A Gene Cannot Create an Organ: A Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Critique of Molecular Reductionism

[Bhakti Niskama Shanta]

A Gene Cannot Create an Organ: A Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Critique of Molecular Reductionism

Bhakti Niskama Shanta, Ph.D.

President-Sevait-Acharya

Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nrisingha Palli

Nabadwip Dham, West Bengal, India 

The Root Fallacy: Attributing Creative Power to a Gene

While reviewing the recent article published by Botany One (2025, May 26), titled "What Were Root Genes Doing Before They Started Building Roots?" ( https://botany.one/2025/05/what-were-root-genes-doing-before-they-started-building-roots ), I was prompted to critically examine the underlying assumptions of the study through the lens of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava philosophical wisdom.

In the prevailing scientific worldview, genes are often described as "blueprints" or "instruction manuals" that build or create organs. But from both a metaphysical and functional standpoint, this is a dangerous oversimplification. A gene, in and of itself, is just a sequence of nucleotides—a molecular structure with no awareness, intention, or directive capacity. It does not "know" when, how, or why to be expressed. It cannot assemble tissues, coordinate systems, or form an organ in isolation.

 

From the Gauḍīya Vedāntic perspective, this error is akin to confusing the tool with the craftsman. Just as a hammer cannot build a house without a conscious builder, a gene cannot build an organ without an orchestrating intelligence (Paramātmā) behind the scenes.

 

Intentional Coordination Cannot Arise from Blind Mutation

Darwinian evolution posits that organs emerge through random mutation and are preserved via natural selection—"survival of the fittest." However, such randomness cannot account for the coordinated complexity required to build organs like eyes, roots, or hearts.

• Who instructs the gene when to activate?
• Who synchronizes the growth of nerves, blood vessels, and tissue simultaneously?
• How does the body know when the organ is complete? 

These questions highlight a teleological gap—a lack of purpose or end-goal—that Darwinism cannot fill. From the Gauḍīya angle, intelligent coordination requires a higher consciousness guiding the developmental blueprint. This is the Paramātmā, the indwelling Supersoul, who sanctions, inspires, and harmonizes all bodily and environmental systems.

Śāstra-wisdom: Life is Primary, Not Matter

The śāstra (revealed scripture) teaches us that matter does not act independently. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares:

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram

"Under My supervision, material nature produces the moving and non-moving beings."

The genes are simply part of prakṛti (material nature), and they are activated only under divine supervision. The power (śakti) that animates genes is not in the molecule itself, but in the conscious oversight of the Supreme Lord and His agents—such as the demigods who preside over biological processes. Hence, the root cause of organ development is consciousness, not chemical mutation.

Against the "Gene-as-God" Myth

Modern biology often succumbs to what could be called the "Gene-as-God" fallacy. Genes are granted godlike status as omnipotent and omniscient designers. But unlike God, genes: (1) have no foresight, (2) lack volition and (3) operate only in pre-existing biochemical contexts.

This is a form of material idolatry, attributing causal power to inert molecules. In Gauḍīya terms, this is avidyā—ignorance of the real cause, replacing the Supreme Cause (Kṛṣṇa) with a fragment of His creation.

 

Consciousness-Driven Development: The Bhakti Perspective

From the Gauḍīya standpoint:

• Consciousness is primary, not an emergent byproduct of matter.
• The body develops around the soul (dehino 'smin yathā dehe — Gītā 2.13), not the other way around.
• Genes may serve as instruments, but they are not the originators of form or function. 

Thus, the soul, in conjunction with Paramātmā and guided by previous karma, uses genetic material to manifest specific organs within the body of an organism for experience and different functions.

This perspective restores agency and purpose to biological development, placing it within the broader framework of divine orchestration and spiritual evolution, not mere blind chemical assembly.

Conclusion

To say that a gene creates an organ is like saying letters write a poem. It neglects the intentional, conscious authorship required for coordination, timing, and meaning. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava wisdom asserts that life, form, and function flow from consciousness, and the source of this consciousness, soul (ātmā)/suprersoul (Paramātmā) is eternal, divine, and fundamentally spiritual.

Genes are tools—not causes. Only Kṛṣṇa is the root cause of all causes (sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam), and only bhakti, the path of divine service, reveals the full meaning and purpose of life and its mysterious unfolding.

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Dialogue between Vedanta & Science Seminars

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Dandavats Pranams

This article by beloved Gurudev His Holiness Srila Bhakti Niskama Shanta Maharaj, makes us reflect on how life works.

Some scientists believe that genes are like instructios that tell our bodies how to grow and develop, but Maharaj, from the perspective of his training within the Gaudiya Vaishnavism lineage, suggests that there is something deeper behind this.according to this view, Lord Krishna´s Consciousness and Supreme Inteligence, the source of all live, guides the development of living beigs.

Maharaj and his disciples accept Lord Krishna as the architect who designs the bulding plan, and genes are the materials used to carry out plan.

This makes us think about the connection between science and spirituality, and how we can undestand life in a deeper and meaningful way.

Hare Krishna, 

by a servant apprentice,

Hariananda das