Summary:

Chapter 3, Section 1, Verse 1: This verse presents the fundamental metaphor of two birds on the same tree to illustrate the relationship between jīva (individual consciousness) and the Self (pure Consciousness). The eating bird represents the body-mind instrument that experiences karma-phala through varied fruits of pleasure and pain, while the watching bird represents the sākṣī (witness) Consciousness that illumines all experiences without being a doer or enjoyer. The tree symbolizes saṁsāra or the physical body – the aśvattha representing impermanence where action and experience occur. This apparent duality demonstrates a satya-mithyā relationship where the body-mind (mithyā) depends entirely on Consciousness (satya), just as ornaments depend on gold. Through anvaya-vyatireka analysis, from gross body to subatomic particles, everything reveals Intelligence as the organizing principle, which itself depends on the ever-present Conscious-existent being that witnesses all manifestations.

CHAPTER 3:

CH 3, SECTION 1, VERSE 1: Two Birds Metaphor

द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया
समानम् वृक्षम् परिषस्वजाते
तयोः अन्यः पिप्पलम् स्वादु अत्ति
अनश्नन् अन्यः अभिचाकशीति (३.१.१)
dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā
samānam vṛkṣam pariṣasvajāte
tayoḥ anyaḥ pippalam svādu atti
anaśnan anyaḥ abhicākaśīti (3.1.1)

Two shining birds that are always together and have the same origin are perched on the same tree. One of them eats fruits of different tastes while the other watches.

Core Metaphor

Imagine two birds, always together (sayujā) and friends (sakhāyā), perched on the same tree. One bird eats the tree's fruits. The other bird watches without eating.

Tree (World / Physical Body) Represents:

Tree represents the world or physical body. It's called aśvattha, suggesting impermanence (like a tree that might not be there tomorrow). Symbolizes saṁsāra – the field where we act and enjoy/suffer.

Birds Represent:

The Eating Bird: Refers to jīva, or body-mind instrument. Its life is centered on eating fruits (experiences) of varied tastes (sweet, sour, bitter) – and going through pain/pleasure.

The Watching Bird: Refers to Consciousness / Self. It “watches” the body-mind eating. It witnesses (sākṣī) the knower-doer-experiencer changing roles. It is not a doer or enjoyer – it's untouched by karma-phala accrued onto the body-mind. By its mere presence, it illumines experiences generated by the body-mind – like the sun lighting the world without effort.

Relationship Between Body-mind and Consciousness:

It seems body-mind (eating bird) is different from Consciousness (watching bird). It contradicts non-duality. If you see them different, you’ll constantly want to detach from body-mind, wanting to experience yourself as Consciousness.

Body-mind and Consciousness relationship is a satya-mithya relationship — just like we used with gold and bangle. Bangle can’t exist without gold, while gold exists independently of bangle. If count gold, there’s only one. If count ornaments, there’s many.

Satya-Mithya To Show Nature of Reality:

Domain of Science:

1. 1. The Body as a Whole (Gross Form): Body is mithyā because it cannot exist without its parts. If you remove limbs, organs, blood, or bones, the “body” disappears. It’s merely a name given to a collection of parts working together.
   2. Parts of the Body (Hands, Organs, etc.): A hand, for example, is mithyā because it depends on muscles, blood vessels, nerves, and cells.
   3. Cells: The Building Blocks of Organs: A muscle cell depends on organelles (mitochondria, nucleus) > depend on molecules (proteins, DNA) > depend on atoms (carbon, oxygen). For instance, Adenine molecule making up DNA, is made of C5H5N5, while Guanine is C5H5N5O. Just one oxygen atom difference. 
   4. Atoms: The “Solid” Particles: An atom depends on protons, neutrons, and electrons. Remove them, and “atom” vanishes. Fun fact: number of protons determines what type of atom it is.
   5. Sub-atomic Particles: Even protons/neutrons reduce to quarks. Quarks are particles that exist as probabilities, and can be in a superposition (multiple possible places at once, until measured), and they don't exist as tangible things. 
   6. Time-space: Quarks depends on presence of time-space.
   7. After time-space: Science don’t know what time-space depends on. Some Quantum theories suggest that time-space comes from “information”.

