Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD.
Published on www.academy-advaita.com
The Netherlands
1 June 2023
Soil
“Earth”
Soil, commonly referred to as dirt or earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids and organisms that together support life of plants and soil organisms.
Harvesting is done in the soil by planting seeds. There is nothing within any vegetable seed, animal seed or human seed, yet vegetables, animals and humans thrive on earth
Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from soil by restricting the former term specifically to displaced soil. Science also states that most seeds consist of three parts: embryo, endosperm and seed coat.
The embryo is a tiny plant that has a root, a stem and one or more leaves. The endosperm is the nutritive tissue of the seed, often a combination of starch, oil and protein.
Seed coat is the hard, protective outer covering of a seed. The seed coat is the exterior layer of the seed and is made up of the testa and tegmen. The testa is the outer, smooth and thick layer of the seed coat. The tegmen is the thinner and clear inner layer of the seed coat.
The question is as to how the embryo and endosperm get inside the seed? How does the embryo and endosperm get through the hard, protective outer covering of the seed coat to be inside the seed?
Science assumes the embryo and endosperm. The question, however, is unsolved as to where endosperm gets the starch, oil and protein from, because starch, oil and protein come from a seed.
Science is unable to say where the first seed in the soil and on the earth came from.
Science is unable to explain how the different plants, with different flowers, seeds, fruits, colours, taste and flavour came.
The miracle within the soil makes everything that comes from a seed. Green leaves, different colours of the leaves in different seasons, different fruits on trees, their colour and taste. Different flowers with different colours and flavours is a miracle.
The enlightened accept everything that comes from a seed, including humans, because humans too come from a human seed. They are what they are and cannot be other than what they are in any moment.
The enlightened accept humans as part of nature and not separate from nature. The enlightened accept nature as it is in any moment and therefore accept humans as they are in any moment.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2023
Editor’s Comment:
A seed is universally recognised as a seed and is understood to be the primary form of anything that has lived, is living and is yet to live. Countless are the varieties of such forms, from microbes to giants. Man wonders at or is taken aback by the living world all around him or her. Understanding, however, of this flow of life is the gift of the wise. Such understanding gives rise to patience and compassion. Thank you.
Julian Capper, UK.
German Translator‘s Note:
It is easy to marvel at the wonders of nature, like seeds sprouting from a fertile soil, without being able to explain exactly where it all comes from, but every explanation raises new questions and the ultimate question of how the world works, is impossible for science and the mind to answer, because causal thinking still creates one more cause than can be answered. Along with the ease of wonder at the mysterious workings of nature, however, paradoxically goes the blind spot in the scientifically inclined mind of not including itself as a human being in the wonder of nature, because after all, humans believe, they can think, speak and do on their own. Dr. Shankar's article makes us aware again that everything is nature and a marvelous miracle, including every man, woman and child.
Marcus Stegmaier, Germany.