TheTree ofJiva andAtman appears in theVedic scriptures concerning the soul.
TheRig Vedasamhita 1.164.20-22,Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.1-2,Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.6-7, andAnnapurna Upanishad 4.32 speak of two birds, one perched on the branch of the tree, which signifies thebody, and eating its fruit, the other merely watching.
Rig Veda samhita says:
The first bird represents aJiva, or individual self, orsoul. Shiva Samhita briefly presents the nature and function of Jiva. It says:
Jiva lives in the man’s body and in the woman’s body as well. It is covered in all kinds of desires. There is a strong and tight relationship between him and the body throughout karma that was accumulated in the past lives. Every being enjoys and suffers according to his/her own past actions. The Jiva who’s done many good and virtuous deeds will enjoy a happy life and wonderful conditions in this world. But the Jiva, who, on the contrary, has done many bad deeds, will never find his peace. No matter what is the nature of his desire, positive or negative, it will always cling to the Jiva and follow him all the time, during his countless reincarnations.[1]
When the Jiva becomes distracted by the fruits (signifying sensual pleasure), Jiva momentarily forgets the Lord and lover and tries to enjoy the fruit independently. This separating forgetfulness is maha-maya, or enthrallment,spiritual death, and constitutes the fall of the jiva into the world of materialbirth,death,disease andold age.
The second bird is theParamatman, an aspect ofGod who accompanies every living being in the heart while she remains in the material world. He is the support of all beings and is beyond sensual pleasure.
In Chapter 3, Hymn 54 of theLeft Ginza, aMandaean text, similar imagery is used.[2]