Couple of questions

[Nanda Kumar]

I've got a couple of questions. One relating to Sanatana Dharma and the
other to Advaitam :

1. In Hindu philosophy it's explained that a soul can take any of the living
forms during it's life cycle. Recently I came across an English Translation
of Bhagavat Gita by Swami Prabhupada, of Hare Krishna fame. In the
book there's a pictorial chart which displays various life forms that a soul
may be born as. From bottom to top it goes like this : fish, reptiles, birds,
animals, man. What was missing was the plants. Is there any particular
reason for this?

2. I've been trying to practice the Ramana technique, to try to 'hold' on to
the 'I' without trying to let the mind wander. Initially to 'grab' the 'I' feeling I
generally take a deep breath and then consequently start breathing
normally. What I feel is that, I'm able to relate the thoughts with the mind
to the head part of the body and the 'I' feeling somewhere in the chest.
The reason for this 'feeling', could be that I'm actually referring to the
brain and due to the breathing, the lungs. But is there any other reason?