Molecule (Conv. & Letters)

Expressions researched:
"molecular" |"molecule" |"molecules"

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- August 17, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: They will be visible in due course of time.

Śyāmasundara: What he was telling me was that the table itself has a jīva soul, that the table is a person.

Prabhupāda: No no.

Revatīnandana: So that's what I was asking. 'Cause I said, "Does the table have a jīva soul?" I was trying to ask that question.

Śyāmasundara:That's what completely threw me off. I thought, "Oh..." That means the table is a person, this is a person, this is a...

Prabhupāda: A particular jīva soul was in that body. Then it is also proved that every jīva soul is individual. Although they are living combinedly, everything is individual.

Revatīnandana: Well, doesn't... That's all right then. Now the...

Prabhupāda: But that one jīva soul was prominent. He was visible. Others were in dormant condition. This proves that every individual soul is separate from the other; still, they can remain together. Just like the sunshine, they create... a small shining particles, combined together, molecules. So everything is combined spirit particles.

Haṁsadūta: Everything that we see around us, everything.

Prabhupāda: Everything. Sarvam idam khalv idaṁ brahma. Everything is Brahman. But when they are covered, that is called material exis...

Śyāmasundara: Each jīva is...

Prabhupāda: Just as sunshine is not covered, it is called cloudy. But this light, whatever light you are seeing, that is also sunshine. That is not different from the sunshine. And above the cloud, there is bright. So matter means when it is covered by something, it is matter. That covering is unconsciousness. That covering is also created of the sunshine, by the same energy. And then, by the same energy it is dissipated also. So the conclusion is living being, when it is covered by ignorance, that is material.

Revatīnandana: But this, the body itself is sort of a manifestation of ignorance.

Prabhupāda: Yes. When the ignorance is gone, then you have got spiritual body.

Room Conversation -- August 17, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: That you consider. That we imagine.

Haṁsadūta: That's why I'm asking. Or like in this world, so many living entities are forming of one spiritual form.

Prabhupāda: In one sense it is right. They are spiritual molecules. Yes. Here also, spiritual molecules, but here it is called material because there is no sense of Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Forgetfulness. They are covered by ignorance.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Revatīnandana: The cowherd boy with Kṛṣṇa, he is also vibhinnāṁśa expansion. Correct?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Maharishi Impersonalists -- April 7, 1972, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: There is quite possibility. Because you are all individual, there is quite possibility of disagreeing with another individual person. There is quite possibility. So oneness does not mean that you lose your individuality. Oneness means you keep your individuality, but you take the same interest. Then it is oneness. It is not possible that you lose your individuality. That is not possible. You are individual eternally. Do you understand this? You have got anything to say about this oneness? Do you differ? Just like the sunlight. The sunlight, physically, they are very small, shining, molecular, what is called?

Śyāmasundara: Particles?

Room Conversation with Maharishi Impersonalists -- April 7, 1972, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Very small, atom-like. They are combined together. It looks that it is one, sunshine. But they are mixture of molecular parts, very small. They are all shining. This is scientific. But it looks one. Even water, that also, small molecular parts. Everything. This matter—a small molecular atom. So everything is combination of several molecular, atomic parts. That's all. You are also atomic spirit. So all the atomic spirit, when they are together, that is called brahmajyo... (loud noise) This... This cannot be stopped? This nonsense bombing?

Śyāmasundara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: That is very much disturbing.

Impersonalist: Who is Kṛṣṇa?

Prabhupāda: Now answer who is Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Maharishi Impersonalists -- April 7, 1972, Melbourne:

Śyāmasundara: Kṛṣṇa is the supreme individual, supreme person. And we all take our individual, our individualities, from Him. Just like the gold ring that you are wearing, perhaps, takes its individual existence from the mine of gold. It's a very small particle of the mine, and you can't say that it is not the same as the mine. It is the same as the mine 'cause it is gold. But it is very tiny, molecular, atomic. Whereas the mine of gold is, for practical purposes, unlimited, and...

Prabhupāda: (aside:) Come on.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 27, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The understanding in science is that if I burn a piece of wood, that wood contains originally cellulose. So it has certain amount carbons, and a certain amount hydrogens. So if I burn it, that carbon will be converted to smaller molecules like carbon dioxide and water. So if I balance it, starting from the original cellulose, so I'll get a certain number of carbon atoms and hydrogens. So the matter is conserved. In other words, it is not lost. That is the understanding of the science.

Prabhupāda: No, we also, we also say. The energy, we take the sum total, material energy, that is conserved. It is displayed again. When there is annihilation, the whole energy goes back to Kṛṣṇa. Yānti māmikām, prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām.

Morning Walk -- April 27, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Water, they're also composition of atomic grains?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The hydrogen and oxygen, they're called compound. Compound of hydrogen and oxygen.

Prabhupāda: So hydrogen and oxygen, they have got grains, molecular.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So it is called molecules, molecule of water.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There are innumerable molecules in water.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Everywhere. In the sunshine also, there is molecules, shining particles.

Morning Walk -- April 29, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. Just like symbolic: CH, square root, like that.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Like in chemistry, for example, the molecule of Benzine. So you present it just like six lines, but a hexagon figure with a circle inside, they condense a lot of information.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is a code, sūtra. But the chemical symbolic representation, that is understand by the specialist. But this sūtra can be understood by anyone. Just like athāto brahma jijñāsā. The meaning is: "Now, this is the time for inquiring about the Absolute Truth." So this is a question for everyone. Any intelligent man. Here we are understanding everything relatively. Relatively. Just like when I say: "Father," there must be one son... (break) ...truth, there must be one truth.

Morning Walk -- May 2, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Then I asked, "Supposing I give you the chemical materials, say, the molecules likes amino acids and the big molecules like DNA and RNA..." These are the molecules, which they think necessary for the maintenance of life. "Supposing I give you all these chemical compounds, then do you think that you will be able to put life into it. If you get all the chemical materials necessary, but will you be able to put life into it?" Then he said, "I do not know."

Prabhupāda: Then why you are talking nonsense? (laughter) Then? People did not laugh?

Morning Walk -- May 2, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is why the scientists, when they are trying to find out the origin of life, they are concerned only on the matter, the elements, chemical elements and the chemical compounds, the molecules, not on the superior energy.

