Jain Metaphysics and Science: 4.6 Biopotential (Paryapti)

Biopotential is the power for development acquired by a soul at the beginning of life cycle. When soul takes rebirth a new body is to be built using suitable materials. The power to develop this new body is called biopotential. These bio potentials exist due to fruition of bio potential naam karma. Biopotentials are of six kinds.

1. Food biopotential. Food biopotential is the power for soul to receive food, convert this food into appropriate constitutes like solids and fluids useful for body, and discharge the residue. This potential power is used in building the physical body, fluid body (vaikriya sarira) and migratory body (aharaka sarira).
2. Body biopotential. Body biopotential is the power to use the fluid and solids for building the body components. The fluids make seven elements like liquid components, blood, flesh, fat, marrow, and sperm / egg. The solids make bones and other strong components.
3. Sense organ biopotential. This biopotential is used to form the sense organs from the seven fluid elements.  
4. Respiration biopotential. This biopotential assists in making the respiration system.
5. Speech biopotential. This biopotential develops the system for speech production and transmission.
6. Mind biopotential. This biopotential enables receipt of subtle matter for making the mind (i.e. mano vargana and perhaps also tejas vargana) and rejecting the useless subtle matter. This biopotential also develops the power of thinking, imagination and analysis.

All bio potential powers start developing simultaneously, that is, all powers develop in parallel. The process is fast and the development is completed in less than one Indian hour. However, the time of completion of development of each power is different, but it is within one Indian hour. The food bio potential is completed in the first instant and the cell produced by union of sperm and egg cells becomes the body of the soul.

A soul who develops all the six powers completely is called fully developed (paryapta). Otherwise the soul remains undeveloped (aparyapta). The two to four sense creatures and five sense organisms without mind have first five biopotential powers and the five sense beings having mind have all the six powers.