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Scientific Vision of Lord Mahāvīra
the alimentary bio-potential takes place in one instant and the rest within one muhürta (48 minutes) gradually. 54
In the words of Dr. N.L.Jain, ss these six bio-potentials are nothing but a gradual development of the living in six stages: (i) embryo that takes food for building or running life. (ii) Food is that which causes the body to develop, which results in (iii) the development of physical senses depending on the class of the living. With the development of senses the development of (iv) respiration (v) speech and (vi) mind. According to Dhavalā, these bio-potential are the cause of corresponding different Vitalities. So It defines them as the formation or perfection of different organs or energetic aggregates of the body, which has been modified as the cause of such formations. Pujyapādas7 and Akalanka 58 also support the definition. But later on, many authors presumed it to be an acquirement of energy for these formations. This seems to be a cause-effect formalization.
In regard to the Jain concepts of prāna and paryāpti, according to Dr. Nathamal Tatia, there are special considerations in the light of the modern conception of life as 'an energy, capable of organizing matter gathered from outside into the body of a living organism'.
In modern terms paryāpti means the power of “organization" of material from the environment into a special pattern. The fact becomes clear from the following passage: 50
"All living things are 'organized', even, if, like a virus, they consist of little more than protein and nucleic acids............. This organization' is a highly improbable state for matter to be in. All inanimate matter-and dead matter are disordered and randomly scattered. A physicist knows this, as the tendency to increase 'entropy', for entropy is simply a measure of disorder. To counter this probable tendency energy is required, so living things can only retain their organized state of low entropy by respiration and the production of energy."
Dr. Nathmal Tatia further writes that the Jain conception of prāna and paryāpti comes very near the modern idea of 'energy' mentioned in the above quotation. On the basis of Acharya Tulsi's aphorism62—“the bio-energy is prāna needed for paryāpti," he indicates that the bio-potentials are brought to their proper functioning by the power of prāna, in the absence of which they are incapable of attaining their maturity.
It is seen that these six bio-potentials correspond to ten of the bioenergies as shown below. The last one prāna i.e. life span is, according to Acharya Mahapragya, 63 is the consequence of the first bio-potential. Like the prānas, the lowest living ones have only four paryāptis in appearance.64 Higher ones show all the six. In the case of godly life it is found that it has five bio-potentials, Vth and Vith bio-potentials taken as one.65
