Category:Modern Scientists
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda presents a comprehensive critique of modern scientists, challenging their authority on both the origin of life and the nature of the cosmos. He dismisses the theory that life arises from chemical combinations as "nonsense," pointing out that scientists cannot manufacture even a simple egg or stop the process of death. Their knowledge is described as imperfect because it relies on limited sensory perception and changing theories, whereas Vedic knowledge is received from perfect authorities. Śrīla Prabhupāda also critiques their understanding of the universe, arguing that they mistakenly view other planets as vacant lands of rock and sand, whereas the Vedas describe them as full of diverse life. Ultimately, despite their technological feats like nuclear weapons and spacecraft, modern scientists are "puzzled" by the complexity of creation and remain subject to the stringent laws of nature, especially death.
- Life from Matter: The theory that life is a chemical combination is rejected; scientists cannot create life in a test tube.
- Cosmic Ignorance: Scientists see only rocks and sand on other planets, while Vedas describe them as inhabited.
- The Limit of Power: Despite advancements, they cannot stop death or old age; they are controlled by Yamarāja.
- Imperfect Senses: Their knowledge is experimental and constantly changing ("theory of uncertainty"), unlike the eternal Vedic truth.
- Atheism: They deny the Creator, attributing everything to independent material nature, which is a symptom of asuras.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Limitations of Material Scientists.
Pages in category "Modern Scientists"
The following 132 pages are in this category, out of 132 total.
1
A
- A modern scientist believes that there was no civilization before 3,000 years, our Bhagavatam was spoken by Sukadeva Goswami 5,000 years ago and he is explaining "as I have heard it from authority", so we have got parampara system for millions of years
- According to modern scientist and materialist philosophers, the body is a combination of physical elements, and at a certain stage the life symptoms develop by interaction of the physical and chemical elements. BG 1972 purports
- According to modern scientists, the material world rests on the sun's effulgence. Due to the sunshine, all planets are rotating and vegetables are growing. We also have information that the moonshine helps vegetables and herbs grow
- According to the modern scientists' calculation it is 93,000,0000. Taking it, accepted, as 93,000,000's from this earthly planet, then again add 1,600,000, that means 94,600,000 miles away from the earth there is the moon planet. It is not possible
- According to their (modern scientists) experience, the moon is full of dust, but this does not explain how it gives us soothing rays from a distance of millions of miles
- Actually there is no difference between mystic perfection and materialistic perfection. A German scholar once said that the so-called yoga perfections have already been achieved by the modern scientists, and so he was not concerned with them
- Although it is not in our experience, there is a milk ocean within this universe. Even the modern scientist accepts that there are hundreds of thousands of planets hovering over our heads, and each of them has different kinds of climatic conditions
- Although modern scientists have invented many powerful space vehicles, they cannot even go to the moon, not to speak of other planets. By direct experience one cannot learn anything beyond the range of human perception. One must hear from authorities
- Another difficulty is that those who depend more on their imperfect senses cannot realize Him (Krsna) as the Supreme Lord. Such persons are like the modern scientist. They want to know everything by their experimental knowledge
- At a time when material science predominates all subjects - including the tenets of religion - it would be enlivening to see the principles of the eternal religion of man from the viewpoint of the modern scientist
B
- Big generals like Arjuna could at once supply water even to the horses, and what to speak of men, by drawing water from underneath the hard ground simply by penetrating the stratum with a sharp arrow, a method still unknown to the modern scientists
- Both the sun and the moon have particular influences by which they maintain order in the universe, and modern scientists and philosophers should become familiar with the Supreme Lord's perfect plan for universal maintenance
E
- Even if modern scientists do not accept the other factual presentations of Srimad-Bhagavatam, how can they deny the perfect astronomical calculations that existed long before they could imagine such things
