Jiva And Isvara

Jiva And Isvara

Mandukya Upanishad 3.1.1: Two birds, inseparable companions, perch on the same tree, one eats the fruit, the other looks on. The first bird is our individual self feeding on the pleasures and pains of this world; the other is the universal Self, silently witnessing all.

This tree of life may be either the body of tan individual, or it may be the entire creation itself. The two birds, Jiva (living beings) and Isvara (God) in this tree of life are the two phases of experience going on in one’s own body - a consciousness that is totally detached, and a consciousness that is very much involved.