Just as in a crystal the universe is reflected in a mirror, so in the Self-Consciousness the universe is reflected in the mirror [of consciousness].

The repetition of the formula with a variation is significant. In the first hemistich, the crystal (sphāṭika) is the mirror and the universe is reflected. In the second, the Self-Consciousness is the mirror. The analogy is exact: the universe is not “in” the crystal as content; it is “reflected” (pratibimbitam) as an image. The image does not modify the mirror; the mirror does not contain the image.

“Ādarśe” —in the mirror— adds a layer: not just the crystal as a transparent substance, but the mirror as a reflective surface. The mirror does not know what it reflects; it is not modified by what it reflects; it does not retain what it has reflected. So it is with consciousness: it does not know “something,” it is not modified by knowledge, it does not retain experiences.

This is the basis of Rāmānuja’s viśiṣṭādvaita and also of non-dual Śaivism: the world is bimba-pratibimba, original-reflection, but the original is not distinct from the reflection. Like the face and its image in the mirror: distinguishable but inseparable. Śaṅkara’s advaita adds that the face is not “outside” and the image “inside”; both are configurations of the same light. The Laghu Yoga Vāsiṣṭha adopts this position without stating it explicitly: the universe is a reflection not of something external, but of the very luminous nature of consciousness.

The repetition of the formula with a variation is significant. In the first half-verse, the crystal (sphāṭika) is the mirror and the universe is reflected. In the second, the Self-Consciousness is the mirror. The analogy is exact: the universe is not “in” the crystal as content; it is “reflected” (pratibimbitam) as an image. The image does not modify the mirror; the mirror does not contain the image.

“Ādarśe” —in the mirror— adds a layer: not only the crystal as a transparent substance, but the mirror as a reflective surface. The mirror does not know what it reflects; it is not modified by what it reflects; it does not retain what it has reflected. So it is with consciousness: it does not know “something,” it is not modified by knowledge, it does not retain experiences.

This is the basis of Rāmānuja’s viśiṣṭādvaita and also of non-dual Śaivism: the world is bimba-pratibimba, original-reflection, but the original is not distinct from the reflection. Like the face and its image in the mirror: distinguishable but inseparable. Śaṅkara’s advaita adds that the face is not “outside” and the image “inside”; both are configurations of the same light. The Laghu Yoga Vāsiṣṭha adopts this position without stating it explicitly: the universe is a reflection not of something external, but of the very luminous nature of consciousness.