Sri Ramakrishna Math : The Vedanta Kesari, Modern Genetics and the Ancient Gita

A retired General Manager of the Reserve Bank of India, Bangalore Branch, Mr.P.Govindarajan has written a booklet, Religion of the Vedas, and a number of articles on Science and Religion for various journals.

Seeing the incredible prospects and potentials of genes, geneticists the world over are working feverishly with DNA and genetic material of various species to invent new reproductive technologies, and it will perhaps be too premature to hazard a guess as to where genetics is going to land humanity. The two areas selected for intensive research, namely human cloning and stem cell research, have aroused concern, fear and worry among many sections of the world community. While reproductive cloning to produce human foetuses has been banned in several countries, selective experiments on cloning for the express purpose of production of embryonic stem cells has been permitted by a few governments. Despite the specific ban on human cloning, some fertility experts who want to favour infertile couples have publicly announced their decision to go ahead with human cloning by setting up labs in countries where there is no such ban.

Cloning is the genetic duplication of a living being. Geneticists remove the DNA in the unfertilised egg and fertilise it by injecting DNA of the donor to generate artificially a genetic duplicate of the donor. In 1997, Ian Wilmut at Roslind Institute in Edinburgh used mammary udder cell of a pregnant ewe to fertilise an egg and implanted the embryo in a surrogate mother to produce the cloned Dolly that attracted world attention. Out of 277 attempts with unfertilised eggs, 29 fertilised of which only one grew to the full term.

In the cloning of humans there are several grave perils, which do not seem to have been taken cognisance of by those who have embarked on this hazardous venture. Women who volunteer to play the role of surrogate mother can even be poisoned by the decomposition of the alien embryo and her physical and mental condition can undergo radical changes due to the presence of the foreign body in her womb. Till the new technology is refined and perfected, the surrogate mother may deliver deformed, stillborn offspring if there is no abortion or miscarriage in the meanwhile. Unfortunately, scientists blow their success out of proportion to earn fame and fortune, but the hundreds of failures in the trial and error process of learning the new technique are hushed up and buried.

Scottish researchers have discovered that the cells of the cloned mammal are six years older than her chronological age and Dolly may have a shorter life expectancy than normal. The pregnant donor mother whose udder cell gave rise to Dolly was over six years old when she died. The death of the donor indicates that those who volunteer to donate DNA for cloning experiments may face the possible risk of losing their own life in the bargain for getting their genetic duplicate. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the offspring will look exactly as the donor but it will only carry the genes of the donor. The functioning of mind of the human clone is not in the hands of geneticists and the retardation or abnormality in the mental development may become apparent only in later years. Researchers should realise the fact that prevention is always far better than cure.

Stem cells are blank cells that possess the potential to develop into nerve and tissue cells. Stem cells are derived from human embryos through cloning. In such experiments, unfertilised egg is first cloned to form zygote or fertilised egg. When the fertilised cell starts dividing, the stem cells that become viable for experimentation are isolated. Geneticists propose to implant genetic information in the blank embryonic cells for deriving particular tissues or nerve cells. They believe that stem cells can serve as the perfect medium for growth of healthy cells. The blank stem cells with injected genetic information are meant for implantation in the diseased part of the patient's body in the hope that the newly grown cells will replace, in course of time, the diseased ones to give a fresh lease of life to patients suffering from incurable diseases like diabetes, coronary disorders, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, leukaemia, etc.

From 1998, when geneticists isolated stem cells from the cell mass of embryo, stem cell has been considered as a major health care technique but clinical application may take several years. Scientists do not as yet know what force triggers the morphogenesis or the cell division process in the fertilised egg. Critics say that the study of the nucleus of cell can never reveal the cause of reproduction of cells just as the working of Xerox machine cannot be understood from the study of Xerox copies. Stem cell research has also given rise to the moral issue whether the zygote used in research is potential life or inert matter. Critics believe that human life starts right from the moment of fertilisation and the zygote does possess life, as its very growth is the sufficient sign of life. In their view, there is no basic difference between deprivation of innocent lives by terrorists and the snuffing out of life of dumb and defenceless embryos by scientists at the very start of their mortal career, in so far as the gravity of offence is concerned. They feel that the addition of a few more years to the life of sick people should not be at the cost of posterity. They also fear that such experiments may encourage the young to sell their unfertilised eggs purely for monetary consideration. Pessimists further add that the use of stem cells to generate fresh neurons is unlikely to succeed, as the cells in the brain are irreplaceable. Some critics say that the feeding of genetic information into blank cells will need utmost care and caution. The findings about the role and function of genes in disease causation in most of the studies are based on random sampling and studies on the very same subject using the scientific method of observation and inference have reached diametrically opposite conclusions. Such flawed studies in which the element of subjectivity is high cannot be extrapolated to the population at large. One is reminded of the incident in which the famous ballet dancer Anna Pavlov proposed marriage to Bernard Shaw to beget children with her beauty and his brain, but Shaw wittily declined the offer pointing that they might give rise to offspring with her brain and his beauty.

