Our real self, and the reflection in the mirror
When we see ourselves reflected in a mirror, or reflection will include any imperfections present in the mirror, just like our conditioned nature. Our real self however is not affected.
In chapter 4.28 of Srimad Bhagavatam, we have the iconic passage where the Supersoul, in the form of a Brahmana, speaks with Vaibarbhi, who is Purañjana in his next life, revealing to him his eternal position as a pure soul. In text 62, the Lord tells her: “My dear friend, I, the Supersoul, and you, the individual soul, are not different in quality, for we are both spiritual. In fact, My dear friend, you are qualitatively not different from Me in your constitutional position. Just try to consider this subject. Those who are actually advanced scholars, who are in knowledge, do not find any qualitative difference between you and Me.”
We come then to an important, but quite difficult description of how the Lord and the soul are one in quality, even though in our current contaminated state, we appear to be so different from Him:
"As a person sees the reflection of his body in a mirror to be one with himself and not different, whereas others actually see two bodies, so in our material condition, in which the living being is affected and yet not affected, there is a difference between God and the living entity." (SB 4.28.63)
What does it mean?
This verse describes the simultaneous oneness and difference of the soul and the Lord. The Lord is very big, and the soul very small, and the soul has a tendency to fall into illusion, while the Lord is always transcendental. Mayavadis, however, fail to understand this point.
This verse also invokes the same idea of reflection that is offered by Lord Kapila in the third canto to explain the presence of the transcendental soul inside the material world, explaining the simultaneous sameness and difference of the Supreme Lord and the conditioned soul.
As Prabhupada explains: "Although he and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are one in quality, the living entity is prone to forget his spiritual identity, whereas the Supreme Personality never forgets. This is the difference between lipta and alipta. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally alipta, uncontaminated by the external energy. The conditioned soul, however, being in contact with material nature, forgets his real identity; therefore when he sees himself in the conditioned state, he identifies himself with the body."
The previous verse already defined that the soul and the Lord are non-different in terms of quality. Both share the same spiritual nature. However, when we consider our current state, it doesn't look at all like we may be qualitatively one with the Lord. The Lord is pure and transcendental, while we live under the influence of the three material modes. The Lord is perfect, while we struggle with the four material imperfections, and so on. How can this be explained?
In the third canto, Lord Kapila used the example of the light of the sun entering into a dark room through a small orifice on the wall, being reflected in the water on a pot, and from there being reflected again on the walls, illuminating thus the whole room.
This example explains how both the Lord and the soul manifest in the material world. In the case of the Lord, the original sun is Mahā-Viṣnu, who simultaneously enters each and every material universe as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu (who is compared to the reflection on the water), and then as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who permeates the whole universe, just as the light reflected on the walls. Lord Kapila explains that the Lord manifests as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu as a form of reflection, since He doesn't directly enter into contact with the material energy.
In the case of the soul, the water in the pot is the false ego, and the walls are the senses and other parts of the body. The consciousness of the soul is thus reflected first in the false ego, and from there illuminates all parts of the body with consciousness. In this verse, this same example is invoked to explain the conditioned status of the soul.
When we see ourselves reflected in a mirror, or reflection will include any imperfections present in the mirror. If the mirror is blue, our reflection will appear blue; if the mirror is cracked, our reflection will appear deformed, and so on. Our conditioned identity is thus just like the reflection on the cracked mirror, containing many imperfections. However, under the spell of illusion, we identify with this imperfect reflection, forgetting ourselves.
This point of the soul identifying with the imperfect material identity, the reflection on matter, corresponds to the first part of the verse, "As a person sees the reflection of his body in a mirror to be one with himself and not different".
In this way, the person in front of the mirror (the conditioned soul) may identify with the reflection and forget his real self, but another person seeing from the outside will see two distinct entities: the real person and the reflection, and will have no problem in distinguishing between the two. Similarly, a self-realized soul can clearly see that the pure soul is different from the imperfect material identity, and he thus tries to bring one back to sanity. That's what the verse explains by "whereas others actually see two bodies".
The verse then continues, explaining that "in our material condition, in which the living being is affected and yet not affected, there is a difference between God and the living entity."
Although in one sense we are affected by the imperfections in the mirror, these effects are limited to the reflection; they don't affect our real self. Similarly, although the conditioned identity may exhibit so many imperfections, they don't affect the soul, which remains transcendental.
When we compare two persons, we see that although separate individuals, they share the same nature. However, if we put the first person in front of a mirror, and we compare the reflection in the mirror with the second person, certainly the reflection is of a very different nature. Now we are not comparing two persons, but a real person and a two-dimensional reflection. Similarly, the current conditioned nature of the soul is very different from the real, pure, transcendental soul. When we compare this conditioned reflection with the Lord, they indeed appear to be very different. However, when we compare the Lord and the original soul, who continues to exist simultaneously with the reflection, we suddenly realize they share the same nature.
As Prabhupada explains, our original spiritual nature continues to exist even now. The problem is that now we are identifying with our conditioned nature, and not with our eternal, Krsna-conscious self. We are just like a person in front of the mirror, thinking we are the reflection, instead of our real self. The point is thus to bring our consciousness out of the conditioned reflection, understanding we are not the body, mind, intelligence, or even the material ego, but an eternal servant of the Lord.
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Hare Krisna! Thank you for always addressing different kinds of important topics in a very understandable, practical and compassionate way. That's very valuable, encouraging and helpful. Deep gratitude for your wonderful service. 😇