Prabhupāda: No, there is superior energy. The same example. Just like because I am now living, I am eating something, going to the stomach, the chemical action is going on. If I am dead, it will not. Therefore life is superior. On account of presence of life, the foodstuff which we are taking, that is being divided into different chemicals, some urine, some stool, some blood, and they are being utilized differently. So how can you say? But without life, such distinction will not act. Therefore life is superior. Even accepting life is also matter.

Morning Walk -- May 12, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: And nora means mortar and what is called, pestle? So it is your śilā nora. I take it and break your teeth. (laughter) So take their, this jugglery of words and break their teeth. That should be the policy. "These molecules and this and that," so many words. You have to simply catch their words, and with their words kill them. That is intelligence. We are saying plainly. You say with these words which is their sona, mortar and pestle, and break their teeth. That's all. Tora śilā tora nora tora bāṇi dāntera gora.(?) This policy should be adopted. Otherwise, we know they are rascals. But if I say, rascal, people will say, "You are not a scientific man, how you can say he is rascal?" "Therefore I am flattering you that otherwise..." You haven't got to convince me, that (he's a) rascal.

Morning Walk -- May 12, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: No, without living entity within, nothing can grow.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. So some are saying that when they make these chemicals like the big molecules that we were talking about, DNA... And they are saying that DNA can make its own replication, means it can make another chain of molecules by its own. So they are saying that it is living.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And some are saying that it's not living.

Prabhupāda: That means their knowledge is imperfect. Somebody is saying something somebody is saying something. That means imperfect.

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 13, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Monod is his name. He got Nobel Prize in 1965 from... He is Frenchman, physiologist. And his, chance and necessity about life, he said everything started by chance. So he is saying that by chance these chemicals combined together, forming these molecules, the basic molecules...

Prabhupāda: But wherefrom the molecules came?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: According to him it is simply by chance.

Prabhupāda: Chance. So everything is chance. So what is the necessity of your writing book?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Then necessity arises, so these molecules re-orient, change as a fashion because of necessity.

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 17, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Here the acintya-śakti is working, this mist, fog. You have no power to drive it away. Beyond your power. You can explain with some juggling of words...

Passer-by: Good morning.

Prabhupāda: Good morning. ...that "Such chemicals, such molecules, such this, that," there are so many things. But (laughing) you have no power to drive it away.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah. They have no explanation how the mist is formed. They call...

Prabhupāda: That you can do. That is, I can do also. It is not very great credit. But if you know how it is formed, then counteract it.

Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:

Śyāmasundara: Mr. Tiwari is a well-known scientist. Biolo... Biologist?

Krishna Tiwari: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Molecular biology?

Krishna Tiwari: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Studying at U. C..., University of California at Irvine.

Krishna Tiwari: I don't know how famous, but... (laughs).

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Studying biology and molecular biology. You were in University of Southern California before, right?

Krishna Tiwari: No, University of California to Los Angeles. UCLA.

Prabhupāda: So:

Room Conversation -- July 9, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Sthāvara, sthāvara means one cannot move, standing. Sthāvara-jaṅgama. There are two kinds of living entities. One moving, one not moving.

Yogeśvara: But the atom is always in motion. The atoms and molecules are always constantly moving.

Prabhupāda: That movement is different. That is not independent movement.

Yogeśvara: Is that to say that a stone has a living entity in it?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes, just like that Dr. Wolfe came also. So gradually they'll come, because they're...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But they're more interested in seeing the molecules than in taking prasādam.

Prabhupāda: No...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is their (indistinct).

Devotee (2): So we have to trick them to take prasādam.

Prabhupāda: They will (indistinct) as students not to see molecules, but to see how palatable dishes are there. (laughter)

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So whenever he works, he never cares about anything, but he carries his only piece of paper and pen so that he can write molecules. So his consciousness is only on molecules, and he is very happy.

Prabhupāda: That is nice. That is māyā. That is māyā. Even the pig is happy eating stool. That is māyā. Āvaraṇātmika-śakti (?). Covering energy of māyā. Unless he's covered, he cannot eat and enjoy.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So these are all guided by māyā.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Prakṛti is conducting everything, as you are associating with qualities of prakṛti. That I have already explained.

Morning Walk -- December 5, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Whereas non-life doesn't have.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Matter, just like a molecule doesn't have this acintya. But they may...

Prabhupāda: No, it has, but it is covered too much. Consciousness is covered. Potency, potent. It is potent.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Molecule has consciousness?

Prabhupāda: Yes, everything has consciousness, but it is covered. The degree is of covering.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 18, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Oh. (break) ...formation of water?

Devotee: Do you know? A scientific explanation of water?

Bali-mardana: H-2-O. Hydrogen, two molecules of hydrogen, one molecule of oxygen.

Prabhupāda: So in anywhere there is water, that formula is applicable?

Bali-mardana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So, within the dob there is water.

Bali-mardana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So who supplied the chemicals?

Morning Walk -- April 29, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Wherefrom this boy brings gold?" So he (she) was doubtful because he (she) was thinking, "My son is mad, sometimes crazy." So he (she) would go, "Is it real gold? Just see." Then. "Yes, it is real gold." "Hm, how He got it?" You see. (break) ...many yogis, they make such gold for meeting their expenditures. Yes. Still in India they know how to make gold from copper. Yes. The process is they will drink mercury at night, and in the morning they will urine on the copper coins. And then, after some hours, the copper coins taken and put into the fire, it becomes gold. And it is scientific that some molecules of mercury, if mixed with copper, it is gold. Gold is combination of mercury and copper. But the people cannot mix it. They have tried. That is called alchemist. They tried to mix it.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1975, Atlanta:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually, the way they study the origin of life is nothing but the origin of molecules. It's not actually of life, the way they are studying. So there is a misunderstanding what is life and what is matter.

