by Dr. T.D. Singh
Dr. Thoudam Damodara Singh (1937-2006), also known as Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami is the founding director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute. He was one of the world’s pioneer exponents of science-spirituality dialogue and inter-faith peace initiatives. He identified the cause of many of the problems in the world today such as terrorism, environmental issues, and social and religious conflict to be due to a lack of understanding between the fields of empirical science and religion. As the International Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute, he wrote more than thirty books, gave hundreds of talks and seminars, and organized numerous scholarly discussions and international conferences on topics related to the science and spirituality nexus.
VEDANTA AND EMBRYOLOGY
Due to a lack of direct access to the growing fetus, there were many speculations on the sensory capabilities of the fetus by clinicians, scientists parents-to-be. Until the 1960s, the fetus was referred to as ‘witless tadpole isolated from the agitation of the world’ (by Jean-Jacques Rousseau). However, with the advent of ultrasonography and other techniques, it was overwhelming to discover the startling picture of an intelligent and active life in the womb.
It is very interesting to note that there is a significant description about the science of embryology in Vedantic literatures. Srimad Bhagavatam, Third Canto mentions a brief description of human embryology. Garbhopanishad, one of the ancient Upanishads, also serves as a brief treatise on embryology. These are very relevant to modern science and technology.
According to Vedanta the manifestation of life begins from the moment of conception. Life first enters the semen of the male and is injected into a womb of a woman [1] Dr. Jerome Lejeune[2], known as “The Father of Modern Genetics,” also said, “Life is present from the moment of conception” before the Louisiana Legislature’s House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice on June 7, 1990. He explained that within three to seven days after fertilization we can determine if the new human being is a boy or a girl. “At no time,” Dr. Lejeune said, “is the human being a blob of protoplasm. As far as your nature is concerned, I see no difference between the early person that you were at conception and the late person which you are now. You were, and are, a human being.” He pointed out that each human being is unique – different from the mother – from the moment of conception.[3]
A man’s semen contains millions of cells called sperm cells (about 107 /ml). Each sperm cell is an actively motile, free-swimming and elongated cell from 60-75 m in length. F.M. Burnet remarked about this sperm cell as “It is an intimidating thought that there is more information on organic chemical synthesis packed into the head of a spermatozoon than in all the 200 volumes of the Journal of Biochemical Chemistry.”[4]
According to Vedic literatures, the spiritual particle (soul), or the spiriton enters this sperm cell which then fertilizes the ovum, the female gamate, to form a single cell called zygote. The various stages of development of embryo in the womb of the mother are described in Srimad Bhagavatam 3.31.2-4, 3.31.10, 3.31.22-23:
“On the first night, the sperm and ovum mix (to form zygote), and on the fifth night the mixture ferments into a bubble (blastocyst). On the tenth night it develops into a form like a plum, and after that, it gradually turns into a lump of flesh.”
“In the course of a month, a head is formed, and at the end of two months the hands, feet and other limbs take shape. By the end of three months, the nails, fingers, toes, body hair, bones and skin appear, as do the organ of generation and the other apertures in the eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth and anus.”
“Within four months from the date of conception, the seven essential ingredients of the body, namely chyle, blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and semen, come into existence. At the end of five months, hunger and thirst make themselves felt, and at the end of six months, the fetus, enclosed by the amnion, begins to move on the right side of the abdomen.”
“Deriving its nutrition from the food and drink taken by the mother, the fetus grows and remains in that abominable residence of stools and urine, which is the breeding place of all kinds of worms.”
“Placed within the amnion and covered outside by the intestines, the child remains lying on one side of the abdomen, his head turned towards his belly and his back and neck arched like a bow.”
“Thus endowed with the development of consciousness from the seventh month after his conception, the child is tossed downward by the airs that press the embryo during the weeks preceding delivery. Like the worms born of the same filthy abdominal cavity, he cannot remain in one place.”
