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Different living beings have a differing number of physical life forces, but all
species have the above four psychic life forces; the degree depends upon karmic bondage. In addition to the life forces, living beings are also characterised by six 'vital completions" (paryaaptis). The vital completions represent the gradual development of all the essential functioning organs of worldly beings. These are completed within fortyeight minutes. Jivas, which died after the development of the appropriate vital completions, are called completioned (paryaaptaa) and those who died before are noncompletioned (aparyaaptaa).
The scriptures define 'vital completion' (paryaapti) as the attainment of the vital organs, by the living being: the body, speech, mind, senses, food digestion and respiration. These vital organs create life forces (praanas). Jiva Kanda (chapters 3 and 4) describes paryaapti and praana in detail, noting that newly conceived souls have the capacity to develop food digestion, body, sensory organs, respiration, speech and mind, depending upon their destiny.
The capacity for completion of the vital organs (paryaapti) to evolve life forces is the living fabric of all plants, animals and humans; the result is a specific body with its components developing from ingestion. The initiation of the formation of body components is a function of body-producing karma (of body, major and minor limbs), but its completion requires the energy supplied by the life forces developed in metabolic reactions to ingestion. The concept of vital completion represents the organisation of material intake into a specific pattern of chyle, blood, tissue, fat, bone, marrow and semen, as nutritional molecules form the bodies of human, animals, plants and other lower beings. The solid portions of food develop into hardened substances, such as bones; the liquid into fluids such as blood; and food material is further assimilated to develop the sensory organs. The movement of the body develops respiration, and vital completion capacity develops speech and the mind. The vital completions are six in number:
Table 4.3 The number of vital completions and life forces in living beings.
Type of Living Being
Life Forces
One-sense
4
6
7
8
9
10
Two-senses
Three-senses
Four-senses
Five-senses without mind Five-senses with mind
Vital Completions
4
5
5556
1. Food-intake vital completion (aahaara paryaapti), by which beings ingest, digest, absorb and transform molecules of food particles into waste products (khala) and molecules of nutrients or energy (chyle).
2. Body vital completion (sarira paryaapti), by which molecules of nutrients are utilised for the release of energy, creating blood, tissue, fat, bone, marrow, semen etc.
3. Sense-organ vital completion (indriya paryaapti), by which full development of appropriate sensory organs occurs.
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