Prabhupāda: No, no, whatever they are studying, this rascal cannot make life even with combination of those original molecules. Where is that proof? Our challenge is that because they cannot do it, therefore they are rascals. And that vṛścika taṇdūla nyāya, that a scorpion is coming out of rice, that's it.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: That's it. Life is not created, na jāyate. Read Bhagavad-gītā. Na jāyate: "Life is never created." It is existing eternally. Therefore it is said, na jāyate. So unfortunate rascals, they do not take advantage of Bhagavad-gītā and making research. So we want to stop this rascaldom. They are trying to create life, and it is stated in the Bhagavad..., na jāyate: "It is never created." It is already there. Simply it is coming out, being manifest by different bodies, 8,400,000 forms. That I was explaining last night. According to his desire. The life is already there, and according to his desire, he is coming out in different forms. That is going on. This is a false theory, that chemical can create life. It is nonsense. Life is never created, life is already there. God is already there, and the part and particles, molecules, life, was already there. Na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit. This word is used, kadācit, "at any time." So we have got perfect knowledge. Why should we say, "Yes," with these rascals? We have got perfect knowledge.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Mādhava: Can we say that the living entity is there, and that he is the one that makes the molecules and the atoms come together to form a body just like the scientists give explanation? No? We can't?

Prabhupāda: No. Because the living entity is there for the formation of his body, so many things are going on, action and reaction of the matter. That's all. That is depending on his desires. It is so subtle thing. He is desiring, and action, reaction is going on. And as soon as the living entity is not there, these action and reaction will stop. So they are trying to find out the missing thing. That missing thing is the living entity. That they do not know, foolishly. Just like a motorcar is running very nicely, and as soon as the driver goes away it stops.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: That is also... Because they have no knowledge, how they can describe?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We're explaining that, just like Śrīla Prabhupāda's example that the driver in the car. So inside the... We also say that "Yes, molecules are the ingredients to build the material bodies. But this does not mean that molecules are the living entities."

Prabhupāda: That's it.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There is a driver necessary.

Morning Walk -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: Oh. That is somewhere in India still. But here they keep cows not for protection, for eating. (break) ...chemical. Life is already there.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, what they are saying is this, that the..., when they examine this body in the minute details—they call the molecular levels—they find only molecules. They don't see anything. For example, when they analyze the hand, they saw it—this is proteins, protein molecules, some fats, some carbohydrates, and they don't see anything else except molecules. And at the same time, when they study—they are called the biochemical pathways in the living cells—they find only these DNA molecules and the different molecules that carry out different activities. That is why they say that there is..., what we call life is just nothing but arrangement of these molecules in different ways. So that's why they say that "Yes, life started actually from these molecules."

Morning Walk -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: So why they cannot produce life from the molecules?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They'd say that when science started or knowledge started, it takes some time. It cannot come all in a sudden.

Prabhupāda: So what is this knowledge? The molecules are already there.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But they'll say in about, say, about two hundred, three hundred years ago, they didn't know these molecules.

Rūpānuga: They say, "Rome wasn't built in a day."

Morning Walk -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: You are still... Still you are foolish. (laughter) Why are you claiming intelligent? Admit it, that still you are foolish. "We have known the molecules." So what is the benefit of knowing?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Because that is a part of our man's inquiry, inquiry to know something. They don't want to be in darkness.

Prabhupāda: The enquiry may be, but whether that enquiry is properly answered, that is the thing. Enquiry there is always. But where is the answer of the enquiry?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The answers, without knowing the goal, remain unanswered. (end)

Room Conversation -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: Mm.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And then on the sixth chapter there will be a topic called "Molecular Evolution." This will taking the jumbles of the scientific findings, but we use it as a jumbles and turn around to Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So that will be by me and...

Prabhupāda: That is vṛścika-taṇḍula-nyāya. Is not that? The last chapter, what he means?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, this one?

Prabhupāda: Mm.

Room Conversation -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: Mm.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: This is molecular evolution.

Prabhupāda: Ha. Molecular evolution takes place when the light is there.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually when they say molecular evolution, it talks only about molecules. They don't talk about life. Because they don't know what life is.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So they talk only about molecules. That everybody knows that molecules are around and it's evolving. But they don't know that there is life. They take...

Morning Walk -- April 3, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Where is moving? This is moving?

Rāmeśvara: Well they say the atoms, the molecules, are always in motion.

Prabhupāda: No, no. First of all prove that this is moving. Then all, say all this nonsense. First of all, why it is not moving? This, this piece of earth, why it is not moving?

Viṣṇujana: They say it's moving very slowly. You can't see it moving.

Prabhupāda: Eh? Eh?

Viṣṇujana: It's moving so slow, you can't see it.

Prabhupāda: Then you become blind. Then you can see.

Morning Walk -- April 3, 1975, Mayapur:

Rāmeśvara: There is one theory that even the atoms have intelligence because the way they combine together to form larger molecules...

Prabhupāda: That means that is Kṛṣṇa's intelligence. They do not see Kṛṣṇa. Try to understand the whole philosophy because you have to preach and you have to confront so many atheist rascals.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: These scientists need gurus.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The scientists need guru.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Kim Cornish -- May 8, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: The sky, the Brahman. What is the sky? A combination of atoms. So the component parts they are also Brahman, otherwise how it is Brahman? Unless the component parts are Brahman, how is it Brahman? It is a combination of many component parts, small Brahman. Param Brahman. Param Brahman means the supreme. The sea water, ocean water. Ocean water is very big, that is Brahman. Big means Brahman. But what is this ocean water? Small molecules of water. Sometimes we see the sea waves, small molecules, cool. So it is combination of small Brahman. So, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Everything is Brahman. And we are a small, very small fragmental portion of Brahman. How small are we? One ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair.

Room Conversation with Kim Cornish -- May 8, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: We cannot see even the tip of the hair, very small point. And you have to divide it into ten thousand parts. And that one part—you, I, everyone. So small. So everything is Brahman. It is said sarva khalv idaṁ brahma. Everything is Brahman. Why? Because the Brahman is very big, but what is this big? The big is a combination of small molecules, atoms. What is your idea of Brahman?

Kim: From my own understanding I took it to be just the world, everything that is, but I don't understand.

Prabhupāda: Not clear idea.

Kim: I had an experience in New Zealand...

Morning Walk -- July 14, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: No, no. All right or not all right I don't say. But if they say like that, we have no objection

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So the understanding to find out what life is is just to study what a cell is. That is their... They say that cells are composed of these molecules.

Prabhupāda: What is the position of the cells when the man dies?

Svaupa Dāmodara: The cells are dead. The cells that compose the body, they are dead. There are may be new living entities coming from different parts, but the cell that composed the human body is dead. They cannot reproduce anymore.

Prabhupāda: So what is your proposal? That cell is life?

