How the jīva falls into the material world (Mundaka Upaniṣad #14)

The Lord and the jiva living inside the heart are compared with two birds living on the same tree. Both share the same transcendental qualities, but one falls into illusion.

The Lord and the jiva living inside the heart are compared with two birds living on the same tree. Both share the same transcendental qualities, but one falls into illusion and becomes absorbed in eating the sweet and bitter fruits of the tree, while the other maintains His transcendental position. There is no meaning in the relationship between the soul and the body, but this connection is somehow established due to illusion, just as someone dreaming. Forgetting Krsna, the soul has been attracted by the external potency of the Lord from time immemorial. When the living entity forgets his constitutional position as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately entrapped by the illusory, external energy. The Lord is the master of this illusory energy and untouched by it. Because He remains transcendental, He can help the soul to return to His transcendental nature.

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Text 3.1.1

dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā

samānam vṛkṣam pariṣasvajāte

tayor anyaḥ pippalam svādvatti

anaśnan anyo abhicākaśīti

Two birds of beautiful plumage and close friends reside on the same tree. One of them eats the fruits of the tree, thinking they are sweet. The other bird simply observes.

Commentary: Both the Lord and the conditioned soul live inside the heart. Both share similar qualities, such as being eternal and transcendental to matter. More than that, they are described as close friends, sakhāyā. Since they are so close, what is the difference between them? The answer is that the Lord maintains His transcendental position, entering the body without getting in contact with the material energy, while the jiva (although in truth also transcendental) identifies with a material identity through the false ego and becomes engaged in tasting the bitter and sweet fruits of the material tree. While the jiva is thus engaged, the Lord just observes his actions as a witness. In reality, all the fruits are bitter, but in illusion, the jiva thinks some are sweet.

In his purport to CC Adi 2.19, Srila Prabhupada makes some very interesting points:

"The sun is situated in a specific location but is reflected in countless jewels and appears in innumerable localized aspects. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although eternally present in His transcendental abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, is reflected in everyone's heart as the Supersoul. In the Upaniṣads it is said that the jīva (living entity) and the Paramātmā (Supersoul) are like two birds sitting in the same tree. The Supersoul engages the living being in executing fruitive work as a result of his deeds in the past, but the Paramātmā has nothing to do with such engagements. As soon as the living being ceases to act in terms of fruitive work and takes to the service of the Lord (the Paramātmā), coming to know of His supremacy, he is immediately freed from all designations, and in that pure state he enters the kingdom of God, known as Vaikuṇṭha."

This purport explains how the Lord enters the heart of all without getting in contact with the material energy. As the sun can illuminate the walls of a room through the reflection in a jug of water, without directly entering into it, the Lord can become present everywhere in the material creation through His reflection. The jiva is also transcendental, and in truth is never contaminated by matter. Still, the jiva becomes entangled in the material world by identifying with a certain material identity created by the combination of material consciousness (which is, according to Lord Kapila, in the Srimad Bhagavatam, created from the reflection of the original consciousness of the soul), false ego, mind, intelligence, senses, physical body and the organs of the senses. Just like a person can't enter inside a computer, the soul does not factually move inside of this material world, remaining immovable in his original position. However, by identifying with this material identity, the soul moves from one body to the other, performs actions, and enjoys or suffers the results, just like a person entertained with a computer game, identifying with what is happening on the screen.

This point is discussed in the Srimad Bhagavatam, in both the second and third cantos. In the second canto, it is discussed in the context of the questions of Maharaja Pariksit to Sukadeva Goswami. The king asked:

"O learned brāhmaṇa, the transcendental spirit soul is different from the material body. Does he acquire the body accidentally or by some cause? Will you kindly explain this, for it is known to you." (SB 2.8.7)

Srila Śukadeva Gosvāmī answered:

“O King, unless one is influenced by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no meaning to the relationship of the pure soul in pure consciousness with the material body. That relationship is just like a dreamer’s seeing his own body working. The illusioned living entity appears in so many forms offered by the external energy of the Lord. While enjoying in the modes of material nature, the encaged living entity misconceives, thinking in terms of “I” and “mine.” As soon as the living entity becomes situated in his constitutional glory and begins to enjoy the transcendence beyond time and material energy, he at once gives up the two misconceptions of life [I and mine] and thus becomes fully manifested as the pure self." (SB 2.9.1-3)

Srila Prabhupada uses this analogy of the dream in several passages to explain our material conditioning. A dream is not false, it exists as a mental projection and is experienced by the person dreaming. However, it is illusory. A person dreaming may believe he is going to many places and doing many things, while in reality he never leaves his bed. What happens in the dream does not affect his real life, and his imaginary connection with the dream is immediately severed when he wakes up. It's very difficult to understand this while one is dreaming, but when one wakes up everything becomes clear.

