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Chapter V

The Miracle Of Creation

This passing from a cell to a complete organ is something which is incomprehensible, but it is a fact. It does exist, but it is so marvelous that no one can understand it and if one reads the modern scientific books upon this subject, one finds a word used which before was anathema to scientists. It is the word ‘miracle,’ Because though it is something that happens continuously, nevertheless it is miraculous and wonder at this miracle is felt just the same. No matter what animals are observed, a bird or a rabbit or any sort of vertebrate, one sees that it is composed of organs which in themselves are extremely complicated and what causes great wonder and surprise is to see how these very complicated organs are closely connected one with the other. If one considers the circulatory system, one sees in it a drainage system so fine, so complicated and so complete that no system of drainage invented by the most advanced type of civilization can be compared to it. Also the intelligence service of collecting impressions from the environment, which is carried out with sense organs, is so marvelous that no modern instrument can approach it. What can for instance approach the marvel of the eye or of the ear? And if one studies the chemical reactions that take place in the body, one sees that there are special chemical laboratories in which substances are evolved, placing and holding together other substances that we in our most modern and most powerful laboratories are unable to unite. If we consider communications in the human system, the most evolved and perfect communication systems which include telephone and wireless, telegraphy and telephones and all that we may imagine which have been evolved and put together they, when compared to the communications that there are in the body by means of the nervous system, are as nothing. And if one studies the best organized army, one will never find the obedience that the muscles have, which carry out the commands of one strategic director whom everyone obeys immediately. These obedient servants exercise themselves in a special work, in a special fashion, so as to be ready to obey whatever commands come to them. If we consider that all these complicated organs, organs of communication, muscles obedient as soldiers, nerves that penetrate each little cell in the body, come from one cell, the primitive cell which is spherical in its form, we realize the wonder of nature. Each living animal, each living mammal, and man, this marvelous being, all of them come from one primitive cell which, when examined, differs in no way from other cells and looks very very simple. If we, who are accustomed to big things, consider the size of these primitive cells, we shall probably receive a shock. It is the l/30th part of an inch, or 1/10th of a millimeter. To realize what this means, consider the size of a point made by a sharp pencil and try to put 10 such dots one against the other, no matter how tiny they are a millimeter will not hold ten of them. So imagine how microscopic is the cell, this cell from which man comes. And when this cell develops, it develops isolated from the parent because it is protected, it is enclosed in a sort of envelope that keeps it separate from the adult that contains it. This is true for all animals. The cell is isolated from the parent so that the adult resulting from it is actually the product of the work of this cell originated by the adult. This has been the cause of meditation for a long time because the greatest men in different spheres, such as Napoleon or Alexander or Gandhi, Shakespeare or Dante, etc., as well as the humblest of the humble among the human beings, every one has been constructed by one of these tiny cells. This mystery not only provoked meditation but has also roused the attention of many scientists who have made these cells the object of their studies. By observation with a powerful microscope, it has been found that each cell contains a certain number of points which as they can be very easily colored by chemical means have been called ‘Chromosomes’ Their number differs in the different species. In the human species for instance, there are 48. In others there are 15, in some 13 so that the number of chromosomes distinguishes the species to which they belong. Scientists thought that these chromosomes had something to do with the formation of the organs. Recently much more powerful microscopes have been invented. These allow one to see things which it was absolutely impossible to see previously. They have been called ultra -microscopes, and by their means people have been able to see that each of the chromosomes was a sort of a little box which contained a sort of chain, composed of about 100 little grains. The chromosomes break up, the grains free themselves and the cell becomes the depositary of some four thousand little grains that have been termed ‘genes’ (Fig. 2.) The word genes implies the idea of generation. They have been so called because the characteristics of the body are formed by their combinations.

This is really science. Yet if one stops to think what this implies, one realizes how mystic this dry scientific statement sounds, for this cell is so tiny as to be almost invisible, yet it contains within itself the heredity of all times. In this little speck, there is the whole experience, the whole history of the human kind. Before any apparent change is visible in the primitive cell, already a combination among these genes has taken place. They have already arranged themselves to determine exactly the form of the nose, the color of the eyes etc. of the being that will result from this primitive cell. Not all the genes are employed in the formation of a body. A sort of struggle takes place between these genes; only a few combine and these give the outer characters of the individual while others remain hidden and obscure. For instance, there is the famous example of Mendel who made an experiment. He crossed a plant with red flowers and one of the same kind with white flowers and then the seeds of the new plant were sown. These produce either three plants with white and one with red flowers or the contrary. So out of 40 seeds, 30 will come with red flowers and 1 with white flowers or 1 with red and 30 with white. If the circumstances are good, it is the superior qualities that prevail; but if the circumstances are not favorable, then it is the worse qualities that come forth. So according to the circumstances in which the cell finds itself, you can have a more beautiful individual or a less beautiful individual, a stronger individual or a weaker individual. And this is due to the combinations between the genes. The combinations are so many that every human being is different from every other and even if one observes families that have many children, though all the children are generated by the same parents, yet some are beautiful, others ugly; some are tall, others short and so forth.