Morning Walk -- July 17, 1975, San Francisco:

Paramahaṁsa: Originally, right.

Prabhupāda: We have not seen the original.

Dharmādhyakṣa: Well, originally, they say, it was just some chance combination of atoms and molecules...

Prabhupāda: That is... A chance means you are a rascal. Nothing takes place with chance. That is his rascaldom. Nothing takes place. The answer is in the Bhagavad..., bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām: (Bg 7.10) "The original seed I am." The answer is there. Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām. Challenge these rascals. They are cheating so many people.

Bahulāśva: Well, then they want to say that if nature can't be self-existing, how can God?

Morning Walk -- July 19, 1975, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: I can give you suggestion. This example is given by Sanātana Gosvāmī.

yathā kāñcanatāṁ yāti

kaṁsyaṁ rāsa-vidhānataḥ

tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena

dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛnāṁ

This is the definition, that "As kaṁsya, the bell metal, by manipulating with mercury, it becomes gold, similarly, a person by the process of dīkṣā, initiation, be becomes a brāhmaṇa. This is the example he has given. Yathā kāñcanataṁ yāti. Kāñcanatam means gold. Rāsa-vidhānataḥ, by process of mercury manipulation. Why he has not taken other metal? This is in the śāstra. And the scientists—I do not know—they say that some, what is called, molecules? Some molecules added with mercury, it can be turned into gold.

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That is his rascaldom. He's a rascal. But soul is there. Then find out what is the missing point of a dead man. If there is no soul, something is missing.

Harikeśa: Well, actually they’ve pinned it down to a little bit of a molecule that breaks down.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Bring that molecule.

Harikeśa: They’re working on it.

Prabhupāda: Huh? Again, "working on it." You see. This is bluff. This is bluff.

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Prabhupāda: Huh? Again, "working on it." You see. This is bluff. This is bluff.

Harikeśa: Now they are inventing these different DNA and RNA molecules to change people by injecting them with these different things before they are born, making new people.

Prabhupāda: That is not very difficult thing. If you make some vegetable, if you add more sugar it becomes sweet. If you add more salt it becomes salty. That you can do. That is not very difficult. Our question is wherefrom the life comes? That is our… So they do not give any answer to this. That is their foolishness. What is that life? They say life developed from chemical. Now do it. By chemical combination make in one egg and give it to the fomenting machine. What is that?

Morning Walk -- November 10, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Unless one becomes Vaiṣṇava...

Dr. Patel: A real scientist finds God's working in every cell, every atom, every molecule.

Prabhupāda: No, no, our point is unless one has become Vaiṣṇava, he remains a fool.

Dr. Patel: That is your saying.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the statement of Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). So anyone who has not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he is a fool, rascal. That' s all. This is the conclusion. We are fool, undoubtedly, but we take the words of Kṛṣṇa. He is not fool.

Morning Walk -- November 10, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No.

Dr. Patel: ...every molecule and every living cell, He says what He is.

Prabhupāda: So everyone, our...

Dr. Patel: That is what the scientists think.

Prabhupāda: Scholars, they think like that, "Kṛṣṇa is fictitious. This Bhagavad-gītā was imagined," as if Kṛṣṇa speaking and Arjuna hearing, and there was no war as Kurukṣetra. This is their reply. There was no five thousand years.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 6, 1976, Nellore:

Prabhupāda: The Mississippi is not finished.

Mahāmṣa: And the water molecules...

Prabhupāda: And not only that, the water is again taken away and it is thrown into the Mississippi. So these rascals who think that "We have now merged. We are now liberated," that is rascaldom. They will be taken away and thrown again. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa... No, this is fact. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). They cannot stay. They will be taken away by the nature's law, converted into cloud and thrown away, again come, again come. They are thrown away. They cannot stay. And again they become water and come through. That is going on, coming and going. So their merging is not fact.

Garden Conversation -- June 8, 1976, Los Angeles:

Dr. Wolfe: Prabhupāda, may I still add something? In Atlanta, one professor in a seminar said when confronted with the Vedic philosophy, he said, "These things cannot be proven empirically, so we dismiss the problem." He is satisfied to be made out of molecules that came together through chemical combinations, and that is what he believes in and what he works for, and there is no more. He dismisses the problem.

Prabhupāda: Dismisses the problem? What is that.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: But he cannot prove that life is made from molecules.

Prabhupāda: Yes, so they no more deal with that subject matter?

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But in the..., from our experience, it is quite clear though that matter, as such... For example, let's take a crystal of diamond or, that will be shown later in the slide, that there are... Actually crystal of diamond is built in very simple structures. It's a hexagon, six carbon atoms, one after another, forms a very simple structure. But on the other hand, now when life is in association with matter, if we take a simple cell, the cell is composed of so many big, big molecules like proteins and DNA's and all these giant molecules. And they are wonderfully complex.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So what this studying of a dead man, the molecules? When a man is dead, what is the condition of the molecules?

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So what this studying of a dead man, the molecules? When a man is dead, what is the condition of the molecules?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The molecules will deteriorate to simple molecules. It will degrade from big, big molecules to small molecules. In other words, it tends to be simple. When the living entity is out of the material body, the body itself becomes very simple.

Prabhupāda: No varieties.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, no variety.

Prabhupāda: That I explained.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Now understanding these basic differences, to study the origin of life has some meaning. But scientists studying the origin of life, they have no idea about these fundamental differences. So they claim that life actually is a manifestation of matter. In other words, life comes from molecules. They call it "molecule to man" theory. That we will see in the next slide. Now in this slide the molecules is called primordial chemical soup. Now these chemicals are supposed to be formed from simple, reduced substances like water and ammonia and carbon and hydrogen compounds. They are called hydro-carbons. Now these somehow, under the action of ultra-violet radiation or cosmic force, they combine together and form these amino acids. Now these amino acids, in due course of time, form the polymers called proteins. And similarly, several polymeric compounds develop and, given a long period of time, we've shown there chance and given a long period of time, then it's going to bring life, it's going to give life. That is the fundamental background of the scientific study of origin of life. This is what they have proposed. These molecules, somehow they combine, given enough length of time, billions of years as the time period, and then it's bound to happen. They say, given enough length of time...

