Realization of the Supreme Lord as a person
Dr Thoudam Damodara Singh (TD Singh)'s dialogue with Prof William D Phillips, Nobel Laureate
- Part 1 -

Radhamohan Das *

Sripada Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja ( Dr Thoudam Damodara Singh (TD Singh) ) :: Pix - Roshni Thokchom

The dialogue between Prof. William D. Phillips, the Nobel laureate, and Dr. TD Singh (HH. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami) a scientist as well as a spiritualist will help our readers to shape their perception about the nature of the ultimate Reality of God.

"Prof. William D Phillips received the Nobel Prize in Physics with Claude Cohen Tannoudji and Steven Chu in 1997 for developing methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light. Despite all these scientific achievements Dr Phillips also has firm faith in the existence of a personal God, Einstein's God is not sufficient for him" quote by Dr TD Singh.

Dr. TD Singh, a pioneer in advancing dialogue between science and religion, met Prof. William D. Phillips in his office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, USA (Maryland), and their dialogue, "laser cooling of atoms and the Role of a Personal God" started and it is indeed a significant discussion which took place on June 11, 2005.

William D. Phillips (henceforth WDP) and Dr. TD Singh (henceforth TDS). both of them met each other for the first time when WDP inquired about the motivation of interviewing him, TDS came to know on reading his biography that WDP is not only a pioneering scientist but also a highly religious person. TDS was very impressed with his background, especially his growing up - the human side of his - and the tremendous amount of respect that he had for his parents, his deep commitment to religious values, and his duties in the church. It is something very exemplary. TDS said that there are not too many scientists in the world like WDP. He requested him to narrate some of the important factors that have contributed to his fascinating life. WDP said, "Certainly the way I was brought up by my parents contributed a great deal to my religious thought because religion was always a part of our lives. We always gave thanks before meals and my parents taught me to pray every day We were also, being involved in other activities of the church. Many aspects of laith and church were just a part of life for me ... I always thought of religion as being a natural part of life." TDS supplemented that learning from childhood to respect other people, cultures and faiths from the parents, as WDP did is a wonderful quality that can ultimately foster humility and open-mindedness.

WDP said that. "It is very important for us to teach pur children to be very accepting and respectful of other people. It is of course possible to teach them the opposite. I think a great deal of difficulty that we have in the world is from people who have been taught from an early age not to respect people of all faiths and backgrounds. But I was taught by my parents that that is the right way - to respect everyone." TDS's view is that if we all are like that then it'll be a lot easier to have world peace.

Dr Phillips opined that when some arc treated badly, their natural reaction is to treat others badly.

TDS wanted to know from WDP that in the process of his scientific research or through receiving certain concepts in that direction did he also get some kind of inspiration or direction through prayer? Then. WDP replied. "... today there are certain things that I don't pray for that I did pray for as a child. 1 do not pray for things that will benefit me materially I feel that those of kind of things are not proper to pray for I pray for other people, for the welfare of others and for greater. understanding of myself, not for material things.. It seems to me that one should be very careful about what kinds of things one asks for so I try not to ask for material things for myself, but rather for spiritual gifts... I wouldn't, for example. pray for the success of an experiment. What I would pray for would be the insight to see what it is that God is telling us through nature. I figure God knows better than I do what kinds of gifts I need. What I want to do is to pray for the openness to receive what God wishes for me." To that TDS reacted that the Vaishnava tradition is a part of Hinduism. Vaishnavism says that the true religious person, a Vaishnava, never asks for anything to benefit himself, but always prays for the well being of others. It is said, para-dukha-dukhi meaning he feels unhappy because of the unhappiness of others. In that way. it is very similar to WDP's perspective. TDS continued that WDP was very appreciative of God's gifts that he received the Noble Prize in 1997. He said, "I thank individual personalities but I also thank God for giving us the universe for our exploration and insights."

He continued saying that. "God has given us a world in which we can do that which is wonderful...it gives us so much fulfillment to be able to explore a world that has so much richness Sometimes it seems to us as scientists and 1 say this sort of light-heartedly that the world is so wonderful that it must have been that God created this world just so. we can have so much fun. The world is so interesting that it's hard to escape the idea that God made the world so interesting in order to provide pleasure to people through exploring it... The world is so beautiful that it must be that God created that beauty to provide pleasure to creatures of this world.

Dr. TD Singh, in his article - "Science and Spirituality for World Peace" said that the universe is not a product of blind chance but has been created by God to facilitate an evolution of consciousness for the living beings. Just like in schools we have toys for children and books on advanced mathematics and arts for senior and mature students, God has created nature to facilitate the evolution of consciousness of living beings from lower to higher states.

