THE TWO BIRDS

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The Mandukya Upanishad contains a verse (3.1.1) about two birds, ever united and close companions, perched on the same tree. One is busy eating the fruit of the tree, some sweet and some bitter, while the other one simply looks on.

The bird that is eating the fruit eventually turns around to see his companion, supremely happy, and in that seeing he realizes that he could have that unwavering happiness as well.

This simple story can remind us of the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. They eat of the forbidden fruit and are then banished from the Garden of Eden.

In ordinary human experience we pursue the pleasures that worldly life has to offer, thinking that in so doing we will finally achieve the happiness that we so crave. However, we fail to realize the transitory nature of life, and that accordingly the pleasures that we seek will vanish in time. We also overlook the fact that the pleasures of life come with the price tag of inevitable suffering, just as the first bird finds that some of the fruit is bitter.

The second bird that looks on can be thought of either as God, the Divine Source, or as one’s divine essential Self. Either way, the first bird can and does find its way to the true happiness that it yearns for–a happiness that is unchanging and eternal.

Happiness, Impermanence

THE NATURE OF “REALITY”

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As we progress spiritually, we begin to see the world through different glasses, revealing the world’s inherent impermanence. The allure of the world diminishes, and time appears to coalesce into a unified present.

We perceive the cyclical nature of existence: winter’s promise of spring, spring’s progression to summer, each season carrying within it the seeds of its own dissolution. Similarly, the beauty of youth foreshadows the inevitability of death, the universal fate of all that is born.

The story of the grieving mother, sent by the Buddha to find mustard seeds from a deathless household, illustrates this truth. Her empty-handed return led to her realization of the impermanence of life.

Lord Buddha taught that the contemplation of the transient nature of life leads us to the quality of dispassion, and ultimately liberates us from suffering.

Impermanence

THE MOVIE THEATER OF LIFE

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In helping to explain the nature of the Self, Ramana Maharishi would give the analogy of a movie screen. The pictures on the screen are constantly changing, but the screen is unaffected. The audience becomes engrossed in the movie, but only sees the screen if the lights are turned on.

In this analogy the screen represents the Self, our true essential nature, and the pictures on the screen represent the changing drama of our lives. Through it all, the Self remains unchanged and unaffected.

In the Mandukya Upanishad there is a passage that speaks of two birds perched on the same tree. One eats the fruit of the tree while the other simply looks on. The first bird represents our participation in the relative world and our enjoyment of sense gratification, while the second bird represents our witnessing consciousness, the eternal Self.

We are both the changing body and mind, and the unchanging Self. However, from a Vedantic point of view this relative world and our experience therein is no more than a dream. The Bhagavad Gita states in Chapter 2, verse 16: “The unreal is transitory; the real never ceases to be.”

Our whole life, which includes our body and thinking mind, constitute a bunch of fleeting moments that are strung together like the individual frames of a movie reel. These moments are not who we are. We are the consciousness that is observing our life, from beginning to end and beyond.

Impermanence, Our True Nature

EMPTINESS AND FORM

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The Buddhist “Heart Sutra” contains the enigmatic phrase “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form,” and invites a meditation on the nature of reality. The word “emptiness” is a translation from the Sanskrit word “sunyata” which also means “voidness” or “nothingness.”

Of course form relates to the objects that we perceive, as they appear to have boundaries that separate them from their external reality. Buddhists often speak of the interdependence and interconnectedness of objects and that their existence is not independent.

Modern physics tells us that perceived boundaries between objects do not exist and in fact everything is just energy.

Underlying the Buddhist concept of emptiness is the idea that we should not chase after or cling to things, since not having an independent reality they cannot bring us the happiness that we seek. This idea is further enhanced by the Buddhist concept of impermanence, since what is the value of clinging to objects that are here today, gone tomorrow?

The Hindu philosophy of Vedanta also questions the nature of our perceived reality. It says that everything is Brahman, which could be translated as “pure divine essence.” The implication of this also is that we should not either cling to or allow ourselves to be repulsed by objects. Attractions and repulsions are considered kleshas, or afflictions of the mind (see Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, 2.3).

These teachings speak to our external reality and how we relate to it. Not having strong attractions or repulsions allows us to develop evenness of mind and not to be overcome by events or circumstances. We live without expectations and are able to love everyone unconditionally.

Most importantly, we stop looking for happiness outside, and realize that what we seek has been hiding inside all along, just waiting to be discovered.

Happiness, Impermanence, Non-Attachment

THE CRUMBLING OF OLD STRUCTURES

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Most of us live metaphorically in tight structures of belief that make it difficult for the light of knowledge to enter. As we travel along our life’s path we need to be open to learning and to seeing the world with new eyes of wisdom. As we do so the things and experiences that earlier we had valued as being important may lose their luster and naturally drop away.

If we are fully engaged we never stop learning, as every life’s journey is all about the experience and learning itself.

When we are centered in the natural flow of our life we encounter the events that are intended specifically for us, yielding the lessons that we require.

However, if our actions are driven solely by the search for pleasure or the avoidance of pain we will “miss the boat.” Instead, we must trust in the inner wisdom of our life’s journey and surrender to what it has to teach.

The same applies to the macro scale in which we live. Change is the only constant and we will find that the world that we inhabit will go through changes that we could not have imagined years ago. We just need to stay focused on who we are and the purposes that we have set for ourselves, center ourselves in our heart space of love and ever new joy, and remember that through it all our divine eternal Self remains untouched and is ever free.

Impermanence
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