Prabhupāda: Provided he lives billions of years. But he's finished within fifty years. (laughter) And his theory remains. The rascal cannot remain more than fifty years, and he's talking of billions of years. This is the defect. Who will see after billions of years? He is finished within hundred years. These are theories only. We see practically. Egg appears like chemical combination, but if you give, proper fermentation will come, fermentation?

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, actually it is taught in all schools. There's a book called Molecules to Man. It's written by a very famous biologist, and it has been taught in school, saying that you come like this, from molecules, now you become human beings.

Prabhupāda: Now what...? Leave aside man. Molecules to chicken. How it is done? What is their answer?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They say give enough length of time.

Prabhupāda: Why shall I give them? Here I see. Within a week, I get.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Why shall I give them? Here I see. Within a week, I get.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They'll ask, though, "Where did the first egg come from?"

Prabhupāda: First, second, no. We see that... They say you have to wait, give the molecules chance, hundreds of billions of years, then you'll see life. But I'm not going to live for billions of years, neither scientist is going to live. But here I see practically that a small egg, it gives life within one week.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Life?

Prabhupāda: Life from egg, chicken. It gives life within week. So why shall I wait for millions of billions of years? You show, you make some combination of chemical and show that life is coming within a week.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually, there is, if we think of not in terms of science, but just in terms of our day-to-day experience, in social, moral, ethical, all levels of consciousness, if one analyzes this a little carefully, the root cause of our complete ethical background at this time is mainly due to this theory that "You are from molecules, and when you finish your body you'll also go back to molecules. So don't worry about all these high-sounding philosophical words. You just enjoy whatever you want and do whatever you like to do." So this type of complete materialistic...

Prabhupāda: Irresponsible life.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Now this experiment, another interpretation of these material scientists is that they claim that this experiment disproved the vital theory. But on other hand, actually, the opposite is true, that he proved that there is a vital theory, rather, that spirit must be there. That was actually proved by this experiment also. But the mentality of these scientists are so demoniac that they twist the truth around... (break) RNA is a big molecule and that is actually transferred from this DNA molecule. DNA molecule, they call it the master molecule from which everything comes, all the molecules. Now if we see this carefully, we can see at every step that there is a specific direction and information without which this whole machinery will break down.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15). Find out this verse. Vedaiś ca sarvair... So "If you want to acquire knowledge how these molecules are working, so you must know it is coming from Me, the direction is coming from Me." You are waiting, wherefrom this direction is coming. Kṛṣṇa says "This direction is coming from Me." Mattaḥ, "from Me." Then the Absolute Truth, it is recognized.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15). Find out this verse. Vedaiś ca sarvair... So "If you want to acquire knowledge how these molecules are working, so you must know it is coming from Me, the direction is coming from Me." You are waiting, wherefrom this direction is coming. Kṛṣṇa says "This direction is coming from Me." Mattaḥ, "from Me." Then the Absolute Truth, it is recognized.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: And the scientists are mistaking the effects for the causes? The molecules are working under Kṛṣṇa's direction.

Prabhupāda: Working under the direction, yes, under the direction of the Supersoul. That is stated, mattaḥ, "from Me."

Hari-śauri: Shall I read it?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So this is actually the first step of protein synthesis. In order to make proteins, this messenger RNA has to be transcribed from this DNA molecule. In the next step you'll see the final step for protein synthesis. Now there are also RNA's—they are called transfer RNA, those white-colored, white and yellow-colored things. (laughter) Each of them has to bring a specific amino acid, coded to a specific code, three base codes, base pair. Now each of them has to bring a specific amino acid and to put it together in a very specific manner. They cannot scramble. Because if it scrambles there's not going to be...

Prabhupāda: Again mistake, again mistake.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. So like that, then, when the..., once they bring these amino acids one by one, then they stick together, and that also process is done by enzymes. There are so many steps involved, and very intricate. It is actually done by a catalyst called enzymes. Enzymes are also very big molecules, actually they are also proteins, and in each step the enzymes are so specific that they do only one specific function just for the right purpose, and once this is done then slowly the protein separates at the right time and with the proper length and proper number of amino acids. In this way, actually we can prove in every case that...

Prabhupāda: Perfect direction.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, the direction of the Supersoul is a necessity. In whatever condition we look at, even in the molecules.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Now later on, when Sadāpūta speaks, there will be similar concepts, but that is applied to the human platform called inspiration-inspiration and proving the existence of Paramātmā, Supersoul. Actually, it ties together very well. Even from the molecular level we can see this, and in the human platform actually it is very vividly,...

Prabhupāda: Manifested.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We can feel it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: All right.

Devotees: Jaya, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break)

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: In the very complex molecules, very slight probability, practically none, that this could happen by chance. There has to be some intelligence. It is very good argument for chemistry point of view.

Hari-śauri: Even anyone with a little common sense can understand that a very simple thing cannot produce a highly complicated thing. It's such an obvious point, but they have to have so many mathematical equations to accept it.

Prabhupāda: Dictaphone, so many complicated, then it is working.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: You cannot, you cannot... What is your question?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The question is, now we want to argue that how is it possible, now you are claiming that life is coming from molecules? If you claim like that, then how is it possible that in the same species, let's say in the birds, that these qualities are spreading? Some birds we see behave like a little influenced by the modes of goodness, though it is mixed. Like swan, we are taking that example. But some are like eagle, very passionate, wants to kill small birds as their food, and on the other hand, birds like crows, they like just to be completely ignorant, or they like to survive in a dirty environment. Why? Is this possible just from the concept of molecular evolution? It's completely, it's failing.

Room Conversation With Scientists -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Now to make a simile or comparison, we found from our experience in science that matter itself is rather very simple. It is composed of simple patterns and simple forms and structures. But now when this matter is touched by life or matter in association with life, is actually very complex in terms of molecules. It comes to big molecules, and the molecules not only big. It's very complex, highly complex.

Prabhupāda: You can understand, just the one grain of poison, potassium cyanide. You touch on your tongue, immediately whole body becomes poisoned. How the molecules spread immediately?

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They call by mutation. It's called mutation.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Mutation is... They say DNA molecule is the... called master molecule. But somehow during the course of...

Prabhupāda: Somehow.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Somehow. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: Then they're finished. As soon as they "Somehow," it is not science. It is rascaldom. Then it is useless. "Somehow," "Maybe," "Perhaps."