What quantum mechanics has shown is more deeply you look into reality, the more you see that nothing is truly independent, it depends on something else. Vedanta literature has been saying this for thousands of years.

Domain of Vedanta:

What the scientific model shows so far is when you look at any object, it loses it’s name-form, because it's made of smaller parts.

It also shows you can’t have an effect (like cell) without a cause. Just because you don’t see the cause of time-space, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Vedanta says you can’t perceive/infer the cause because it’s adṛṣṭa (unseen) – meaning it’s not an object. Vedanta says the unseen cause of even time-space, is Intelligence.

How to Show Intelligence is the Building Block of All Effects?

The obvious is that each part has connection to another, but is also well-organized of itself. Let's demonstrate this using Anvaya-vyatireka-prakriya — showing what remains (anvaya) and what is negatable (vyatireka). Purpose is to see the final building block of all things is Intelligence…

1. Body present / Intelligence present.

   1. Your digestive system knows how to break down food into nutrients, distribute them via blood (which knows how to carry oxygen), and kidneys know how to filter waste
   2. Body parts are strategically placed.

2. Cells present / Intelligence  present. 

   1. A single liver cell knows its role: produce enzymes, detoxify blood, produce various body-fuel cells such as: glucose (sugar), glycogen (glucose backup), fatty acids (long term energy), amino acids (used to repair cells).
   2. Each cell’s DNA contains specific instructions (knowledge) for its role. EG: DNA in muscle cells tells them how to contract, while DNA in skin cells tells them how to protect the body – such as shielding from UV rays and preventing water from easily evaporating through the skin.

3. Atoms present / Intelligence present. 

   1. Oxygen gas (O₂) – what we breathe to stay alive. Add one more oxygen atom → becomes ozone (O₃). Ozone is useful in the upper atmosphere (blocks UV rays). But breathing ozone at ground level can damage lungs.
   2. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) – what we breathe out, and plants breathe for food. Carbon monoxide (CO) – missing just one extra oxygen atom, making it toxic to human/plant respiration.
   3. Atoms don’t “decide” to bond into useful molecules as they’re inert matter. They’re organized by Intelligence.

4. Particle present / Intelligence present. 

   1. Quarks know to combine into protons/neutrons. Electrons know to orbit nuclei (speed / distance from nuclei).
   2. If the electron’s charge or the mass of a quark were just a tiny bit different – even by 1% – atoms couldn’t exist, and neither could stars, planets, or life – which shows how perfectly everything is set up. This fine-tuning isn’t luck or accidental, but an intelligent design.
   3. Particles are nothing but concepts or probabilities which hold properties like spin (quark up/down) & mass. When particle is collapsed – it’ll take one value for each. Concept implies presence of Intelligence. However you can’t limit “Intelligence” to just probabilities of particles – because Intelligence is also manifesting as laws, and particles depends on time-space.

So far, when look into body, there's no body, as it's made of arms, heart, brain. When look into brain, can't find it as it's made of cells. When look into cells, can't find it, as it's made of atoms. Then can't find atoms but quarks, which are just values or probabilities. But what you can find is Intelligence at every level, organizing itself intelligently to produce each assemblage upwards. 

How to Show Intelligence Depends on Existence-Awareness?

Concepts, ideas in your mind depend on a Conscious-existent being. When concepts are dormant, the Conscious-existent being remains. Same with macrocosm, except it’s all-knowledge constantly reshuffling itself to account for the changing universe — depending on a Conscious-existent being.

For example, right now, Intelligence is reorganizing itself in form of neurons which is producing different thoughts. You can “command” how Intelligence is to reorganize your neurons by power of your free will.

While intelligence is reshuffling itself and creating change, what is “witnessing” this? I, the ever-present conscious being.

Because we don’t see Intelligence & Consciousness — we need Upanishads to point it out.

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Recorded 12 July, 2025