- Even if they (modern scientists) were to prepare an egg and put it in an incubator, this man-made chemical egg would not produce a chicken. The soul must be added because there is no question of a chemical combination for life
- Even some of the modern scientists who do not believe in the existence of the soul, but at the same time cannot explain the source of energy from the heart. BG 1972 purports
- Everyone is inquisitive, "Why there are varieties of life?" I do not know what the modern scientist says, but they do not understand that there is soul in these different types of body
I
- If they (modern scientists) would at all consider this subtle subject matter and the problems of life, they would see that their future is very dark. Thus they try to avoid considering the future and continue committing all kinds of sinful activities
- If we inquire, "Wherefrom this chunk comes?" that they (modern scientists) cannot answer. Therefore the so-called scientific knowledge always remains in doubt
- In the upper planetary system the duration of one complete day and night is equal to one complete year of this earth. This is accepted even by the modern scientist and attested by the astronauts
- In this age modern scientists have been experimenting with nuclear weapons, and in a former age they used to release brahmastras, but all these brahmastras and nuclear weapons are insignificant compared to the thunderbolt of the King of heaven
- It is best to keep faith in Sukadeva Goswami, because actually our only business is to go back to home, back to Godhead. So whether Sukadeva Goswami or the modern scientists are right or wrong, it is nothing interesting to us
- It is not possible to convince modern scientists of the Vedic information about the universe. Nonetheless, we are not very impressed by the words of scientists who say that all other planets are vacant and that only the earth is full of living entities
- It is very interesting to note how this verse (in SB 7.13.29) points to the body's growth from the spirit soul. The modern materialistic scientist thinks that life grows from matter, but actually the fact is that matter grows from life
- It may be remarked in this connection (ksine punye martya-lokam visanti (BG 9.21)) that even the modern so-called scientists who are going to the moon are not able to stay there, but are returning to their laboratories
M
- Modern astronomers & scientists have no information of the extent of this visible space. And what can they speak of what is beyond this visible space
- Modern material scientists, they are discovering so many things simply for the comforts of this body, not for any spiritual advancement. Therefore asat
- Modern scientists agree that the timing arrangement in higher planetary systems is different from that of the earth
- Modern scientists and astronomers try to explain the cosmic situation and the vastness of space, and some of them believe that all the glittering stars are different suns
- Modern scientists and philosophers cannot understand that purpose (of the material world), nor do they believe in the existence of a creator
- Modern scientists and philosophers do not think about these four things: birth, death, disease, and old age. They set them aside. - Oh, let us be happy. Let us enjoy this life
- Modern scientists and philosophers foolishly explain that there was no civilization prior to three thousand years ago, but the statement of this verse (SB 7.8.33) nullifies such whimsical judgments
- Modern scientists are now venturing to the moon with the help of rockets, but this is not really a new attempt
- Modern scientists are now venturing to the moon with the help of rockets, but this is not really a new attempt. With their advanced consciousness, human beings are naturally inclined to travel in outer space and to reach other planets
- Modern scientists are proud of their knowledge because they are discovering new methods to dominate the laws of material nature. They think that this is the advancement of human civilization
- Modern scientists are puzzled. They cannot even explain how such a large quantity of chemicals has formed the atmosphere
- Modern scientists are very eager to reach the moon by material arrangements, but they cannot conceive of the highest planet of this universe
- Modern scientists attempt excursions to other planets, but they have no information of how many different types of oceans and seas there are within the universe
- Modern scientists consider the sun to be the original cause of creation, not knowing that the sun is only a medium, for it is also created by the supreme energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Modern scientists do not know why there are varieties of bodies in 8,400,000 forms. The fact is that all these bodies are ordained for the living entities by the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the living entities' desires