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually it is very controversial. This... I read an article from the university of Berkeley, Berkeley and some other western campuses, saying that now the theory of this mutation by which the different species are formed is very controversial at this time. Because of the knowledge in our molecular biology, now what they have thought that this mutation is the cause of this variegatedness is a misnomer, being complete mistaken.

Prabhupāda: All mistaken. Where is the difference, then how do you experiment in the biological class by dissecting animal body? What is the difference in the composition of social construction, I er, bodily construction. You have to suffer. That's why I have said, there must be (indistinct). The same principle is there. Otherwise how the mosquito fly like this and...

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: But that is not your laboratory children. That is God's children. That is another thing. That is not your laboratory children. You want to produce children in laboratory? Then do that. That is our challenge.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But this, one of our arguments now, we argue that these molecules that (indistinct) for example DNA, even if they make it, still it just... It means it's a molecule. It is not going to function normally, as we find in a living cell, in a living body. So this has nothing to do with the life processes. The molecules they make, they may do so many reactions, but still there is a fundamental difference in the living body and this simple, that... To determine that it's never possible to create life in the test tube. The have timetables, Śrīla Prabhupāda, in about fifty years, that's about the turn of the century, that about 2001 we are going to make such and such bodies and...

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So in fact, one of the remarks of a scientist, Nobel laureate actually, in Harvard, Mādhava told me he was in American Association for the Advancement of Science. This professor is a professor in biology in Harvard, Boston. His answer was that, "In order to have man in this planet, the stars have to die." That means we come from the stars. The particles, from the stars, then the main involved from those molecules, that star, that come from the stars.

Prabhupāda: You do something. I can give you the idea. But it is fact. What ideas I am giving, that's a fact. Now it is up to you to put it (into) so-called scientifics. He'll... In future millions of years after it will create one living entity in the laboratory, so he's taking all the credit, and God is creating millions and millions already, He has no credit. You'll see their intelligence.

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Manufacture.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Plastic materials will be predominant, and we will have more frontiers of knowledge especially in the biology, molecular biology. So they are also pessimist that in such and such years we're going to make short of these coal deposits and all these energy supplies, all these different...

Prabhupāda: That will be finished?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) will work?

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: We can prove it that how by the sunshine everything is growing. How it is? Your molecule and so on, so on... You can describe. Actually, from the sunshine the trees are growing, leaves are coming. As soon as there is no sunshine, immediately they fall down, the leaves, and the tree becomes without any leaves. How this happens? The same process. The sunshine produces so many things. Similarly, by the glance of the Supreme, the material nature becomes agitated and the three guṇas become manifest. In this way these are described there. The same process. How from the sunshine the leaves are coming out, what are the molecular changes, if you can study the same process.

Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are cheating. There is also a big man in Bombay who is working on this line. He's a member of this International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. Now they call... In fact, they use a Sanskrit word for this life coming from chemicals, they call jīvana particles of life. So they are also catching this idea that life is nothing but molecules. So along with this article, they are also writing from Bombay. So actually it is worldwide, all over, this concept. In India I think a little more interesting to give seminars along these lines. In India in the universities, the reaction of the... My feeling is that it will be different.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. So do it.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Just like that Dr. Sharma, who came yesterday, he's very much along our thought.

Prabhupāda: Who wrote the book?

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: The water, sea, as it becomes solidified, the outer surface, by sunshine, they become, it is called sodium silicate. Salt is sodium chloride. So from sodium chloride, the sodium silicate. So cover(?) of the sea they can solidify by the sodium silicate. But underneath there is water. Just like our, this skin, bone, coming from where? We are eating liquid and or some vegetables or some whatever, they are becoming liquidified. And first transformation is blood. Blood is liquid, and from blood everything is coming. The muscle is coming, the bone is coming. The more the liquid portion becomes solidified by air, gas, then these things coming. The formation of this body beginning the liquid semina, liquid ovum, mix together. From liquid. Then they form pealike solid thing, from that liquid. And then the body forms. Wherefrom the solid body forms? The man injects liquid. Liquid inject, everything is coming. So wherefrom the solid molecules?

Morning Walk -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: That's all right. There is God, rascal. First of all, our point is this. Unjust or just, we shall see later on. First of all, you accept there is God.

Jñānagamya: They are analyzing the semina, they find DNA molecules, like this, but they cannot find the essence. They cannot understand the essence of it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is my proposition. That is poor fund of knowledge. Still, they are trying to establish "This is the cause."

Harikeśa: No, we can find, the essence is lust, because as soon as there is lust, automatically there's all these other things. So you don't have to make all these other things because automatically lust creates everything. There is no need...

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: They cannot give any real position. They are studying so many molecules, so many atoms, so many this, so many... They are mixing... They are... That is already going on. How it is going on? Who has set up the machine going on? That they do not know.

Yogi Amrit Desai: Right. They don't know the key part of it.

Prabhupāda: Neither they can set up similar arrangement. They're simply studying.

Yogi Amrit Desai: They can study what is, but they do not know how it came about.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So where is jñāna? Ajñāna.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Oh. The nonsense. (laughter) Nāstika vana eka sab duniyā(?). (break)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: ...cover, with this Māyāpur background. The idea is that at the bottom is the molecules, and...

Prabhupāda: This will be a revolution, science and Bhagavad-gītā.

Gargamuni: He's our member. (break) ...three times to our temple in Calcutta.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Gargamuni: And through another member, Mr. Mahesvari, he became one of our members. (break)

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, yes. It's very interesting that science says that those equations at the bottom are the... Those are the ultimate truth, the modern science, about these mathematical equations. So if we analyze this on the analytical basis, they are like this—those mathematical equations. So this is the concept of Absolute Truth in terms of science. And these are atoms and molecules or, we call it, fundamental particles. And so the spring between the two is some sort of electromagnetic force in the different..., among different particles. So this is the concept of Absolute Truth in terms of science. And we analyzed this in terms of our practical experience, from our day-to-day experience, and we gave some nice examples like this. This is a crocodile from... It's a male crocodile from South Africa in Scientific American a few months ago. There he's trying to break an egg just to come out, that little young one, the small baby crocodile. And what he does is...

Prabhupāda: They come out from egg?

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. How that can come about by this..., those pushes and pulls? That is our question. We inquire how can this be explained just in terms of atoms and molecules? If we assume that life is nothing but a manifestation of these pushes and pulls of these molecular interactions, then science has no explanation. Then we take example from Darwin himself, his own words.