As Srila Prabhupada explains, Krsna Consciousness is not some artificial imposition, but the original consciousness of the soul that can be reawakened by the process of devotional service. As long as we identify with our material identity, we wander in this material world accepting different bodies according to the results of karma and identifying with the illusory situations created by them. As we develop Krsna Consciousness, however, we reconnect with our eternal nature of love and service to Krsna. This is directly stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself:

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya

śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

"Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens." (CC Madhya 22.107)

One may argue that if we are eternally connected with Krsna, how can we come here to the material world in the first place? How can one be dragged out of the spiritual world if the three modes of material nature exert no influence there? It must therefore be concluded that we were always here.

This is also explained by Mahaprabhu:

kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha

ataeva māyā tāre deya samsāra-duḥkha

"Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [māyā] gives him all kinds of misery in his material existence." (CC Madhya 20.117)

In his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada dives deep:

"When the living entity forgets his constitutional position as an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, he is immediately entrapped by the illusory, external energy. The living entity is originally part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and is therefore the superior energy of Kṛṣṇa. He is endowed with inconceivable minute energy that works inconceivably within the body. However, the living entity, forgetting his position, is situated in material energy. The living entity is called the marginal energy because by nature he is spiritual but by forgetfulness he is situated in the material energy. Thus he has the power to live either in the material energy or in the spiritual energy, and for this reason he is called marginal energy. Being in the marginal position, he is sometimes attracted by the external, illusory energy, and this is the beginning of his material life. When he enters the material energy, he is subjected to the threefold time measurement — past, present and future. Past, present and future belong only to the material world; they do not exist in the spiritual world. The living entity is eternal, and he existed before the creation of this material world. Unfortunately he has forgotten his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. The living entity’s forgetfulness is described herein as anādi, which indicates that it has existed since time immemorial. One should understand that due to his desire to enjoy himself in competition with Kṛṣṇa, the living entity comes into material existence."

Srila Prabhupada translates the word "anādi" as "from time immemorial", and not as "eternally", explaining the real meaning of the verse. Some try to impose the literal meaning of the word anādi as "eternally", but this crude understanding results in all kinds of contradictions, starting from the verse itself, where the words "bhuli" (forgetting) and bahirmukha (turned away) are used. If the soul was never with Krsna, how would he forget and turn away? Forgetting means we had something and got somehow separated from it while turning away implies a personal choice.

As Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana explains in his Govinda Bhasya, the correct meaning of a verse is found when we take into consideration what comes before, what comes after, the meaning of the book, and the conclusions of the scriptures as a whole. If our interpretation agrees with half of the references and is contradicted by the other half, it is obviously incorrect. There are no contradictions in the scriptures, all contradictions come from misunderstanding. The apparent contradictions are dispelled when we reach a proper understanding. That's what Prabhupada gives us in his books.

What about the position of the Lord? Pariksit Maharaja also asks about this, and the answer is given by Sukadeva Goswami in the form of the four original verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam, spoken by the Lord to Brahma at the beginning of creation:

Pariksit asked:

"Please also explain the Personality of Godhead, who lies in every heart as the Supersoul, and as the Lord of all energies, but is untouched by His external energy." (SB 2.8.10)

Sukadeva Goswami answered (quoting the Lord answering a question from Brahma):

"Brahmā, it is I, the Personality of Godhead, who was existing before the creation, when there was nothing but Myself. Nor was there the material nature, the cause of this creation. That which you see now is also I, the Personality of Godhead, and after annihilation what remains will also be I, the Personality of Godhead. O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness. O Brahmā, please know that the universal elements enter into the cosmos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything.

A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly." (SB 2.9.33-36)

These verses contain unlimited meaning, but Krsna again uses the example of the reflection (hinting at the analogy of the sun reflected in the jug of water and through it illuminating the walls of a room) to explain how He enters this material universe without getting in contact with the material energy.

Srila Prabhupada sums up the whole situation on the Teachings of Lord Caitanya (ch.25):

"In the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad it is stated that there are two birds sitting on the same tree, and one of these birds is eating the fruit of this tree while the other bird is simply witnessing his activities. Only when the bird eating the fruit looks at the other bird does he become free from all anxieties. This is the position of the infinitesimal living entity. As long as he is forgetful of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who witnesses all his activities, he is subjected to the threefold miseries. But when he looks to the Supreme Lord and becomes the Supreme Lord's devotee, he becomes free from all anxieties and material miseries. The living entity is eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord; the Supreme Lord is always the master of all energies, whereas the living entity is always under the domination of the Lord's energies. Although qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord, the living entity has the tendency to lord it over material nature; however, being infinitesimal, he is actually controlled by material nature. Thus the living entity is called the marginal potency of the Lord."

