Pratibimba - The Teaching of Reflection

The Sanskrit word pratibimba means “reflection.” In Vedanta, it is used to explain how consciousness appears as individuality (jiva) through the mind. Pure awareness (bimba, the original) is never altered or divided, but when reflected in the mind (antahkarana), it gives rise to the sense of individuality — the “I”-thought (ahankara).

This reflected consciousness (pratibimba-chaitanya) is compared to the moon reflecting the light of the sun. On a full-moon night, the world is illumined by moonlight, but the moon has no light of its own; it only borrows from the sun. In the same way, the mind shines with borrowed awareness, creating the impression that the mind itself is conscious. The ego is nothing more than this reflection, a mixture of borrowed light from the Self and borrowed attributes from the mind.

Vedanta calls this reflection mithya: it is neither absolutely real nor absolutely unreal. The ego is experienced, yet it vanishes in deep sleep when the reflecting medium (the mind) resolves. When one inquires into the “I”-thought, it dissolves, leaving only the original consciousness, which is never absent.

Different metaphors illustrate this:

• A face in a mirror: the reflection is visible, but not independent of either face or mirror.

• The moon and the sun: the moon appears bright but only borrows light.

• A single moon reflected in many jars of water: it looks like many moons, but there is only one.

This is pratibimba-vada, the doctrine of reflection, one of Advaita’s ways of explaining how the Self appears as many without ever becoming many. It shows how individuality, though vivid, is ultimately dependent and non-separate from Brahman.

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Root & Meaning

• Prati = counterpart, corresponding

• Bimba = image, original

• Pratibimba = reflection; an apparent image of the original.

Scriptural & Traditional References

• Shankara's commentaries use the mirror and reflection metaphor to explain ego and jīva.

• Mandukya Karika (3.33, with bhashya): often compared through moon-water imagery.

• Ramana Maharshi & Swami Paramarthananda: the ego (ahankara) as a reflection in the mind.

Traditional View

• Pure consciousness (bimba) is original, unchanging.

• The mind acts as a reflecting medium.

• The ego or sense of individuality is the reflected image (pratibimba).

• Pratibimba is mithya — dependent and temporary, vanishing when the mind resolves.

Vedantic Analysis

• The ego borrows emotions from the mind and awareness from the Self.

• Because we mistake reflected consciousness for original awareness, we identify the Self with the body-mind.

• Inquiry reveals the ego as a reflection only, not the real “I.”

• Liberation comes by claiming the original (bimba), not the reflection.

Common Misunderstandings

• That the ego is independently real: It vanishes in deep sleep, showing its dependence.

• That the mind is inherently conscious: It only reflects awareness, like the moon reflects the sun.

• That reflections divide the original: Just as many reflections of the moon do not create many moons, many jīvas do not divide Brahman.

Vedantic Resolution

Pratibimba helps explain how individuality arises without compromising the non-duality of Brahman. The reflection is experienced, but the original is ever the same, untouched, one without a second.