CHENNAI, INDIA, May 22, 2010: Craig Venter’s laboratory cell violates the divine law of creation, says Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, who believes that creating life in a laboratory is an act of defiance against God. “Venter’s work violates karma, which alone decides the nature of life for all humans and, besides, creating life in a lab could cause cultural degradation as it eliminates the need for marriage and family values,” said Swami when asked about the creation of “synthetic cells” announced by Venter’s laboratory in Rockville, Maryland, USA.

Scientific advancement could be used to provide vital needs, the pontiff said, welcoming the use of research to make vaccines and biofuels. “But if a man is synthetically created, his body would not be guided by past karma and he would behave just like a machine,” he warned.

Source:/www.hinduismtoday.com