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 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. Get full access to Mysteries of the Vedas (Caitanya Chandra Dasa) at www.ccdas.net/subscribe