- Modern scientists have insufficient knowledge of all this. Some of them assert that there are one hundred million planets scattered all over space
- Modern scientists have invented airships which are material, and the yogis make a still finer material attempt to travel by mindships. The yogis can reach any distant place very quickly with the help of mindships
- Modern scientists have manufactured big airplanes, but they are packed with passengers, who experience all sorts of discomforts while riding in them
- Modern scientists have stopped their brainwork by discovering the theory of uncertainty, but factually for a living being there cannot be any brain activity which is not checked by time and space limitations
- Modern scientists have to accept continuous changes of body which appear from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth and again from youth to old age. From old age, the change is transferred to another body. BG 1972 purports
- Modern scientists have tried to explain the origin of creation by a chunk theory, but no one can explain how such a chunk might have burst
- Modern scientists imagine that life can be produced from chemical combinations
- Modern scientists like Jagadisha Chandra Bose, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, etc., may be very boastful of their respective creative energies, but all were dependent on the Supreme Lord for so many things
- Modern scientists mistakenly think that material nature is working independently and that things evolve by some chemical process only. However, life does not merely come from life or some chemical evolution
- Modern scientists say that there are no demigods and that there is no God, that all events are being carried out by nature. It is true that nature is working, but nature, after all, is nothing but matter
- Modern scientists try to avoid death by physiochemical advancement of knowledge, but alas, the controller of death, Yamaraja, is so cruel that he does not spare even the very life of the scientist himself
- Modern scientists, they have discovered the atomic bomb. That is tapasya, of course. It is tapasya. But that kind of tapasya was done by Hiranyakasipu also. What is the value of such tapasya? Tapasya must be to understand Vasudeva
- Modern so-called scientists and other materialists are very satisfied because they can construct great bridges, roads and machines, but such activities are nothing comparable to those of Maharaja Priyavrata
- Modern so-called scientists, who do not fully understand the moon, describe the moon as being full of deserts. Since the moon is the source for our vegetation, how can the moon be a desert?
- Modern spacecraft fly in the sky, and when scientists say that they travel to the other side of the moon, men believe these stories blindly because they have accepted the modern scientists as authorities
O
- Of course, they (modern scientists) may go on their frivolous excursions, but the students of the Vedic literature will never believe them or give them any credit for exploring other planets
- One has to accept, after all, some authority. The modern scientists are also authorities for the common man for some scientific truths. The common man follows the version of the scientist. This means that the common man follows the authority
- One may doubt that trees have life because they do not breathe. But modern scientists like Bose have already proved that there is life in plants, so breathing is no sign of actual life
- One million species of birds,33,000,000 species of animals, four-legged animals. Then we get this human form of life, especially civilized form. Then what is next? That question nobody inquires, neither there is answer by so-called modern scientist
S
- Sankhya philosophy theory is that there is no controller, there is no God, but it is . . . the world is moving under nature's interaction. Just the modern scientist also say like that
- Simply keep faith that whatever we describe, that is a fact. After all, we are an insignificant creature in the universe, so whether you take the modern scientists or Sukadeva Goswami, it is inconceivable
- Since modern scientists and philosophers are too materialistic, and since their knowledge is taken away by the illusory energy, they cannot explain how the gross body is changing
T
- That is also being performed by modern scientists. They are flying in the air, they are floating on the surface of the water, and they are traveling under the water
- The Absolute Truth means, the origin of everything. Now the next question would be that "What is that origin?" The modern scientists, they think the origin is chemicals. But we say, "No. It cannot be chemicals."
