Need of the hour -50
The Tale of Two birds and Ishvara Principle
-J.P.Bharathi
This inspiring story of two birds has its references in Bhakti Yoga of BG, Mandukya and other Upanishads.
Once on a tree, there were two birds – one on the upper branch, serene, Majestic and divine but passively looking at the lower branch bird and the one on the lower branch, restlessly pecking fruits. Sometimes sweet and therefore happy, sometimes bitter and therefore sorrow.
This continues for some time, until one day when the lower bird can’t find any sweet fruits. It restlessly hops around the branches biting into bitter and bitter fruits. Then finally when it bites into the bitterest of the fruits it feels helpless and becomes overwhelmed with sorrow, looses interest in the fruits and stops hopping.
At this point it realizes there is this bird peacefully sitting on the higher branches and keeps looking at it curiously…. Slowly it dawns on the lower bird that the cause of its sorrow is its attachment to the sweet fruits. As it becomes calm and reflective it starts moving up the branches until it reaches upper branch. Upon reaching the upper branch it realizes that there was no second bird. The upper branch bird was its own higher self.
Ishvara Principle
Actual the two birds are the dvaita bhava of the human.
Lower bird like us or for that matter Arjuna, is swayed by the vagaries of the situation and travel the roller coaster of happiness and sorrow. the Upper bird is the purushottam Krishna and symbolizes the Ishvara principle.
The moment lower bird stopped its indulgence and looked at the upper bird, its bondage is snapped.
Without the help of this Ishvaraprinciple, we cannot extricate ourselves from the pull of senses. This Ishvara principle is nothing but our Atmatattva. In other words, our Guru or Jagadguru – Shri Krishna!
Prayer…
Yogeshamsachchidanandam Vasudeva vrajapriyam
Dharma samstapakamveeram Krishnam vandeJagad gurum !!
*****
(Continued….)
