the Bhaktivedanta Institute regarding the topics of science and evolution:

Evolution

1. Not only are there missing links between the species, each intermediate link which is supposed to develop gradually is supposed to be functional. What is the intermediate step between a stiff arm and a bending arm (wing/elbow)etc?

2. Each species developing from a higher species is supposed to be superior and fitter for survival. On the contrary, we can observe that the ability to survive is the same for a worm as well as for a human being.

3. Where can we observe that consciousness develops from matter? Why should a higher energy be developed from a lower energy?

4. The human being is said to be the crown of evolution and therefore able to control his environment. Our observation, however, is that the human being is completely controlled by the material energy in various ways(advertisement, TV, radio, newspaper, disease, old age, etc.)

5. Why is it not possible for the scientists to calculate what the next life form is supposed to look like? Why can't we observe any species developing into another at present?

6. If everything existing developed by accident or chaos and can be reduced to chemistry, physics, mathematics, etc, where is the independence or the freedom of choice of the living entity?

7. If life is merely a combination of chemicals, why can't we bring a dead body back to life by simply injecting the missing chemical?

8. Even the structures of the most simple micro-organisms are so complex that their cause is completely unexplainable either by mutation or by gradual evolution. (The brain, e.g., consists of billions of neurons which are linked in a highly complex network.)

9. Fossil discoveries prove the opposite of what most people believe. First of all, 90-99% of all fossil records are destroyed by erosion (and therefore the method of coming to valid conclusions by the method of analyzing fossils is inefficient) and secondly, more and more contradictory discoveries are made which clearly show that present primitive forms of today were simultaneously existing with highly developed forms, like e.g. all 32 types of mammals are found in complete forms as fossils without any transitional forms. Also, we cannot observe that primitive forms have become extinct.

10. All the visible and concrete facts we find do not conform in any way to an evolutionary model but clearly confirm in every single point a creationary model.

Science

1. Srila Prabhupada: "Scientists are not even able to create a particle of sand what to speak of a rose."

2. Where does the original matter come from which is supposed to be the cause of any other development?

3. Modern scientists are not able to properly explain what consciousness is.

4. One cannot speak from nature independently. As soon as we say "nature", we have to ask "whose nature."

5. Materialistic science tries to control, manipulate, and exploit nature with the help of their scientific discoveries. This is a fundamental mistake because the way nature is designed is to bring the living entity to the point of understanding that the plan to "lord over material nature" is a futile attempt.

6. Materialistic science is constantly changing her theories but is simultaneously always claiming to be absolute.

7. The research of the practically unlimited complex material energy takes enormous efforts (time, energy, money) but it doesn't offer any solution (labyrinth principle).

8. All theories coming from scientists are "proven" with experiments which are made with the help of imperfect senses and fallible and conditioned instruments.

9. There is a dogma prevalent that laws which are valid in our environment are valid all over the universe, although this can not be proven in any way.

10. Real science means to understand who we are, where we come from and why we suffer birth, old age, disease and death. To all of these questions materialistic science doesn't give satisfactory answers.

11. Countries in which materialistic science is applied have increasing and seemingly unsolvable problems.

12. All of the enormous efforts in science have an underlying motive-and it doesn't seem that these motives are of spiritual nature, but purely materialistic in nature (the majority of scientists are working for the armament industry) and the general population has to make big financial sacrifices in order to support scientific research.

13. We can observe that not only life comes from life but also that matter is produced from life (lemon tree/lemon juice).

14. Matter in itself is lifeless and moves only due to the presence of spiritual energy.