Sanatan Dharma & Biology
“You Hindus are so unscientific - you think God made us.”
Actually, no, Sanatan Dharma says Prakriti or nature only made us & ancient Bharat’s scientific knowledge of biology would make Charles Darwin take notes.
Most of us Gen-Z Hindus think that our scriptures are only philosophical - but there is a wealth of real-world insights in them.
To begin with, our Chandogya Upanishad clearly explains 4 types of living beings:
जायमानाः - mammals born from their mother’s wombs
अण्डजाः - birds, reptiles, insects, etc. born from eggs
स्वेदजाः - worms, lice & insects born from moisture or sweat
उद्भिज्जाः - trees & plants sprouting from the ground
Secondly, our Padma and Garuda Puranas pretty much understood the theory of evolution, stating that there are 8.4 million species on Earth - very close to the 8.7 million figure that modern science accepts. These are divided into:
+ Jalaja (Aquatic): 900,000 species
+ Sthavara (Plants/Trees): 2,000,000 species
+ Krimayo (Insects/Worms): 1,100,000 species
+ Pakshina (Birds): 1,000,000 species
+ Pashava (Animals/Beasts): 3,000,000 species
+ Manushya (Humans): 400,000 types
The phrase “Survival of the Fittest” appears in our Mahabharata’s Shanti Parva centuries before Darwin formalised it as nature’s food chain law.
In fact, our texts have lengthy explanations of the soul’s journey through lakhs of yonis - how we evolve from lower to higher forms as per our karma.
At the micro-level, too, our Atharvaveda discovers micro-organisms called “Krimi” - divided into Drishta Krimi i.e. visible parasites or microbes, and Adrishta Krimi i.e. invisible bacteries & viruses, with also mention of Pranyashrayee i.e. parasites that feed on hosts - with Charaka Samhita describing hundreds of diseases arising from these microbes along with remedies.
Third, in botany, our Rigveda & Parasha’s Vrikshayurveda classify thousands of plants as Oshadhi, Vanapasti, Virudha, Valli, Trina, etc.
Lastly, our Garbha Upanishad explained how man’s beeja i.e. sperm mixing with the woman’s egg i.e. shronita to form a garbha i.e. embryo - so we pretty much knew that sex & conception makes babies.
So Sanatan Dharma does not deny biology, evolution or nature at all - it just goes beyond what even science won’t understand to say this nature is part of an illusion. The observer behind it all is the reality - the Purusha, the Brahman, the Atman. And that’s the real you.