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Neuroscicnce & Karma
a non-physical soul or spirit but they agree that a vital force is produced by these unique large molecules, i.e. they are organized into living organisms which are not closed systems in equilibrium, but in a steady state of interchange with the external environment maintained by continual intake of fuel and expenditure of energy. Thus, carbon which is the most common constituent of foodstuffs, goes through the stomach and intestines into the blood and from there to a muscle where it is burnt to give energy when the muscle contracts. In a couple of hours after eating, it will be breathed out of the lungs as carbon dioxide. This process of self-maintenance is called homeostasis. It is not a static condition but a dynamic equilibrium. In most parts of the body, there is a rapid turn over in many tissues and even the cells themselves are continually replaced by new ones. And yet, as all these interchanges go on, the integrity of the whole organism is preserved. Thus the process of homeostasis, which consists, as it were, of a continual death and rebirth, is the essential property of life. A vital force or vitality is the principle at work, which prevents the dissolution of the body inspite of continual expending of energy. End of vitality results in death. 2. Survival/Samjnās
Living involves using information to make choices between alternatives, with the aim of achieving the goal of continuation of life. Every organism carries in its DNA, the instructions for doing this by dealing with various eventualities that may arise. Life continues because organisnis make repeated choices among previously established sets of possible alternative actions. The very essence of living is the presence of varied possibilities of actions allowing selection of those that ensure survival.
Thus, one of the fundamental characteristics common to all living beings without exceptioin is the aim of survival. Every organism achieves it with efficiency rarely approached in man-made machines. The apparatus which is perfectly adapted for this purpose is supplied by nāma karman and äyusya karman which provide suitable reference standards or samjñās (unlearned instincts) for every category of