- The chemicals in eggs can be found very easily. There is a white substance and a yellow substance, covered by a shell, and modern scientists should very easily be able to duplicate all this
- The discovery of the two forms of limited energies by the modern scientists is just the beginning of the progress of science. Now they must go further to discover the source of the two particles or atoms which they term material and antimaterial
- The hundreds and thousands of stars and the great planets such as the sun, the moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter are not clustered together because of the law of gravity or any similar idea of the modern scientists
- The limit of this universe is the outermost sky. The modern scientist says that each and every star is a sun. But Vedic literature does not say that
- The living entity then (when the living entity and the life air are gone) goes to the court of judgment, and Yamaraja decides what kind of body he is going to get next. This process is unknown to modern scientists
- The Lord says that "All the universal planets, they are resting on My energy." The weightlessness energy, according to the modern materialistic science, how it is possible? That weightlessness we cannot manufacture
- The modern scientist creates rockets, and by some arrangement or other they are thrown into outer space to fly for some time under the control of a scientist far away
- The modern scientist is also captivated by the wonderful actions and reactions of natural phenomena and therefore is also a sakta
- The modern scientist is unable to know about the inner space of the universal horizon, and what to speak of the space which covers the universe
- The modern scientist shares this view that the material nature is the ultimate cause of all the manifestations of the material world. This view is refuted by all Vedic literature
- The modern scientist, for example, has created space satellites, and by some arrangement or other, these satellites are thrown into outer space to fly for some time at the control of the scientist who is far away
- The modern scientist, they can simply think of "conservation of energy" But where is that conservation, that they do not know. That is the missing point
- The modern scientists are confusing everyone with their false propaganda and it is our duty to expose them and kill the demoniac tendency to forget Krsna
- The modern scientists despite their experience of imperfectness, they take everything that they find out as the last word of perfection
- The modern scientists do not have sufficient means to understand the process of victory over birth and death. Therefore, they set aside the question of birth and death; they do not consider it. They simply engage in the problems of the material body
- The modern scientists have done research in the area of weightlessness, but it is not possible to bring in weightlessness anywhere and everywhere
- The modern scientists have manufactured nuclear weapons with which they can destroy an insignificant part of this planet, but by the yoga-siddhi known as isita one can create and destroy an entire planet simply at will
- The modern scientists say that, "Chemical evolution, by combination of chemicals, everything has come out, but there is no creator." They will deny this. This is the symptom of the asura
- The modern scientists who are trying to travel in space are having difficulty going even to the nearest planet, the moon, to say nothing of the highest planets within the universe
- The modern scientists, however, are conditioned souls liable to so many errors and mistakes; therefore the safe side is to accept the authentic version of Vedic literatures, like Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is accepted unanimously by the great acaryas
- The modern scientists, they are giving us so many facilities to get out of some material difficulties but that is temporary. That is not actually vimukti. Actual vimukti is to get freedom from birth, death, old age, and disease
- The modern scientists, they are of opinion that life comes from matter. We say, "No, life comes from life. Matter comes from life." This is satyam
- The modern scientists, we are trying to go to the moon planet. It is failure. They will never be able to go there. I have discussed this point. We are conditioned
- The modern scientists, who have only limited experience, cannot defy these statements (of Srimad-Bhagavatam); they cannot give us full information about any planet, even the planet on which we live
- The modern scientists’ theory that life begins from matter is nonsense. Both matter and life begin from life. Unfortunately the scientists do not know this scientific fact; they are drifting in the darkness of their so-called knowledge
- The modern so-called scientist, they cannot make any solution for birth, death, old age and disease; therefore they have left them aside: "Oh, don't care for them." That is ignorance
- The moon is full of highly elevated inhabitants who are counted amongst the demigods. We are therefore always in doubt about what kind of moon adventure the modern scientists of this planet earth have undertaken
- The planets below the earth down to the Patala planet are full of various kinds of living beings; no planet is vacant, as wrongly imagined by the modern so-called scientist
- The present attempts to enter into the heavenly planets by the modern scientists will certainly prove futile because such scientists are not on the level of Arjuna. They are ordinary human beings, without any assets of sacrifice, charity or austerities
- The so-called modern scientist, they are simply correcting their mistake. Therefore they have no real knowledge
- The sun is not fixed up; sun is moving. The modern scientists or astronomers, they say, "Sun is fixed up. The earth is moving." So we don't say that