Today much time is spent in studying what are the circumstances which will make the better characters come forth; a new science has arisen, Eugenics, which shows how man has by his intelligence succeeded in acquiring influence even over heredity. Human intelligence has understood that heredity can be influenced only at the stage when the primitive cell is formed and changes can be made. Thus man becomes a sort of god who takes in hand the powers of life and orients the path it will take. Nothing much has been done in this direction in the field of humanity, but in that of plants and animals, man has been able to influence heredity to a great extent. What does it mean when one has the power of life in one’s hand? It means that we can dispose of heredity so as to transform the species. This is the fascinating part that in our days focuses on this science the interest of hundreds upon hundreds of people. Today this interest is not academic or philosophical. Today it has invaded the practical field. Great numbers of plants and animals have been transformed. Some years ago, for instance, two young men carried out certain biological experiments and a race of stingless bees was produced which made a great deal more honey. So man has been able to influence the life of these insects and to create a species that has become harmless and produces more of a nourishing substance that humanity appreciates. In the same way certain plants have been transformed so as to produce much more food than they did previously. Men have also transformed simple roses into the many beautiful varieties that today gladden our eyes and delight our sense of smell. In the case of flowers great achievements have been made. Man has captured a secret of life. He has become a sort of magician who has embellished life with the magic wand of his intelligence; because of it, the world is much richer and more pleasant. We begin to see one of the aims of the life of man, one of the reasons which makes him one of the great cosmic forces. He has not been placed in the world in order to enjoy beautiful things. He has been placed here to make the world better. Man has intelligence because he has to make a better world than that which he has found. It is as though man were the continuation of the creation, as though he had been sent to employ his intelligence in order to help and make creation more perfect. Intelligence is the great gift that has been given to him. Man has been able to enter a field that permits him to have control over life. Hitherto man had to follow life as it was, but now he can control it. So the study of embryology is no longer an abstract and fruitless study. It is a study which has allowed man to penetrate certain secrets of life and to be able to control by means of these secrets the beings that are to come. Now, if by a stretch of imagination we think that psychic development follows a similar procedure, then we can imagine that man, who has penetrated the secrets of physical development, can also control and help psychic development.

This chapter about genes and heredity is separate from pure embryology. Embryology considers only the way in which the primitive cell produces the individual. To do this, the ultra -microscope or special reasoning are not required. It is merely a question of observation. From one cell, two are generated and these remain joined. Then the two become four, the four eight, eight become sixteen and so on. This continues until hundreds of cells are produced which are similar to the bricks that are used for the construction of a house. Eventually a sort of hollow sphere is produced. Curiously enough, in the oceans, there are certain animals which are just like that, a hollow ball, and they are called ‘volvo’ because they are always going round. Then these balls become inflected and form two walls and later a third wall is formed between the two. So the first construction consists of these three walls. Up to now all cells are alike amongst themselves. Only they are smaller than the primitive cell. (Fig. 3.)

Recently studies have permitted the discovery of the way in which these organs are formed. I mentioned this fact in the previous chapter. This discovery Was made very recently, between 1929 and 1930 i.e., after the first world war. Now this is 14 years ago. Before a discovery is made and this discovery is made public and every one knows about it, 14 years are, we might say, as yesterday. Now the figure reproduced here does not correspond to a reality. (Fig. 4.)

It is something imaginary made in order to show points of sensitivity. There are these spots in which cells begin to multiply very fast and it is in these special points that organs are formed. While one person discovered this in America, in England independently somebody else was also doing research work and he made the same discovery. The American called these points ‘gradients,’ the Englishman, as he made his discovery upon the nervous system, called them ‘points of sensitization’ and ‘sanglion.’

Each of the three walls of the gastrula produces a set of organs. The external one produces the skin, the sensory organs and nervous system. And this illustrates that the external layer is in relation with the environment, because the skin gives us protection and the nervous system places us in relation to the environment. The innermost one develops organs used for nourishment such as the intestines, stomach, the glands of digestion, liver, pancreas, and the lungs. The organs of the nervous systems are called organs of relation because they allow us to put ourselves in relation with the environment. The organs of the digestive and respiratory systems are called vegetative organs because they make vegetative life possible. The third or middle wall produces all the rest, the skeleton that sustains the whole body and the muscles. Now it is curious to see how each one of these walls has a special purpose and this purpose remains the same for each kind of animal. As long as they are in the stage of walls, the cells are more or less alike, simple. Is this not intelligent? First three walls are made, then the organs. And is it not curious that the plan of the whole is made while each of the three layers is still independent of the other? After this, each of the cells that are going to form organs begins to transform itself. They assume the form best suited to perform a function which, however, they do not carry out in the embryo. So that this fine specialization of the cells which transform themselves for a certain function takes place before the function begins.

