“What is the use of such [intrinsic] knowledge? In the first place, knowledge itself is the highest reward, and secondly, there is also utility in it. It will take away all our misery. When, by analyzing his own mind, man comes face to face with something which is never destroyed, something which is, by its own nature, eternally pure and perfect, he will no more be miserable or unhappy. All misery comes from fear, from unsatisfied desire.”
— Swami Vivekananda
The ability to see things around you is known as drishti. The ability to see the underlying reasons behind those circumstances is divya drishti. And the ability to look into yourself while witnessing those underlying reasons is darshan.
For instance, seeing your friend in a bad mood is drishti. Understanding that her mood is a result of an unpleasant experience she’s going through at that moment is divya drishti. Noticing that her mood is affecting yours—where you’re anchoring your emotions to her condition—is darshan.
(Closing our eyes while praying to God is darshan. When we fold hands to God, we look inside ourselves and seek the strength needed to do what we must.)
We’re pros at drishti because we’ve been taught since childhood to see external things. But we were never taught to assess our internal selves. The result is that we’re rich in theoretic but poor in practical knowledge. We can also offer excellent advice to others, but can’t apply the same advice to ourselves.
An antidote to this misery is to stop start seeing yourself as a friend to your mind. Don’t be your thoughts, be a witness to your thoughts. In every experience, ask yourself: Is this how I should be thinking or feeling? Is this what the situation demands? Will this take me in the direction I want to move in?
When you can build a gap between your thoughts and you, awareness comes. Then, you can follow the path of dharma by doing what’s right. For instance, you will be able to do what is useful for your upset friend rather than trying to uplift her mood because it will make you feel good.
The better you know yourself, the richer you become on the inside.