A Glimpse of Embryology

2.4 A Glimpse of Embryology

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.10 Dr. Jerome Lejeune,11 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.12

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 in length. F.M

Burnet remarked about this sperm cell as "It is 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."13 According to Vedic literatures, spiritual particle, spiriton (soul) 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."14

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 fetus 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."15

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:16

(a) the mental status of his parents at the time he is conceived

(b) the sounds heard repeatedly by pregnant woman17

(c) the actions performed by the embryo in his previous life and

(d) the frequent desires for a particular type of mental faculty by the progeny

in his 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, Rig veda X. 186 mentions two mantras to be repeated by bridegroom before conception).

So in Hinduism, 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.

2.5 Inquiry and Uniqueness of Human Life

The unexamined life is not worth living.

-Socrates

In Hinduism, inquiry, jignasa, is the fundamental duty of human life. Everyone inquires about something or the other. In the course of life, one experiences different phases like old age, disease and many kinds of sufferings. Therefore, we want to find out the solution to these problems. Every research work is a kind of inquiry. Srila Prabhupada says that unless a person is awakened to the position of questioning his sufferings, he is not to be considered a perfect human being. Humanity begins when this sort of inquiry is awakened in one's mind. Therefore, inquiry forms the most important process of acquiring knowledge. We want to know about things that are beyond what we can see conventionally. We invent electron microscope, telescope, etc., to satisfy our curiosity. But this is not enough. Our senses and extended senses are still very limited.

Can a bird inquire about the meaning of its existence? Innocent and ordinary living beings like birds and animals inquire only of bodily needs. They inquire, 'where is water?', 'where is food?', 'where is shelter?' and so on. However, they do not have the capacity to inquire about the deeper purpose and meaning of life. But in the human form of life, one is endowed with the unique ability to inquire beyond these bodily needs. This is the special and unique qualification of the human form of life. When a child is growing up, he inquires from his parents about many things around him, such as 'What is this?', 'what is that?' etc. In this way, the child gathers knowledge from his parents. Since the conscious intelligence is fully developed, human beings can make different levels of inquiry including the deeper questions about life. The most important inquiry of human life should be to find out about the Absolute Truth, jivasya tattvajignasa.

Srimadbhagavatam (1.2.10) states:

kamasya nendriyapritirlabho jiveta yavata

jivasya tattvajignasa nartho yasceha karmabhih

Translation: "Life's desires should never be directed toward sense gratification. One should desire only a healthy life, or self-preservation, since a human being is meant for inquiry about the Absolute Truth. Nothing else should be the goal for one's works."

The ability to inquire about the ultimate truth of life makes the human being uniquely different from all other forms of life. Thus Vedanta emphasizes that the primary subject matter of the human form of life is to inquire about the science of Absolute Truth, God.

The Katha Upanisad (1.3.14) in a very strongly and carefully worded tone makes a clarion call to all human beings in the following sloka:

uttistha jagrataprapya varan nibodhata

ksurasya dhara nisita duratyaya

durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti

Translation: Arise! Awake! Please try to understand the boon that you now have in this human form of life. The path of spiritual realization is very difficult; it is sharp like a razor's edge, difficult to tread and hard to cross, so say the learned sages.

'Who am I?', 'what is the Supreme Absolute Truth?', 'what is the origin of life?', 'what is existence?', and 'what will be the fate of the human soul when the body dies?' are some of the basic questions that a human being can inquire.

Presently, scientific inquiry without spiritual knowledge is one-sided. All forms of human inquiry should be utilized in search for Absolute Truth, God. Hence, the purpose of all sciences should be to inquire about the nature of God. A physicist should inquire: what is the real source of the laws of nature? A chemist can inquire: who is the Supreme Chemist behind all the wonderful molecules, DNA, chlorophyll, proteins, etc.? Vedanta explains that if we do research far enough, we will find that the ultimate source is God. Thus,

Vedanta cautions that intelligent people should not be mislead by the temporary and incomplete pronouncements of atheistic scientists who try to remove God from everything. This will be the proper use of the modern scientific knowledge. When one realizes the Absolute Truth through such an inquiry, he will understand the actual basis of reality. And then, his duty is to glorify the Supreme Lord through the scientific understanding. This is the secret and the real platform of happiness. This is what Narada Muni, the foremost transcendentalist instructed his disciple, Vyasadeva, the literary incarnation of the Supreme Lord in the Bhagavata Purana, the natural commentary on the Vedantasutra.18

Albert Einstein once remarked, "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery everyday."19

In the human form of life, the consciousness (cetana), intelligence (buddhi), mind (manas), senses (indriyas) are fully developed. Thus, human being is totally equipped to make the deepest jignasa (inquiry), the spiritual inquiry. A similar message echoes in the statement of Albert Einstein who states that knowing the plan of God is most important and the rest are details.20 By this inquiry, sambandha, the relationship between the individual self and God will be established and the pure spiritual knowledge of the self will be understood. Isa Upanisad further declares, isavasyamidam sarvam, everything belongs to the Supreme Lord. Therefore, everything should be used, including the works of the scientists and all the leaders of the world in the service of the Supreme Lord. In a nutshell, this is the view of Vedanta regarding the prime duty of humanity.