Are Modern Science and Vegans Wrong About Milk?

Question: In “Fit for Life” by  Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, who medical background, it has been said that milk is bad for health. Modern, rather, Western science does not agree with Oriental, particularly, Ayurvedic conclusions that milk is an indispensable food for the brain. What is your view?

Answer: In Bhagavad Gita 9:2, Bhagavan Sri Krsna has declared, "This (referring to the information in the Vedic and the Gita) is the kingly science, the kingly secret, the supreme purifier, realisable by direct intuitional knowledge, according to righteousness, very easy to perform and imperishable."

Commenting on the above verse, Swami Sivananda, the apostle and founder of Divine Life Society  says in His 'Kingly Science, Kingly Secret' [pages 1-9], "Brahma-Vidya is the Science of sciences. The knower of Brahma-Vidya or the Science of Brahman or the Science of the Absolute, knows everything. His knowledge is full. He has the whole experience through intuition or revelation. Take your firm seat on the rock-bottom of the Upanishadic truths and accept the findings of science only if they tally with the Upanishadic truths, otherwise reject them ruthlessly.

Secular/Modern/Western Science Has Its Serious Limitations

"All secular sciences have their own limitations. A scientist works on the physical plane with a finite mind and with instruments. He knows the physical laws. He has some knowledge of the elements, atoms and physical energy. His knowledge is fragmentary. He has no experience of the whole. He has no knowledge of transcendental or super-sensual things.

"Science is only a partially unified knowledge. A scientist infers, investigates and draws exact conclusions from his observations. He understands Nature but he knows nothing of the origin or destiny of Nature."

Science Vs science

There is a vast difference between Science and science. The knowers of Brahman (people like Swami Sivananda, Yogananda, Sivaya Subramnaiam, etc.) have full and exact knowledge of everything. And that comes not from their observations (which are limited by the senses) but from Intuition, which is the commodity that provided the Vedas to the rishies of yore.

When the secular scientist approaches things with his finite mind, his inferences are circumscribed by the limitations imposed by his senses; but when the same investigation is done by Brahma-nyanis (like apostles like Swami Sivananda), because of their access to the Infinite Mind, a whole plethora of information avails itself to them.

That is where the significant difference lies.

Swami Sivananda continues (ibid) ".....On the contrary, Yoga is completely unified knowledge. A Yogi gets inner, divine realisation. He clearly sees with his inner Yogic eye the subtle rudiments of matter. He identifies himself with the Supreme Being who is the Lord of Prakriti or matter. He gets control over the five elements. He clearly understands the whole mystery of creation through direct intuitional knowledge. The scientist lacks this sort of knowledge. He has only experimental knowledge."

How Modern Scientists Vacillate Between Two Postulates 

There you see, that is why authors like those whom you quoted can vacillate between what they know and what they would soon know. Scientists who once extolled the nutritional values in eggs were the self-same experts who later disagreed with their own findings: for years, eggs were synonymous with a healthy breakfast. Then the tables turned. Doctors and nutritionists started saying not to eat eggs, particularly if you wanted to avoid heart disease. The problem --- Eggs contain unwanted cholesterol, and diners ingest more saturated fat when they consume eggs prepared in typical ways. William C. Roberts, executive director of the Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Institute and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Cardiology, argues that eating eggs is not safe. Maria Luz Fernandez, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, defends the benefits of eating eggs.

This, you would never see in a Brahma-Nyani. What the 63 Nayanmars had said of the Reality is exactly what the 12 Alwars had said in another age. And their testimonies were corroborated by 4 Mara-kuravas, 4-Santana Mara-kuravas and 18 Siddhas, who had no means of contacts with one another to collude with one another.

Modern Scientists' Knowledge Possess Limited Knowledge

On this score, Swami Sivananda says (ibid), "Scientists possess a partial knowledge of the universe. They have not understood the whole code of Nature's laws. They have no knowledge of the occult side of things. They have no knowledge of the astral, mental and higher planes such as Brahma-Loka or the world of Brahma. The unseen world is of far greater importance than the sense-universe which is visible to the naked eye. A fully developed Yogi can function on all planes and so he has full knowledge of the manifested and the unmanifested Nature. The senses, by which you get a knowledge of the external objects, are not fully developed. Therefore, the knowledge obtained is partial. The external senses are exact counterparts of the internal astral senses. Scientists have no knowledge of the subtle rudiments of matter. Life will become fuller and richer when one develops this inner eyesight by the practice of Yoga. Just as blood, when seen under the microscope, reveals many mysterious things, such as leucocytes, nuclei, pigment, germs and bacilli, so also the inner Yogic eye reveals many a mystery to the hidden side of things. The knowledge of the scientists is only fragmentary or partial, whereas the knowledge of the Yogis who have realised the Truth is full and perfect...

"....Scientists have to learn many things from the seers of the East. Who gave power to the electrons to revolve? What is at the bottom of these electrons? Who gave life to the cell or the protoplasm? Who gave intelligence to the cells to secrete milk or bile or gastric juice from the blood? The scientists are still observing and experimenting. They are still groping in darkness. What is the cause of the origin of an impulse? Who is the director of the mind? What is the cause of the origin of thought? Even if all the living scientists were to put their heads together to solve these questions, they cannot give definite and conclusive answers.