Hari-śauri: Did you read this caption, Śrīla Prabhupāda, for this crocodile? 'Cause it explains how the male crocodile, he takes the egg underneath his tongue and he rolls it backwards and forwards very gently until the young crocodile hatches, and then he leaves his mouth open, and the little crocodile jumps out and swims ashore.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā?

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So actually that is the result of that theory, because the theory says that we are just combination of some molecules. We come from molecules, and when we finish, we will also go to molecules. So that very philosophy, that very concept, makes people think that way.

Prabhupāda: He was a scientist?

Room Conversation -- January 31, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In principle... Last month in December, this Khorana... He's from M.I.T., the Indian who got Nobel Prize a few years ago. He's one of the big scientists in this, called, molecular biology. Actually he synthesized this code gene, one of the small fragments of... They're called DNA molecule. It's supposed to be the molecule for all living systems. So the promise was about ten years ago...

Prabhupāda: Again promise. That promise we don't want.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, the promise was about ten years ago that once they synthesized this gene, complete synthesis, then they'll be able to make life...

Prabhupāda: "They will be." Again promise.

Morning Walk -- February 1, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Somehow they have developed this false understanding that everything can be reduced to atoms and molecules.

Prabhupāda: That is still less intelligence, still less intelligence. Kartāham iti manyate.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Because life is something which is beyond experimental knowledge...

Prabhupāda: That means they do not know. Say that, "beyond experimental knowledge" or "beyond your capacity."

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1977, Mayapura:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Then we started talking about the concept of life. So he would say that life is just combination of molecules, and I started asking questions because I knew all, what he was doing. I was following his papers. But he didn't know what he was doing. Then it came up to the point that he agreed to the limitations that we have in so many words that we say, but actually it's not true.

Prabhupāda: He admitted.

Short Dissertations -- May 24-25, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: This one is to prove from mathematics that life cannot come from matter. This one is The Laws of Consciousness and the Laws of Nature, to prove by quantum mechanics that there must be Supersoul, Paramātmā. There must be Kṛṣṇa to direct all the source of knowledge. And there is no way that life can come from matter. This was the basic difference between spirit and matter. From Bhagavad-gītā we use kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānam, from Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter 13.3, "To understand the distinction between matter, physical body, and life, the spirit, or the knower of the field, is called knowledge." And we expounded this. We give the nice examples. We make their chemical theory of life as the "molecular fairy tale." So that makes quite nicely adjusted to their theory.

Prabhupāda: Ātreya Ṛṣi can go for some time, Bangladesh. They... He went there. Both Hindus and Muslims, they have regard to our society. And explain.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Sometime we are preparing, called, a brochure for this lecture series. We'll make it color. So I already have the outline in Boston. So we're titling, "Announcing a Worldwide Lecture Series on the Origin of Life in the Matter, sponsored by Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies and Founder-Ācārya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda." And we have some colored pictures inside and a little also, synopsis of the theme, the topics. We said, "Chemical Evolution-A Molecular Fairy Tale," and we have about three or four lines describing what the lecture should be about and what is the main theme of the talk. And we also have photographs of four or five of us who are going to speak and a little background of the candidate. So we wanted to make it very official.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I saw a newsletter issued by the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life from Chemicals. They just had an international meeting in Japan this April, and I am a member, so they send me a newsletter, national newsletter. They have interesting schemes. The next meeting is in 1981 in Israel. I was actually thinking of presenting a paper in the last meeting, but time was little short for us. So we are thinking of presenting papers in that international meeting. It is a whole scientific community all over. So I thought it will be very interesting to present our viewpoint and make it very strong. We are very small in number, but our thoughts will be very challenging to all of them, especially mathematics and physical chemistry together. They also have a journal, the Journal of the Origin of Life, and there the write only about chemicals. Everything is just like a story. So we make it a fairy tale, the molecular fairy tale, and it's very appropriate. All are stories.

Prabhupāda: They invented stories for going to the moon planet.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And it was very interesting, that book. That was... This is the Origin of Species. That was Darwin's book. This was the modern version of Darwin's book. It's about this big, and it's full of nice colors with all molecules, DNA and all these nice, modern-looking molecules, and then they say... They start... It starts like this, "In the beginning there was a big blank." (Prabhupāda laughs)

Prabhupāda: "There was..."?

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: "There was a blank. There was a void." Everything was blank. And the way he started, the foreword was given by a scientist called Crick, Watson and Crick. Crick is in Cambridge, and Watson is in Harvard. So these two men were the men who discovered the structure of the DNA molecule that they thought that may be life. And they got Nobel Prize for this. And Crick was writing in the first page, saying that "This is the way we have understood about life." But "Everything was started like that, from blank and a blank, blank. And somehow all these molecules get together and then it became Johnny later on." (laughter) And we can make a nice story out of it.

Prabhupāda: No.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Fairy tales.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, so we titled, called, Chemical Evolution-A Molecular Fairy Tale.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And we have developed...

Prabhupāda: (laughs) That is very nice.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And we also have a little chapter called "Intellectual Dishonesty Among the Scientists," and said, "Let's be honest about it. These things are not scientific."

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I made an advertisement in M.I.T. saying that... Korana is the man who synthesized this gene... They thought that might life. So I was putting in an M.I.T. newspaper in the campus, saying that "Korana's gene is not life, and virus is not life. These are all molecules. They have nothing to do with life." So we have a lecture coming up next month, July 10th, in the M.I.T. campus, so three of us are going to speak on life coming from life. Because this is an M.I.T. campus, so there'll be many people from his group coming, because it is directly challenging the biggest group in the United States about this...

Prabhupāda: So do they accept?

Room Conversation Gaurasundara, Dr. Kapoor -- July 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Current scientific theory holds that life is a product of molecular interaction." (break)

Dr. Kapoor: I think they should attack the very basic concept of science.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Dr. Kapoor: The very basic concept of science should be attacked, the molecules and the atoms. They say life comes out of molecules. But what, according to modern science, are molecules themselves? You see, before... (break) ...molecules disappear. As a matter of fact, particle disappears, you see.

Room Conversation Gaurasundara, Dr. Kapoor -- July 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Dr. Kapoor: The scientists themselves admit that what remains in the last analysis is something akin to consciousness, and not what we call matter or particle. Even supposing life comes out of molecules...