“Lord Kapila continued: The ten-month-old living entity has these desires even while in the womb. But while he thus extols the Lord, the wind that helps parturition propels him forth with his face turned downward so that he may be born. Pushed downward all of a sudden by the wind, the child comes out with great trouble, head downward, breathless and deprived of memory due to severe agony.”[5]
In the Markandeya Purana it is said that in the intestine of the mother, the umbilical cord, which is known as apyayani, joins the mother to the abdomen of the child, and through this passage the child within the womb accepts the mother’s assimilated foodstuff. In this way the child is fed by the mother’s intestine within the womb and grows from day to day. The role of the umbilical cord is also mentioned as – “The dhamanis in the foetus take their rise from the umbilical cord, thus bringing nourishment from the mother. The embryo is held at the navel. It grows without taking food, that is, there is no effort made on the part of the embryo to take food and no food is specially served to it. The food in its final form is assimilated automatically and directly into the system of the embryo. The child is nourished of its own accord as it were. The mother is not conscious of the nourishment given to the young one below her heart.”[6]
There are also the restrictions and precautions to be taken by the pregnant mother mentioned in the smriti scriptures of Vedic literature. From the very day of begetting a child there is a purificatory process of garbhadhana-samskara. Garbhadhana ceremony is a vedic ceremony of purification to be performed by parents before conceiving a child.
It is said in Caraka Samhita that the mental condition of a child depends upon:[7]
(a) the mental status of his/her parents at the time he/she is conceived
(b) the sounds heard repeatedly by the pregnant woman[8]
(c) the actions performed by the embryo in his/her previous life and
(d) the frequent desires for a particular type of mental faculty by the progeny in his/her previous life.
Therefore, before begetting a child, one has to sanctify his perplexed mind. If the mind of the father is not sober, the semen discharged will not be very good. By performing this Garbhadana ceremony, both the husband and wife become completely pure and sanctified and a good child will be produced. For example, the Rig Veda X. 186 mentions two mantras to be repeated by the bridegroom before conception.
So in ancient India, there are systems from the very beginning of the birth of human life for begetting good population. To take care of the child is the primary duty of the parents because if such care is taken, society will be filled with good population to maintain peace and prosperity of the human race.
REFERENCES:
[1] Aiteraya Upanisad 2.1.1, Aitareya Brahmana 2.5.1 and Srimad Bhagavatam 3.31.1
[2] Dr. Lejeune of Paris, France discovered the genetic cause of Down Syndrome, receiving the Kennedy Prize for the discovery and, in addition, received the Memorial Allen Award Medal, the world’s highest award for work in the field of Genetics. He died on April 3, 1994.
[3] http://www.prolife.com/FETALDEV.html
[4] S.M. Bhatnagar, M.L. Kothari, L. A. Mehta & M. Natarajan, Essential of Human Embryology (2000), Chennai, pp.8-10.
[5] A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam (1987), Mumbai, Canto 3, pp.707-709, 712, 714, 733-734.
[6] B.N. Seal, The positive sciences of ancient Hindus, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, Varanasi, Patna, 1958.
[7] R. K. Sharma and Bhagwan Dash, Caraka Samhita, Varanasi, 1992, Vol II, Verse 4.8.16, pp. 470-471.
[8] Experiments by some of the leading scientists to study the hearing capabilities of fetuses confirmed that human babies have the ability to recognize voices and even poems that they first heard before they were born. DeCasper, A. and Fifer, W., “Of human bonding: Newborns prefer their mother’s voice”, Science (1980), 208, 1174-1176; DeCasper, A., Lecanuet, J-P., Busnel, M-C., Granier-Deferre, C., and Mangeais, R., “Fetal reactions to recurrent maternal speech”, Infant Behavior and Development (1994), 17(2), 159- 164; Moon, C., Cooper, R. P. and Fifer, W. P., “Two-day-olds prefer their native language”, Infant Behavior and Development (1993), 16(4), 495-500.