Bird within a cage

Expressions researched:
"bird comes again within the cage" |"bird is existing within the cage" |"bird is within the cage" |"bird within a cage" |"bird within the cage" |"the cage, and the bird within" |"within the cage there is the bird"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

"I am not this body. I am embodied within this body, encaged. But I am not this cage." Just like a bird is within the cage. The cage is not the bird.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- London, August 19, 1973:

So make your life successful, that "I am not this body." Simply by understand... "I am not this body. I am embodied within this body, encaged. But I am not this cage." Just like a bird is within the cage. The cage is not the bird. But foolish persons, they are taking care of the cage, not of the bird. The bird, out of starvation, is suffering. So we are suffering spiritual starvation. Therefore nobody is happy in this material world. Spiritual starvation. Therefore we see in an opulent country like America, enough food, enough residence, enough material enjoyment, still they are becoming hippies, all over the world. They are not satisfied, because it is spiritual starvation. Materially we may be very opulent, but if you starve spiritually, you cannot be happy. This is the process.

The service of humanity means they are serving the body. Where is the soul? They do not know how to serve. Just like washing the cage, and the bird within the cage, it is starving.

Lecture on BG 2.18 -- Hyderabad, November 23, 1972:

Prabhupāda: If you remain in a room, to serve the room, does it mean that serving you? You are within a room. Simply cleansing the room, does it mean serving you? The present moment, what they are doing? Just like my Guru Mahārāja used to say that a man has fallen on the water, and one brave man came. He said that "I shall save this man." And he also jumped in the water and brought his coat and shirt, and he said, "Now the man is saved." Is it saving the man? So similarly, the service of humanity means they are serving the body. Where is the soul? They do not know how to serve. Just like washing the cage, and the bird within the cage, it is starving (imitates bird): "kanh kanh kanh." So they do not know what is service.

Unless you get spiritual food there cannot be satisfaction of the real soul. The same example, within the cage there is the bird. If you simply wash the cage very nicely and cover it and paint it and the bird within the cage is crying, starving...

Lecture on BG 2.25 -- London, August 28, 1973:

So anyone who's accepting this material body as very important... Just like the other day, some rascals came. They were very much eager for feeding this body. Those who are starving, starvation... Starvation of the bodily concept of life. But there is spiritual starvation. That we are not taking care. Material starvation may be there, but actually that is not a problem because there is sufficient arrangement for maintaining this material body. Real starvation is of the soul. The soul is not getting spiritual food. Here, in this meeting, this is meant for giving to the starving spirit soul. And as soon as you get some spiritual food, then we become happy. That is the situation. Yayātmā suprasīdati. Unless you get spiritual food there cannot be satisfaction of the real soul. The same example, within the cage there is the bird. If you simply wash the cage very nicely and cover it and paint it and the bird within the cage is crying, starving... What is this civilization? Similarly, we spirit soul, we have been encaged within this body, so our natural aspiration is to get freedom from this encagement. As much as the bird is struggling to get freedom from the cage. Similarly, we are also, we are not happy being encaged.