Five Branches Of Science We Can Appreciate

“The whole cosmic order is under Me. By My will it is manifested again and again, and by My will it is annihilated at the end.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.8)

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प्रकृतिं स्वामवष्टभ्य विसृजामि पुन: पुन: ।
भूतग्राममिमं कृत्स्नमवशं प्रकृतेर्वशात् ॥

prakṛtiṁ svām avaṣṭabhya
visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ
bhūta-grāmam imaṁ kṛtsnam
avaśaṁ prakṛter vaśāt

1. Chemistry

“Isn’t it cool that you can create an explosion so simply? Just take a few compounds and there will be bubbling and gas as the output. This is what we saw as children when trying to create a makeshift volcano.

“At more advanced levels, there is combustion involved in getting a car to start. There is medication to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, nervousness, and other ailments. We are so blessed to have the branch of science known as chemistry.”

2. Biology

“The introductory class for this discipline at the university level tends to be massive. Hundreds of students listening to one teacher. The class is not easy. There is a whittling down right from the start. This is to see who is really suited for a career in medicine.

“Can the students memorize the different species? Can they apply the proper classification? Can they understand the key mechanisms to the delivery of nutrients within nature, which seems to operate autonomously?”

3. Physics

“I remember learning about the banked curve. Centrifugal force. How a car is able to stay suspended in air when on its side. They have those carnival shows in certain countries. I believe it is known as the ‘well of death,’ or something like that. Your eyes are not deceiving you. The cars are able to go around in that manner because of the laws of physics.”

4. Psychology

“There is that famous experiment with Pavlov’s dog. You inject a certain stimuli and get the same response, every time. I admit that I have tried the same with some of my friends. I only noticed after seeing the same behavior repeat. I mention a certain concept or situation, and my friend responds in the exact same way. Every single time. They probably have no idea. That is psychology.”

5. The entirety of science

Some may call it metaphysics, but that is a term to describe the unknown. They think there is only abstract theory, that nothing can be proven, but Bhagavad-gita says that the material nature itself has no endurance.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः ।
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ॥

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)

This is the science of the source of everything. We certainly appreciate the scientists who make discoveries. Gravity, the positioning of the sun, the way to balance within water, how to fly a vehicle in the air, and so forth. There have been amazing advancements in these areas.

Only the miser would stop at this point. Discovery is only half the story. As amazing as the scientist is for noticing the patterns, someone had to implement those patterns to begin with. If intelligence is required to notice the laws of nature, imagine the level of intelligence required to institute those laws in the first place.

Those in the know, who are wise based on their link to the highest authority of information, place priority on this acknowledgment. They go to the source, first. Everything descends from Him. Only a fool would claim that everything came together randomly. If randomness were the only explanation, then there would be no such concepts as equations, laws of math, and reliable and predictable patterns within nature.

This is another way to define genuine spiritual life. It is for going beyond basic discovery within the natural world. After all, seeing is only one of the senses. I can see to believe in the concepts of a waterfall, a meadow, a sunny day, an earthquake, and so forth, but I can also use other senses to experience the same. I can use sound to validate a particular event within nature. The same for smell and taste.

Bhakti-yoga is constant appreciation of the source. It is worship of the highest authority. It is study of His transcendental features, which are actually impossible to accurately measure. That is why He is known as Adhokshaja, among countless other titles, marks of honor, and names of affection.

In Closing:

Because discovery demonstrating,
The scientists appreciating.

From pattern identification stated,
But who first created?

Bhakti for credit properly giving,
Who original source for living.

And as the most amazing of all,
With affectionate names to call.