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2004 - Hansadutta das
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The
Challenge Still Stands
Sunday Times September 4, 1977
by Hansadutta das
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First of all, it should be noted that Dr. Kovoor has
done exactly what I predicted in my last article he would do--namely,
he has swamped the reader with a deluge of word jugglery in order to
avoid the main issue, which is this: if life is generated by chance
biochemical combinations, as some scientists claim, can the scientist
Kovoor, given the
proper chemicals, make the chemicals come to life?
Instead of answering this point, he has cleverly
written, "Scientists have created over ten elements, such as fermium,
plutonium and einsteinium."
But elements are a far cry from living beings. Dr.
Kovoor says that Dr. Cyril Ponnamperuma and Dr. Bal Gobind Khorana, the
Nobel Prize winner, have synthesized the building blocks of living
protoplasm. If this is a fact, why hasn't Dr. Kovoor met the challenge
by creating life with these building blocks? My challenge still stands.
As for incubating a baby in the test tube, this can be
done only if you take the sperm and ovum of a living man and woman
. In other words, the seed of life required to produce the baby in the
test tube cannot be created by so-called scientists. What is their
credit if they produce a baby in a test tube? God is already producing
millions of babies daily in nature's test tube, the womb. On the other
hand, scientists are
killing thousands of babies in the womb by abortion and calling it
"scientific advancement."
Dr. Kovoor's statement that scientists are "objective
thinkers because they base their thoughts on empirical knowledge" only
goes to emphasize our point that the soul lies beyond the jurisdiction
of the limited senses. Therefore, a completely different process of
approach has to be adopted.
The definition of empirical is "that which is based on
observation
and experiment." Observation and experiment are conducted with limited
senses, and therefore the conclusions thus derived are naturally
limited and imperfect. Thus, the soul and the existence of God are in
fact quite beyond Dr. Kovoor's power of observation. Why should he be
so obstinate? This is a common sense point that anyone can understand.
Dr. Kovoor says, "It is the unique ability of man to
engage in creative thinking that has made him succeed in his fight
against the
laws of nature." This is a preposterous claim that only a fool would
make.
Nature forces everyone to undergo old age, disease and finally death.
Even
the world's most powerful conquerors are helplessly dragged off the
stage
of life by nature in the shape of all-devouring death. Will Dr. Kovoor
be the first living being in history who will not die? That remains to
be
seen.
Finally, Dr. Kovoor says, "Some of the marvelous
achievements of mankind in recent years have been the liberation of
atomic energy, space flight, landing on the moon," etc. Everyone knows
that the first thing
scientists did after discovering atomic energy was to manufacture the
atomic
bomb and promptly drop it on Japan, thus annihilating tens of thousands
of innocent victims in a flash. Marvelous, indeed.
At the expense of untold billions of dollars and years
of research and hard labor, scientists have supposedly gone to the
moon. Of
course, all they have "brought back" is a few blurry photos, a handful
of
rocks and the revelation that the moon is barren. And now they want
more
money to go to Mars. What is so marvelous about this? It is complete
lunacy.
On our own planet Earth, millions of people are without food, shelter
and
basic education. Scientists would be more credible if instead of
spending
billions of dollars to bring rocks from the moon they would spend the
taxpayers'
hard-earned money to improve his own lot on earth. Rocks are rocks,
whether
from China, from the moon or from Mars. Or is it that science can turn
the
rocks into bread and cheese by applying some chemicals?
Now, to get to the main point, Dr. Kovoor asks on what
objective evidence we have made the fantastic statements that life and
matter both come from life, that there is a soul, that there is rebirth
of the soul and that there is a Supreme Soul, or God. It is said,
"Fight fire with fire." Therefore, I may simply refer Dr. Kovoor to the
authoritative, rational
and thoroughly scientific findings of three researchers, all with
doctorates, who are members of the Bhaktivedanta Institute. After
examining the evidence they have presented [Bhaktivedanta Institute
Monograph number one: What is Matter and What is Life?
Monograph two: Demonstration by Information Theory That Life
Cannot Arise From Matter Monograph three: Consciousness
and the Laws of Nature], one who is truly a rationalist should
agree with their conclusion that life never comes
from matter, but only from life.--Hansadutta das
After the Sunday Times
had printed this exchange of articles, the Hare Krishna movement
publicly challenged Dr. Kovoor to prove his statement that life
originates from chance biochemical combinations. They publicly offered
Dr. Kovoor five hundred thousand rupees (sixty thousand US dollars) if
he could create any form of life--a mouse, a cat, a mosquito or any
other plainly visible creature--from inert chemicals. The Sunday
Times ran this story:
The high priest of Sri Lankan rationalists, Dr.
Abraham T. Kovoor, who has been challenging people for decades to prove
the existence of God, the soul and rebirth, is now on the receiving end.
The Hare Krishna movement has now challenged Dr. Kovoor to prove his
contention that life originated from matter.
"We, the members of the Hare Krishna movement, are openly challenging
him to produce any form of life, even a mosquito, by mixing chemicals
together. If he cannot substantiate his theory, he should remain silent
forever,"
say the Hare Krishna members.
They will be waiting for Dr. Kovoor at the Ramakrishna Mission Hall on
September 20, at 6:30 pm. Admission will be free to the public.
Having been challenged to
demonstrate that he could create life at a public meeting, Dr. Kovoor
declined to attend, saying that he would not feel obliged to
demonstrate that he could create life unless God Himself were to appear
in person to demonstrate the same thing. The Sunday Times
reported with the headline: "Flummoxed Kovoor Passes the Buck."
In the meantime, Hansadutta and
Dr. Kovoor exchanged letters:
Hansadutta das
Rittvik Representative of His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Trustee, BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST
WORLD SANKIRTAN PARTY
The Challenge Part 3/ WORLD
SANKIRTAN PARTY
©2004
- Hansadutta das
|
Sri Guru and Gauranga
Related Topics
Living Beings - Spirit
Soul - Living Force
Science
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