The beautiful allegory of two birds on the same tree - one eating the fruit, the other merely witnessing. A teaching on the distinction between the Self and the ego.
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From the Mundaka Upanishad
द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते।
तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाद्वत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति॥Dva suparna sayuja sakhaya samanam vriksham parishasvajate
Tayoranyah pippalam svadvattyanashnannyo abhichakashiti“Two birds, close companions, cling to the same tree. One eats the sweet fruit; the other looks on without eating.”
— Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.1
This simple yet profound image contains the entire teaching of Vedanta.
The tree represents the body - the physical form, the vehicle of experience.
Though they appear to be two, they are intimately connected, inseparable companions on the same branch.
The First Bird - This is the individual self (jiva), the ego, the experiencer:
The Second Bird - This is the true Self (Atman), the witness, pure awareness:
At first, the eating bird (ego) is completely absorbed in the fruits. It doesn’t even notice the witnessing bird. All it knows is:
This is the state of most human beings - completely identified with the experiencer, unaware of the witness.
After eating many fruits - some sweet, some bitter - the bird becomes exhausted. It realizes:
This is the beginning of spiritual seeking - the recognition that worldly experience, however pleasant, cannot give lasting fulfillment.
In despair or exhaustion, the eating bird happens to glance at the other bird. For the first time, it notices its companion - so peaceful, so still, so radiant, without eating anything at all.
This is the first glimpse of the Self - the recognition that there is an awareness that witnesses all experience but is not caught in it.
Attracted by the peace and beauty of the witnessing bird, the eating bird gradually moves closer. It begins to watch the watcher, to become aware of awareness itself.
This is spiritual practice - meditation, self-inquiry, discrimination between the Self and the not-Self.
As it gets closer, the eating bird makes a stunning discovery: The two birds are not two at all. They are one.
The witnessing bird was never separate. It was always here, always present. The eating bird, in its absorption with fruits, simply forgot its true nature.
This is enlightenment - the recognition: “I was never the limited experiencer. I am the infinite witness. I am That.”
The allegory shows that what we call “I” actually has two aspects:
The Apparent Self (Jiva):
The True Self (Atman):
We are not actually two beings. We are one reality appearing to be two:
Why does the one bird seem to be two?
Ignorance (Avidya) - The eating bird has forgotten its true nature. Through identification with the body-mind, it believes itself to be limited, separate, a doer and experiencer.
Maya (Cosmic Illusion) - The power of Brahman itself creates this apparent duality for the sake of experience, like an actor playing a role.
When experiencing pleasure: Notice: “There is pleasure happening, and there is awareness of pleasure. I am the awareness, not the pleasure.”
When experiencing pain: Notice: “There is pain happening, and there is awareness of pain. I am the awareness, not the pain.”
When thinking: Notice: “There are thoughts happening, and there is awareness of thoughts. I am the awareness, not the thoughts.”
In any experience, notice that there are two aspects:
Gradually identify less with the experience and more with the awareness:
Rest more and more as the witness:
Eventually recognize:
The beautiful conclusion of this teaching is that the eating bird was never truly bound. Its bondage was only apparent, like a dream.
When it recognizes itself as the witnessing bird - or rather, when it realizes it was always the witness pretending to be the eater - all suffering ends.
Not because circumstances change.
Not because only pleasant fruits appear.
But because the identification with the experiencer dissolves.
“Let the fruits be sweet or bitter - I am untouched.
Let the body experience pleasure or pain - I am beyond both.
Let the mind be calm or agitated - I am the changeless awareness.
I am not the eater of fruits. I am the eternal witness.
I am not affected by what happens. I AM, simply I AM.”
On Identity: You are not the one who experiences - you are the awareness in which all experience appears.
On Suffering: Suffering exists only for the eating bird (ego). The witnessing bird (Self) is eternally free.
On Practice: Spiritual practice is not becoming something new. It’s recognizing what you already are.
On Non-Duality: Though two birds appear, there is only one reality - the Self appearing as both witness and experiencer.
On Freedom: Freedom is not changing your circumstances. It’s recognizing that no circumstance can touch your true nature.
“When the experiencer recognizes the witnessing Self, the Self that is beyond all experience, and realizes ‘I am That,’ all sorrow comes to an end.”
— Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.2 (paraphrased)
Sit quietly. Notice your breath, thoughts, sensations.
Now notice: Who is noticing?
The sensations are like fruits on the tree.
The noticing is the witnessing bird.
Are you the sensation, or the awareness of it?
Are you the thought, or the awareness of it?
Are you the experience, or the experiencer, or… the awareness of both?
Rest as that awareness.
That is your true nature.
That is the witnessing bird.
That is what you have always been.
The allegory of the two birds is one of the most beloved teachings in the Upanishads because it so beautifully captures the human condition and the path to freedom in a single, simple image.