The position of the soul acquiring different varieties of material identification is further explained by Srila Prabhupada in his purport to Bg 13.21:

"The different manifestations of body and senses among the living entities are due to material nature. There are 8,400,000 different species of life, and these varieties are creations of the material nature. They arise from the different sensual pleasures of the living entity, who thus desires to live in this body or that. When he is put into different bodies, he enjoys different kinds of happiness and distress. His material happiness and distress are due to his body, and not to himself as he is. In his original state there is no doubt of enjoyment; therefore that is his real state. Because of the desire to lord it over material nature, he is in the material world. In the spiritual world there is no such thing. The spiritual world is pure, but in the material world everyone is struggling hard to acquire different kinds of pleasures for the body. It might be more clear to state that this body is the effect of the senses. The senses are instruments for gratifying desire. Now, the sum total – body and instrument senses – is offered by material nature, and as will be clear in the next verse, the living entity is blessed or damned with circumstances according to his past desire and activity. According to one’s desires and activities, material nature places one in various residential quarters. The being himself is the cause of his attaining such residential quarters and his attendant enjoyment or suffering. Once placed in some particular kind of body, he comes under the control of nature because the body, being matter, acts according to the laws of nature. At that time, the living entity has no power to change that law. Suppose an entity is put into the body of a dog. As soon as he is put into the body of a dog, he must act like a dog. He cannot act otherwise. And if the living entity is put into the body of a hog, then he is forced to eat stool and act like a hog. Similarly, if the living entity is put into the body of a demigod, he must act according to his body. This is the law of nature. But in all circumstances, the Supersoul is with the individual soul. That is explained in the Vedas (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.1) as follows: dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyaḥ. The Supreme Lord is so kind upon the living entity that He always accompanies the individual soul and in all circumstances is present as the Supersoul, or Paramātmā."

We get yet more insight on this topic from the 3rd canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, where Lord Kapila explains:

"When the living entity is thus unaffected by the modes of material nature, because he is unchanging and does not claim proprietorship, he remains apart from the reactions of the modes, although abiding in a material body, just as the sun remains aloof from its reflection on water. When the soul is under the spell of material nature and false ego, identifying his body as the self, he becomes absorbed in material activities, and by the influence of false ego he thinks that he is the proprietor of everything. The conditioned soul therefore transmigrates into different species of life, higher and lower, because of his association with the modes of material nature. Unless he is relieved of material activities, he has to accept this position because of his faulty work. Actually a living entity is transcendental to material existence, but because of his mentality of lording it over material nature, his material existential condition does not cease, and just as in a dream, he is affected by all sorts of disadvantages. It is the duty of every conditioned soul to engage his polluted consciousness, which is now attached to material enjoyment, in very serious devotional service with detachment. Thus his mind and consciousness will be under full control." (SB 3.27.1-4)

The example of the sun or the moon being reflected on water is given in many passages of the scriptures. In reality, the soul never mixes with matter. Because the soul is of a different nature, this mixture is not possible. Instead, the soul remains always aloof, just as oil on water. However, the consciousness of the soul is reflected in matter, just like the sun or moon may be reflected in a lake or any other body of water. The reflection may thus appear to be wavering, but this doesn't mean the sun or moon is wavering. The conditioned soul identifies with the reflection on water and thus suffers or enjoys according to the movement of the three modes. A liberated soul however identifies with his real identity, transcendental to matter. Tat tvam asi: a liberated soul is as good as the Lord. Just as the Lord is transcendental, the liberated soul is also transcendental. On the other hand, when a soul comes under the strong influence of the false ego, he sees himself as the body and thinks that he is performing actions and is the proprietor. In other words, he identifies with the reflection in the water, instead of his original position in the sky. By identifying with the gross and subtle bodies in this way, he has to enjoy or suffer according to the fate of the body. One has to experience death, suffer in hell, and so on. The soul does not die or go to hell, but by identifying with this particular material identity, the soul has to go through such experiences.

In the 4th verse of the quote, Lord Kapila uses the example of the dream to illustrate the position of the soul in the material world. One may dream that he is in a dark forest and feel fear, or one may even have a nightmare, dreaming he is dying, being devoured by a tiger. When we accept the situations created in the dream as real, we enjoy or suffer in this delirious condition. A similar example is a movie: when we identify with the characters in the movie, we start thinking it is real. In this case, we laugh and cry following their adventures, although in reality, it has nothing to do with our lives. The dream and the movie are not false, but they are illusory.

Similarly, this whole material creation is like the dream of Maha-Vishnu. He creates it as an alternate reality for the souls who want to forget their real lives and temporarily join the dreamland. Being parts and parcels of the Lord, we join Him in His dream and thus are placed in this material world. The material world is thus not false, the problem is in accepting what we experience here as reality. Krsna Consciousness means to focus on our real life of service to Krsna, and gradually wake up from the dream.