God has created the beautiful planet, this earth, an excellent blend of awe and beauty. The human intelligence is endowed with the ability to see the mysterious and beautiful quantum world of fundamental particles. We are also struck with wonder about the immensity of myriads of living micro organisms. These arc the gifts of scientific enterprise. He also said, we can also appreciate the wonders of God's creation such as the high mountains, the waterfalls, the lakes and the vast oceans with many small and large living beings with them We can also enjoy the sights of great forests, varieties of fragrant flowers, in the peaceful bosom of nature, continuously proclaiming the glory of the Almighty. Thoughtful individuals can see the perfect blend of science and spirituality in the vast laboratory of nature.

Thus one can see the 'Plan of God for all grades of living beings. Just as an electron cannot be seen but its existence can be inferred by its symptoms, similarly material eyes cannot see God but His existence can be inferred from His creation. The spiritual traditions of the world teach us to discover the purpose, vision and plan of God behind the wonderful creation, how to act in accordance with His cosmic plan One may not be in a position to directly experience the existence of God and the soul through sense perception, but one can infer their existence behind the cosmic world as much as one can perceive the presence of a great artist behind a beautiful painting Einstein remarks. "Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of universe - a spirit vastly superior to that of a man a sin-, cere thinker can at least appreciate the existence of the Supreme intelligence behind the orderly universe and develop a theistic conception of reality."

Regarding the origin of life, Dr. TD Singh wrote that this material paradigm of life is not making much headway in an attempt to create life from a mixture of complex bio-molecules. It should be noted that if life is a product of complex molecular reactions, at this stage of scientific advancement a bio-chemist should be able to produce life in the laboratory. Since all the complex biomolecules such as DNA, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, etc. can be easily isolated, one does not need to start from small molecules. An honest person can see that a DNA molecule is not life and an enzyme or carbohydrate is not life. Material life has a physical body which is made up of (1) complex molecules, (2) mind and intelligence, and (3) a spiritual life particle called atman (soul). The body is animated by the presence of the atman. Atman (life) is not made up of molecules. Rather it is beyond molecules. The body is meaningful so long as the atman is within the body.

Dr. TD Singh also quotes Prof Arber who says. "The most primitive cell may require at least several hundred different specific biological macro-molecules. How such an already quite complex structure may have come together remains a mystery to me. The possibility of the existence of a creator, or God, represents to me a satisfactory solution to this problem." We are also struck with wonder about the immensity of myriads of living micro organisms. These arc the gifts of scientific enterprise. He also said, we can also appreciate the wonders of God's creation such as the high mountains, the waterfalls, the lakes and the vast oceans with many small and large living beings with them We can also enjoy the sights of great forests, varieties of fragrant flowers, in the peaceful bosom of nature, continuously proclaiming the glory of the Almighty. Thoughtful individuals can see the perfect blend of science and spirituality in the vast laboratory of nature. Thus one can see the 'Plan of God for all grades of living beings. Just as an electron cannot be seen but its existence can be inferred by its symptoms, similarly material eyes cannot see God but His existence can be inferred from His creation. The spiritual traditions of the world teach us to discover the purpose, vision and plan of God behind the wonderful creation, how to act in accordance with His cosmic plan One may not be in a position to directly experience the existence of God and the soul through sense perception, but one can infer their existence behind the cosmic world as much as one can perceive the presence of a great artist behind a beautiful painting Einstein remarks. "Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of universe - a spirit vastly superior to that of a man a sin-, cere thinker can at least appreciate the existence of the Supreme intelligence behind the orderly universe and develop a theistic conception of reality."

Regarding the origin of life, Dr. TD Singh wrote that this material paradigm of life is not making much headway in an attempt to create life from a mixture of complex bio-molecules. It should be noted that if life is a product of complex molecular reactions, at this stage of scientific advancement a bio-chemist should be able to produce life in the laboratory. Since all the complex biomolecules such as DNA, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, etc. can be easily isolated, one does not need to start from small molecules. An honest person can see that a DNA molecule is not life and an enzyme or carbohydrate is not life. Material life has a physical body which is made up of (1) complex molecules, (2) mind and intelligence, and (3) a spiritual life particle called atman (soul). The body is animated by the presence of the atman. Atman (life) is not made up of molecules. Rather it is beyond molecules. The body is meaningful so long as the atman is within the body.

Dr. TD Singh also quotes Prof Arber who says. "The most primitive cell may require at least several hundred different specific biological macro-molecules. How such an already quite complex structure may have come together remains a mystery to me. The possibility of the existence of a creator, or God, represents to me a satisfactory solution to this problem."

See a Photo Gallery of "Remembering Sripada Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja" here

To be continued....