The Human Genome Project has raised apprehensions and fears in some, as its findings could be used by the unscrupulous to promote eugenics or selective breeding of high pedigree humans with superior genes. In the Mahabharata, Arjuna, before the commencement of the war, feared that the wives of those killed in battle might be exploited to give rise to intermingling of races. In verse 40 of Chapter I of the Gita, he says--'Age-long tradition will disappear with destruction of family; when righteousness is lost, vice will overpower the entire race.' And he adds in verse 42 that the admixture of blood will damn the destroyers of race as well as the race itself. Wise ancients attached maximum importance to family tradition and matching of horoscopes in marriage proposals to ensure mental and physical compatibility, health and longevity, emergence of good progeny etc. The widespread impression that the ancients were primitive and unevolved is not borne out from available facts, as they did possess adequate knowledge of human reproduction to preserve the mental and physical well-being of posterity. They possessed prodigious memory to remember and orally transmit the entire Vedas and also high mathematical precision to predict the movements of planets and occurrence of eclipses with accuracy for the preparation of almanac.

The concept of time is wholly based on sun, moon as also rotation and revolution of earth. The (momentary) present is only a bridge connecting the future with the past. In the Gita, the Lord, while referring to the time of death makes a mention about day and night, waxing and waning of moon and revolution of earth around sun. Even today, the world names the days in the week after the seven planets namely Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. The Lunar month and Solar year are also based on the phases of the Moon and the time taken by earth to complete one circle around the sun. The planetary position for the matching of horoscopes was considered very important for a long and happy married life. Sceptics may point out the few cases of failures of arranged marriages but the elders attribute such exceptions to the wrong casting of horoscopes due to inaccuracies either in the time or place of birth.

In verse 13 of Chapter IV of the Gita, the Lord says that the four orders of society are created by Him classifying human beings according to the three modes of Prakriti (Nature) namely Sattva (goodness and intelligence), Rajas (activity and restlessness) and Tamas (inertia and dullness) and allotting corresponding duties to them. The dominant nature of an individual is determined by these three modes of nature. These modes of Prakriti are present in all human beings in different proportions. In verses 11 to 13 of Chapter XIV, the Lord describes the natural inclinations of individuals in the following words:

When enlightenment and discernment dawn in the body as well as mind and senses, then one should know that Sattva is predominant. With preponderance of Rajas, Arjuna, greed, activity, undertaking of actions with interested motive, restlessness and a thirst for enjoyment make their appearance. With growth of Tamas, Arjuna, obtuseness of the mind and senses, disinclination to perform one's obligatory duties, frivolity and stupor appear.

The wise ancients feared that by the intermingling of races, there could be gradual deterioration in the physical and mental well-being of people in society. In their view, the admixture of the Sattvic with the Rajasic could give rise to offspring with perverted intelligence and the intermingling of Rajasic with the Tamasic may give rise to progeny who are dull and slovenly. Such changes in the permutations and combinations of the modes of Prakriti in the progeny may in the very long run breed immorality and corruption affecting the very stability of society. Change to suit the needs of time is very essential but continuity of family tradition and culture is absolutely necessary to preserve morality and righteousness in society.

Women are prepared to risk their lives to beget offspring for their dear husbands, and motherhood is something noble and sacrosanct. Similarly, knowledge of DNA, genes etc, are profound secrets of Nature and should be treated as sacred to be handled with humility and respect. Human cloning and stem cell research are blatant abuse and flagrant misuse of sacred knowledge. A living organism is much more than the sum of all its constituent physical and chemical parts. Scientists should realise that they can know only the peripheral and superficial aspects of the working of nature and certainly not the WHOLE of it. In the name of advancement of technology scientists should not take advantage of sick people to play with potential human lives. The secular science should confine its attention only to inert matter and should not extend its unethical jurisdiction to sacred human life, which is no less than the life of the scientists