Bhagavatam-daily 201 – 11.11.06 – Quench the thirst for happiness by diving into the Lord’s glories

Krishnabhagavatam 11.11.6 Here Krishna talks about the famous two birds in the tree metaphor. He talks about how these two birds are similar and they are Sakhaayo, they are friends. And by chance, they have made a nest in the tree.
And one of them is eating the fruits of the tree. One of them. Whereas, the other is nirannam, is not pecking at the fruits.
The superior is the higher being, has greater strength. So this word repeats a familiar Upanishadic motif that conveys how the soul and the super soul are situated in the body. The soul is entangled but the super soul isn’t.
The soul is compared to the bird that is busy eating the fruits. So the fruits refer to the pleasures that appear through the body. The body’s pleasure points are done through the senses.
And by stimulating those pleasure points in various ways, through various forms of imagination, the soul seeks pleasure. Now, that’s what it means that the soul pecks at the fruits. Whereas, the super soul is nirannam.
The super soul is not eating the fruits. That means the super soul is not captivated by the promise of bodily pleasures. And Balan Bhuvya that the super soul is stronger.
It’s too strong to be seduced by the illusions of this world. The strength refers not to physical but intellectual and spiritual strength. And all the nirannam can at one level convey starvation or the person is not eating.
But at another level, if some food is poisoned, the nirannam, not eating food, is the pathway to health. Similarly, in this case, the sense objects are like poisoned fruits. They promise pleasure, but then after an initial coating of pleasure, they bring pain.
So, when the senses come in contact with the sense objects, that is in our metaphor, the birds pecks at the fruits. These are like poison fruits, but the poison is not on the surface, the poison is inside. So, initially, when they taste it, they taste good, but subsequently they taste like poison.
So, this is happiness in the mode of passion. So, the super soul is not allured by such pleasures, knowing that such pleasures are actually insignificant and troublesome. So, in quantity, they are not really much and in consequence, they bring much trouble, much misery.
So, what do we learn from this metaphor? So, this metaphor is stated in different places and in slightly different emphasis. So, in the Katha Upanishad, it is stated that actually, युष्टं इदा पश्चित्य अन्यमीशन् उस्य महिमानां इतिवित शोका So, if this eating bird turns towards the observing silent bird and understands the glory of that bird, then the bird will become free from all this. What this means is, our thirst for happiness can be quenched when we drink deeply the glories of the Lord.
Our thirst for happiness cannot be satisfied by indulging in sensual objects, which are often mirages that offer no pleasure or at best offer just drops of pleasure that cannot satisfy our oceanic need for pleasure. But when we turn towards the Lord and absorb ourselves in His oceanic glories, therein we relish the highest happiness. Therein we rise beyond the illusions of this world and we relish constant happiness.
So, when we practice bhakti, we need to focus not just on the fact that I am forbidden from enjoying these sensual objects, I have to give this up, I have to give that up. Instead, we can focus on how we will have an opportunity to feast on Krishna’s glories. हरि सरसी विगाया पियते जो जलोखं भाव मरु परिखिन्ना खली शमत्दित जानी In the Mukund Mala Srotra, Kuru Shekhar Maharaj says that हरी सरसी विगाया पियते जो जलोखं हरी सरसी लोड़ हरी is like a lake, a soothing, cooling, comforting lake.
विगाया पियते जो जलोखं Diving deep into this lake, I will drink His glories. भाव मरु परिखिन्नः भाव मरु परिखिन्नः The material existence is like a desert. परिखिन्नः I become dejected in this desert.
क्लेशिम अधित जामी Now in great grief, अधित जामी I’ll give this up. Just as Kuru Shekhar Maharaj says that I turn away from that desert and dive into the lake. Similarly, we can turn away from pecking at the fruits of the sense objects and turn toward the nectarean glories of Krishna.
And the more we relish such glories, the more we will move from the stage of Baddhasya to Muktasya and will delight in liberated love in the association of the eternally liberated Lord. Thank you.