Here I have reproduced some of these cells (Fig. 5.).

There are the liver cells which are pentagonal in form; there are the cells of the muscles which are very long, and the triangular ones are those that make the bones. While these bone-cells are very soft, they take carbonate of calcium from the blood and form bones. There are others which are very interesting because they are a sort of little cup and these little cups exude a sort of sticky substance. They also have a sort of fringe of fibers called cilia which vibrate so as to catch any dust that may enter the throat with their gluey mucus and move it up to the mouth. And then there are the heroes, who sacrifice their life for the welfare of others. These are the cells of the skin. The skin which sacrifices itself for the protection of the other organs, covers the whole body. The outer layer of the skin dies; its cells sacrifice themselves and underneath there is another layer which is getting ready to sacrifice its life for the safety of all. Those with the long filaments are the cells of the nervous system. Then there are the red cells of the blood which go on continuously taking oxygen to the other cells. They take back and throw away the poisonous gases that have formed. The marvelous thing is that though the red corpuscles of the blood are in enormous numbers, yet their number is determined.

Before the work starts, these are some of the types of cells. Each of these cells prepares itself for the work it has to do. When they have formed themselves for this special work, they can no longer transform themselves. A nervous cell can never be transformed into a liver cell. And so when they have transformed themselves as if imbued with a great ideal and dedicated themselves to the work that fulfils it, their task is fixed, because they have specialized themselves for it. Is it not the same in our human society? There are, we might say, special groups of men who form the organs of humanity. In the beginning each individual performs many tasks. In the primitive society, when people are few, one has to know a little of everything. One is a mason, a doctor, a carpenter and everything. But when society is evolved, then there is specialization of work. Each man chooses a type of work and his psyche becomes so involved in this work that he can do only that work and nothing else. For example, a doctor cannot be a shoemaker. The training for a profession is not only learning a technique, the individual undergoes a psychic transformation for the task that he is to perform so that one prepares himself not only technically, but, what is more important, one acquires a special psychic personality, which is suited for that special work. One finds one’s ideal realized in it. One’s life is that.

The same seems to happen in the case of the body. When each cell has specialized to form the different organs, something else comes that achieves a union among them all. It is composed of two complex organs which do not function for themselves but function in order to achieve the unity among all others. They are the circulatory and nervous systems. The first system is a sort of a river in which there are substances and these are carried to all. But it is not only a distributor, it is also a collector. The organs produce certain things which are needed by other organs that are far away from them. See what perfection has been achieved by this river! Each organ takes from it what it needs for its life and throws into the river whatever it has produced so that other organs can take of it according to their need.

Do we not find the same in our society to day? Has it not developed a circulatory system. All the substances that are produced are thrown into circulation and each one takes from it what is useful for his life and what is produced is thrown into the stream of commerce so that it becomes available to others. The merchants, the traveling salesmen who go about everywhere, are they not like red corpuscles? If we look at human society, we can better understand the functioning of the embryo because in society also the functioning is such that things produced in Germany are consumed in S. America, things which are produced in England are consumed in India and so forth. We can deduce from this that society has reached an embryonic stage in which the circulatory system begins to function, but with many defects still. The defects of circulation reveal that our society has not finished its development.

The one thing we do not find in human society is something corresponding to the specialized cell of the nervous system. We might almost conclude that this organ of direction has not yet been evolved by society as the the chaotic state of our world very clearly indicates. In the absence of this specialization, there is nothing that gives sensibility to all and can harmoniously direct the whole of society. What happens in democracy, for instance, which is the most evolved sort of social organization that civilization has produced? It permits all to choose their own leader by elections. If we transport this to the field of embryology, one could say: “I think the liver cell is most suited to govern”; and another: “I think that those cells which are inside the bones are more suited, because they have a strong structure.” And another might say: “I want some one heroic who will defend us. The skin cell must be at the work of direction,” If such a situation arose in the field of embryology, it would appear absurd, inconceivable, because if there must be specialized cells at all it is surely the cell which directs the functions of the whole. The work of direction is the most difficult task and requires greater specialization than any other. So it is not a question of election. It is a question of being fit and prepared for the work. He who has to direct others, must have transformed himself. Thus there can be no leader unless he has first transformed himself. But this principle that goes from specialization to function is fascinating. It becomes even much more fascinating when we discover that this is the plan adopted by nature for all branches of life, that it is the plan that nature follows when it creates. If we show an interest in embryology, it is not only because of this plan, and because of the fact that one can acquire control over development, but because it runs parallel step by step to what we have discovered in the psychic field.