"....The mind of a scientist cannot work on higher spiritual planes. It is gross and impure. It has outgoing tendencies. It is filled with desires, passions and worldly impressions. The scientist cannot look within, introspect and meditate. He can analyse the atoms of different elements but he cannot do self-analysis. He can bombard the atoms, watch the movements of the electrons and make discoveries in Nature. But the mind of a Rishi or a Yogi is subtle and pure. It is free from worldly desires and passions, from selfishness, lust and hatred. It is equipped with the instructions of the sages and the Srutis (revelations, i.e. The Vedas). It is filled with purity. It is free from outgoing tendencies. It is fit for divine contemplation. It is properly disciplined in a variety of ways through rigorous austerity and self-restraint. The Yogi undergoes a discipline, a rare discipline-through the practice of tranquillity of mind, control of the senses, restraints, internal and external purification, etc.-which cannot be had in the universities.

"The scientist observes the physical phenomena, makes experiments and goes from the effects to the cause. The Rishi or the Yogi goes directly to the cause or the source. He dives deep into the source and brings forth the pearl of knowledge of the Self. The man of science sees and observes things only as they appear to be to his sense-perception. The seer perceives them as they actually are in their very essential nature. He has direct intuition and perception of the Truth through Nirvikalpa Samadhi (superconscious state). Then he comes to the effect-the manifested universe. Therefore, his utterances are infallible. They are gospel truths. The Srutis of the Upanishads are direct revelations. They are the infallible utterances of the seers or sages. They are beyond questioning, beyond the least shadow of doubt.

"When the Yogi attains the knowledge of the Eternal, he acquires the knowledge of all secular sciences as well, because all sciences hang upon Brahma-Vidya. If you have knowledge of clay or thread or gold, you will have knowledge of all the modifications of clay or thread or gold."

For the same reason Swami Haridoss has said in one of His discourses, "Nyanis can do everything that we do--and would also seem like one of us---but what they do and know, we can't perform, and know not."

Warning to People Who Are Taken Up with Modern Science

Swami Sivananda warns us, "...English-educated people are carried away unduly by scientific theories and discoveries. Anything, however stupid it may be, when stamped by the seal of science, is regarded as gospel truth. A theory or doctrine, however fallacious it may be, is accepted as true wisdom for all ages when it is proclaimed in the name of and on the authority of science. Even if some fantastic and ludicrous statements are made with the stamp of science by a Haekel, an Einstein or a Tyndet, people are quite ready to swallow them with great avidity. Such is the fashion of the day! They reject as base superstition the sublime teachings of the ancient Rishis and sages. The brains of these so-called educated and cultured people need a prompt, drastic and thorough flushing for a protracted length of time. The poison has percolated into their very cells and tissues.

Doesn't the above chastisement sound like what Sri Krsna had done to Arjuna in Chap 2:3: the pointed and sharp language? Well, He has made his points quite clearly!!

Hindu Dharma is, However, Not Against Modern Science

Swami Sivananda qualifies the above though (ibid),"... I do not mean to condemn the wonderful discoveries and inventions that modem science has contributed to the vast store of knowledge and happiness which the present generation enjoys. The radio, the aeroplane, the microphone and other marvels of science are bound to baffle human intelligence. Scientists have found ways to fertilise an ovum with chemicals, without the aid of semen. It is a stupendous success. Some children are also born. They inject the semen that is obtained from renowned and cultured men of the world in order to improve the race. They are attempting to fix a radio in a matchstick. They are trying to get the necessary nutrition into the body by pressing an electric button so that eating and defecation may be entirely abandoned. They are endeavouring to make the streets move so that there will be no necessity of motor cars and carriages. They are trying to establish a means of communication with the planet Mars. They may succeed in all their attempts. May God bless them with roaring success in all their undertakings! But the question is: can all these comforts and scientific discoveries and inventions give immortality, eternal satisfaction and everlasting peace? Have these material comforts enhanced human happiness? is not man more restless today than ever before? is he not more dissatisfied and discontented despite all these comforts? Life has become more complex and intricate. Luxuries are increasing day by day. Even a rich man finds it difficult to make both ends meet."

In other words, Swami acknowledges that science has a place in our life.

".....Brahma-Vidya or the Science of the Self is not a subject that can be understood and realised by mere intellectual study, reasoning or ratiocination, or even by discussions and arguments. Mere scholarly erudition and vast study with a high degree of intelligence alone cannot help one in the practical realisation of the Truth inculcated in this science. It demands perfect discipline, a discipline that is not to be found in our modem universities and colleges. It demands solid Sadhana for the achievement of the goal that is indicated by this Para-Vidya or highest science....".

Sources:

1. On Scientists' confusion concerning eating eggs: https://www.wsj.com/articles/are-eggs-bad-for-you-two-scientists-square-off-1536866255