God & Science: the Miracle of the Milk
(chapter summary from God and Science by Richard L. Thompson)
On the 21th of September 1995 deities of Ganesa, Lord Siva and other were reported to be accepting offerings of spoonfuls milk. Debunkers explained the effect as capillary action of the stone stature sucking the milk out of the spoon. They say that a single small incident was blown out of all proportions by mass hysteria.
Indeed, human beings have the tendency to cheat, have imperfect senses, become illusioned and tend to make mistakes, so the events of 1995 may well have an explanation that is in-line with the laws of nature. We will never really know.
St. Augustine spoke of miracles, not as contradicting the laws of nature, but instead as merely contracting what we currently understand about the laws of nature. For example, There are numerous accounts in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and in modern times of people exhibiting mystic powers (yoga siddhis) and paranormal apparitions (ghosts). Yogis can levitate, acquire objects across large distances, transform their body, etc.
Miracles are not accepted by modern science because they contradict the laws of physics. Newton’s law of the conservation of energy, for example, does not allow macroscopic objects to be teleported. Even if numerous people give testimony of a miraculous effect, scientists will favor what the laws of physics tell them should be happening and assume the witnesses must be deluded in some way.
The best way to distinguish between actual miracles and cheating is to listen to a teacher in a bona-fide disciplic succession. Such an authorized person will not try to mislead his listeners for some ulterior motive. Example: Krishnadasa Kaviraja’s description of the Lord Caitanya’s disappearing from locked rooms, eating offerings of food across large distances, healing sick people and appearing in several places at once.
