Inheritance at the macro- and micro-cosm
Many non-European philosophies around the world emphasize the concept of transgenerational interconnectedness; the actions of one generation influence the next through the web of cause and effect. Indeed, we are born in a world shaped by our ancestors, their virtues, and their shortcomings. In turn, we hope to beget children who inherit our strengths and hopefully improve upon our failings, thus ensuring the continued progress of our species.
Our cells are actually not too different. During a typical lifetime, a human body witnesses several generations of cellular dynasties. Every single day, 330 billion new cells (or 1% of the entire body) replace aged and worn out cells [Our Bodies Replace Billions of Cells Every Day].
Cells learn from their experiences
As a cell goes through life, it faces different situations and has to act accordingly by synthesizing the right proteins. This is where the cell’s DNA plays a critical role; think of a cell’s DNA as a vast cookbook. Each recipe in this cookbook (or each segment of the DNA) is a gene which contains the instructions to prepare a protein. Proteins are how a cell performs essential functions like communication, creating hormones, fighting invaders, transporting nutrients and many other physiological processes essential for its survival.
The knowledge of when to express which genes (known as the gene expression) is stored in the cell’s epigenome, a kind of cellular diary that remembers which recipes worked best [The Epigenome Learns From Its Experiences]. Unlike DNA, which changes slowly and randomly over many generations, the epigenome can change a lot in just one lifetime. The epigenome is a set of chemical compounds that live on the DNA strand. They don’t change the DNA itself, but act like tags or markers that turn specific genes on and off. In this way they determine what proteins will a cell synthesize. Unlike the fixed DNA, epigenetic changes can occur frequently during a lifetime, and may be permanent or transient. The exact mechanism of epigenetic updates is complex and probably needs at least some background in molecular biology.
The Central Dogma of Biology (src)
Cells inherit their parents’ experiences
The epigenome ends up being shaped in response to what the cell senses, how it reacts, and what it expects to happen next. We used to think that every new cell starts an epigenome from scratch, but now we know that the parent cell’s epigenome - the story of their experience - is also passed down. Research has shown that children of Holocaust survivors have identical markers in their epigenome as their parents, even though they didn’t go through the same traumatic experience [Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children’s genes]. This finding has profound implications… offspring - whether human or cellular, and whether they like it or not - inherit their parents’ perspectives, instincts, and the epigenetic heuristics that dictate how it will respond and act. Our cells carry the echoes of experiences we’ve never personally lived.
“Karma” (Do-Ho Suh, 2011)
Our experiences shape who we are
These echoes can be foundational to what our cells perceive and how they act. Consider something as simple as eating ice cream. The experience of choosing the flavour, savoring the ice cream, the subsequent delights in the tongue and the brain… all of it is saved in the epigenome. Long after the ice cream is gone, your cells will remember the pleasure it brought you. And your cells will ensure this learned experience is not forgotten by passing it to its offspring, embedding your perceptions and actions in the very fabric of your being. Your epigenome will store the ensuing dopamine rush and encourage you to seek it.
All action originates from some desire. It starts with you wanting something. That want pushes you to do something about it. You act, and see what happens because of your actions. If the result makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, you’ll probably end up doing it again. This is like a loop that keeps getting stronger, a self-perpetuating cycle, and looks a lot like the doctrine of Karma; what we want, what we do, and the results of what we end up doing are all interconnected.
Desire –> Will –> Action –> Result –> Desire …
Karma is often spoken about in terms of being rewarded or punished in the future for our current deeds. What sometimes escapes us is that the reward or punishment lies in the very act itself, and not only its eventual consequences. Whatever we experience, think, and do alters us - perhaps imperceptibly - at the deepest level of our DNA. These impressions form the cell’s legacy and will be transmitted through many generations of new cells, influencing our perceptions, actions and the consequent results in the future [see samskara for a loose Hindu/Buddhist corollary of this phenomenon]. From this perspective, our actions are causative not only of future results but also of our present selves. The fruits of our deeds may take time to manifest outwardly, but the seeds are planted within us in the moment we act.
Science and spirtuality - two sides of the same coin
What the scientist cannot explain objectively, the philosopher will employ logic to debate and the theologian will interpret with myths. The 8th century theologist, philosopher and Vedic scholar Shankara emphatically declared that our future is determined solely by our actions, rejecting the notion of a divine “karma police” keeping score of our deeds. As scientific understanding is catching up, we are starting to see karma not simply as a moral or philosophical idea but a biological reality validated by empirical evidence.