The Tale of Two Birds - The Journey from Jiva to Shiva*
The Tale of Two Birds - The Journey from Jiva to Shiva
We humans, living life like ignorant beings, do everything in this life — we earn money, build relationships, run after fame and respect — but our attention never goes towards attaining that divine power which is the reason for our existence and for this entire world. The one who has given us this whole system, this body, this breath, this intellect, we deny Him as if He does not exist at all.
Our mind has kept us bound to this world. Even if the Supreme Soul wants to, He cannot free us, because we ourselves do not want to be free. We have mistaken bondage itself for happiness. The one whom we should remember first, we have forgotten. The human mind is filled with worldly desires; it does not know how to turn towards God. The mind never gets satisfied even after enjoying countless pleasures. As soon as one desire is fulfilled, another is born. Then what is that, after attaining which, the mind never falls into sorrow?
Who were those people, with bodies just like ours, whose minds never fell into sorrow even when they did not get what they desired? Who were they who, like a lotus in mud, remained in the Maya of the world but always remained unattached to it? Their minds were never turned towards the world, but always towards God.
To explain this mystery, a very beautiful tale appears in the Mundaka Upanishad and the Shvetashvatara Upanishad.
The Story
The mantra is - `Dva suparna sayuja sakhaya samanam vriksham parishasvajate. Tayor anyah pippalam svadvatty anashnann anyo abhichakashiti.`
There is a very large and beautiful tree. This tree is so vast that its roots are above and its branches spread below. On the branches of that tree sit two divine birds, who are close friends always living together. Both have extremely beautiful and attractive wings.
The First Bird - On the lower branches: This bird is very restless and anxious. It keeps jumping from one branch to another. It is completely busy tasting the fruits on the tree. When it gets a sweet fruit, it becomes very happy and joyful, it starts jumping. But as soon as it gets a bitter or sour fruit, it becomes filled with sorrow and despair, starts crying and becomes restless. It keeps getting trapped in this cycle of happiness and sorrow again and again. Sometimes it laughs, sometimes it cries.
The Second Bird - On the very top of the tree: This bird is extremely peaceful, stable, radiant, and majestic. It does not eat a single fruit of the tree. It just silently, without any desire or craving, keeps watching its friend sitting below and the entire world. It is completely untouched by both happiness and sorrow, always established in bliss.
The Turning Point of the Story:
When the restless bird sitting below becomes very sad and helpless after eating bitter fruits, gets tired, it suddenly looks towards its peaceful friend sitting above. It sees that its friend is so blissful, luminous, and peaceful without eating anything. It wonders how someone can be so happy without any enjoyment.
As soon as the lower bird goes close to the upper bird and recognizes its glory, all its illusion goes away. It realizes that it and the upper bird are not actually different. Both are one and the same. With this realization, all its sorrow, all its grief, all its bondage disappears in that very moment.
The Deep Spiritual Meaning of this Tale:
This story is not about any external bird, but about the state within ourselves.
1. The Tree -This is our physical body and this world, which in the scriptures is said to be like a Peepal tree. This is the field of action where we enjoy the fruits of our karma.
2. The Lower Bird - The Jiva (The Individual Soul): This is our ego, our arrogance and our restless mind. We consider ourselves to be this bird. This is the one that has become the doer and enjoyer, tasting the sweet and bitter fruits in the form of worldly pleasure and pain.
3. The Upper Bird - The Paramatma or Atma (Atman / The Witness):* This is the pure consciousness within us, our feeling of being a witness. This is the form of God within us who simply watches our actions without any judgment, without any attachment. In the Gita, this is called the Sakshi, the Drashta.
The Upanishads explain to us that the sorrow of human life cannot end as long as it keeps searching for happiness in the 'fruits' of the world. Because fruits are perishable, sweet today, they will become bitter tomorrow.
True peace and liberation in life is attained when we shift our attention from our restless ego and connect with that silent witness hidden within us. There, the mind does not exist, there is no desire. That Paramatma is forever unattached to the world, He has nothing to do with the activities of the world. That is His true nature, which is also our true nature. To be established in that very nature is the greatest purpose of human life.
Whose life has become dedicated to the Supreme Soul, only his life is truly successful. For the one who could not, for him the journey of birth and death, happiness and sorrow, animal wombs and hells continues. Freedom from this mind is to become like God, that whic
h is the truth and also our true nature.
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