Prabhupāda: So he has met many scientists.

Dr. Kapoor: It is a consciousness, you see. The life after all comes from life. There should be great attack.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) We are inviting.

Dr. Kapoor: Such enthusiasm because you are giving them transcendental injections.

Prabhupāda: This boy was stubborn atheist.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Things are going nicely, though we didn't have too many guests today, Śrīla Prabhupāda. A little more than fifty came. Most of them will be coming tomorrow, and Sunday will be all full. 'Cause today is still Friday, and in Delhi all the schools are still open. But we came, quite a few interesting scientists from Delhi. And one had only one question. Otherwise nobody had anything. I spoke for about two hours on the difference between life and matter, and we showed that the science, modern science, actually does not study life. They only study inanimate matter, atoms and molecules. So they think that life could also be just atoms and molecules. But we showed that that is wrong, and they shouldn't propagate this false idea. Especially in India, I especially made a request to all the scholars, saying that "You should take this very seriously, and should try to expose this in genuine spirit of knowledge all over the world, because the Western science and technology, we tend to think that everything is the absolute truth because science is coming from the West, but we're saying that that is too narrow-minded. We should be a little broad-minded and we should also consider other possible alternatives." And we demonstrated that modern science actually cannot explain about the nature of life. So we requested that in the coming two days we'll establish this on a more scientific basis, that this is not just religious dogma; it is based on complete, genuine, scientific knowledge.

Prabhupāda: So where they are staying?

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Bhagavān: That Dr. Kapoor got up after Svarūpa Dāmodara's speech today and he said that actually it was very nice that Svarūpa Dāmodara had organized this program, but actually it was not necessary, because the whole problem can be solved very easily when we understand there is no such thing as matter. He was preaching the philosophy that this material world is false. He was getting up there and saying that actually this table does not exist. (laughs) Nothing actually exists. He said the table is made of molecules, and the molecules are invisible. Therefore the table is also invisible.

Abhirāma: What was the scientists' reaction to that?

Bhagavān: He just spoke right before the thing closed. Svarūpa Dāmodara tried to point out how there is a difference between matter and spirit in that one can definitely see the difference between a living body and a dead body. But he didn't actually go in too much detail to defeat his arguments. But I was very surprised that he would come up with such a Māyāvādī statement, that brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā philosophy. There are not so many scientists there today, maybe twenty. (kīrtana) (break)

Prabhupāda: ...let me pass.

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Okay. Can't read it? Okay. Is there a flashlight? The heading, Śrīla Prabhupāda, says, "The nonphysical view on the origin of species." Nonphysical view. "Materialists and men of faith continue to disagree over the origins of life. According to the first group, life is derived from atoms and molecules. The Russian scientist Dr. A. I. Oparin has been propagating this view since 1957. But the challengers demand 'really solid examples of life arising from matter.' " The challengers don't accept it, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Now it will give thought that life is a different thing. It cannot be produced by material molecules. It is not possible. And Bhagavad-gītā they referred. And Bhaktivedanta Institute we have organized.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So it is good article.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: When we say Bhaktivedanta, they only know Śrīla Prabhupāda, because there's only one bhaktivedāntī, so everybody knows.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hm. Śrīla Prabhupāda? There was a nice letter from Haridāsa in Bombay. Should I read it to you?

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Our... Our. O.B.L. Kapoor.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Your Godbrother.

Guest (2): What does he say?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says life comes from atoms and molecules, Dr. Kapoor. This is his conclusion after all these years reading Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy. He said like that in the conference.

Guest (2): He said?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Right, Svarūpa Dāmodara?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, something like that, very vague. Complete misunderstanding.

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: How do you like article?

Guest (2): (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: Bhaktivedanta Institute is doing something scientifically to understand God consciousness. That is proof. And it is well advertised. And we shall go on proceeding like that more and more. So many scientists, foreign and local, they participated, discussed. It is not ordinary thing. Hm?

Guest (2): Jaya.

Prabhupāda: The importance of Bhaktivedanta Institute is there, not that theory molecule. Come on. We are challenging. Discuss like scientist, not like sentimentalists.

Room Conversation -- October 30, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. Just like when we say that spiritual atom or ātmā is innumerable in numbers, they immediately come up.

Prabhupāda: Sa anantyāya kalpate. As there are many molecules in the sunshine, similarly-yasya prabhā (Bs. 5.40)—by..., in the effulgence of God there are so many molecules, or spiritual spark.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Also, even it makes stronger now, that within the atom, if there is a jīva or life which is not developed, so it will be many more, innumerable.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35). That is the difficulty. They do not want to take śāstra as it is.

Room Conversation -- October 31, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: A new light.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There's going to be an international symposium in Madras early next year about the what they call complex light molecules in evolution and there's going to be some Nobel prize winning scientists. So we'll be writing a letter to present our paper in that symposium. That's first week of January next year. If we can present one paper that will be I think quite good. (break)

Prabhupāda: (Hindi with Kavirāja)

Adri-dharaṇa: Did you have good rest last night, Prabhupāda?

Kavirāja: (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: At the end of the night.

Prabhupada Vigil -- November 2, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, here. We... Just describe.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We had a science conference here in Gurukula just about a little more than a week ago.

Śrī Nārāyaṇa: Here in this new building?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, the same building, at the same hall that you're going to hold your conference. I invited several scholars, scientists around Delhi and Agra. Also Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples, scientist disciples, came from around the world. The basic theme was to show that life is coming from the supreme life. In other words everything is coming from Kṛṣṇa. But modern science says that we are just product of atoms and molecules.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Sri K. Raghupati Rao -- Calcutta 13 January, 1976:

If you take gold and a little fraction of gold, the quality is the same. Only the quantity is changed. This is common sense.

There is no question of "breaking" as you have mentioned. The jiva is eternal, sanatan. Just like the sun and the sunshine. The sun is a combination of bright molecules and both are eternally existing. Similarly, Krishna and His qualitative fragmental parts are also eternal. Therefore the jiva is explained in the Bhagavad-gita as acchedyah (2:24) so how can it be broken? It is eternally existing as vibhu and anu. Svarupamsa is not jiva, it is Visnu Tattva. Visnu tattva is known as svansa and the jiva is known as Vibhinamsa.