- The Supreme Lord can enter even within the atom. They are studying, modern scientists, the atomic energy, but still, they are perplexed. The smaller than proton, electron, and so many things
- The word uraga indicates that there are planets of enormous serpents. Such a description of the various planets of the universe may challenge modern scientists who think that all planets but this earth are vacant
- There are three processes for moving in outer space. One of the processes is known to the modern scientist. It is called ka-pota-vayu. Ka means "outer space," and pota means "ship"
- There is so much information to gather from Srimad-Bhagavatam. Modern scientists, however, have no information of other planetary systems and, indeed, are hardly conversant with the planet on which we are now living
- Therefore those who are trying to overcome the laws of nature, that is the so-called modern scientists' endeavor. That is foolishness, rascaldom. They cannot do it. It is not possible
- These activities (Maharaja Priyavrata's activities) are so great that modern scientists cannot even imagine how such things can be done
- These authorities (Vyasadeva and Sukadeva Gosvami), differ from modern scientists who conclude from their imperfect sensual experience that only this planet is inhabited by living beings whereas the other planets are all vacant or full of dust
- These modern philosophers or scientists may go on thinking that they can improve the world situation in their own way, but that is not possible. We are unhappy on account of being separated from Krsna
- These philosophers (the Lokayatikas & Vaibhasikas) maintained that life symptoms, or soul, takes place at a certain mature condition of material combination. The modern material scientist & materialist philosophers also think similarly. BG 1972 purports
- They (modern scientists and philosophers) try to establish everything by their so-called scientific research, but they do not center anything around the supreme creator
- They (modern scientists) are now silent. They cannot go there (moon planet); neither ever they went there. This is the conclusion. So that is a controversial point, controversial, but we have to see the result
- They (modern scientists) are studying evolution of this matter, organic matter. But actually that is not the fact. The fact is that we, individual soul, that is the real fact
- They (modern scientists) are very busy trying to prove this in laboratories throughout the world, although no one in history has been able to produce the substance of life from material combinations. Such activities are called vikarma
- They (modern scientists) cannot answer because they are atheists who will not accept that everything comes from life. Their thesis is that life comes from matter
- They (the modern scientists) have so far traveled at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour, but here (in SB 3.30.24) we see that a criminal passes 792,000 miles within a few seconds only, although the process is not spiritual but material
- This is the opinion of the modern scientists or the Buddha philosophy, that soul, there is nothing like soul separately, but by combination of matter, at a certain stage, the living symptoms are manifest
- This material creation is possible when the Supreme Spirit enters into it. This is a problem to the modern scientist, how creation was possible. They cannot understand that without spiritual touch, there cannot be any creation
- This science of transmigration is completely unknown to modern scientists. So-called scientists do not like to bother with these things
- This spaceship could also travel all over the universe. Modern scientists labor very hard to make a small spaceship to go to the moon, but Kardama Muni could create a great spaceship that could travel to all planets. This is possible by yogic powers
- This universe is full of living entities from top to bottom, on every planet (jiva-rasibhir akirnah). Modern scientists and so-called scholars think that there are no living entities on planets other than this one
- Those who are trying to overcome the laws of nature, that is the so-called modern scientists' endeavor. That is foolishness, rascaldom
W
- We are thinking, the modern scientists, they are thinking that there cannot be any life in the sun globe. No. There is life. We get information from Vedic literature that there is life
- We get this human form of life, especially civilized form of life. Then what is next? That question nobody inquires, neither there is answer by the so-called modern scientist, that what is next
- We have discovered so many weapons . . . That is gross, to be handled by senses. Even this nuclear weapon, it is handled by the scientists. But it is not by mantra. That science is still to be discovered by the modern scientists
- Were the planets not held in the grip of the Personality of Godhead, they would all scatter like dust in the air. Modern scientists can only impractically explain this inconceivable strength of the Personality of Godhead
- When the space pilot returned from his travel (after forty thousand years), none of his friends would be present to receive him back as the greatest astronaut, as has become fashionable for modern bewildered scientific men
- When the world is progressing to reach the moon, we are chanting Hare Krsna. But people should not misunderstand and assume that we are lagging behind modern scientific advancement. We have already passed all scientific advancement
- When we speak of palaces, this naturally includes the idea of great cities and towns. Unfortunately, when modern scientists try to explore other planets they see nothing but rocks and sand
- Whether Sukadeva Goswami or the modern scientists are right or wrong, it is nothing interesting to us. We want to go back to home, back to Godhead