Very often, the term 'drishti' in Hindu philosophy tends to mean more than mere sight or vision. It brings in a heavy metaphysical connotation tied to perception, consciousness, and finally to the notion of ultimate reality. Thus, the meaning and depth of 'drishti' serve as entry points for people who are trying to grasp and understand Hinduism toward how this time-honored tradition thinks about and comprehends knowledge, spirituality, and existence itself.

Double Vision

Drishti would mean physical eyesight and spiritual insight in the same instance. It very much concerns the very first principles of The Katha Upanishad clearly states the perception, in a proper sense, transcends the assemblage of the faculties of the senses. 

"He, though self-existent Lord, pierced through the self to turn outward; that is why it looks outward and is not turned back upon itself. But some wise man, desiring immortality, turns the eyes inward and sees the indwelling Self."

This means that the ordinary perception having its workings outside and beyond, the spiritual vision is one that eternally returns to that one object, the Self (Atman). 

Drishti as a Means to Knowledge

Perception (Pratyaksha) is accepted as a means of knowledge in Hindu epistemology. Yet, the tradition differentiates the following:

Laukika Drishti worldly sight or that which is accessible to sense perception:    

Alaukika Drishti  the latter is that which must be transcended to gain the insight of senses. 

Higher vision in this sense is the essence of what Lord Krishna communicated to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita 11:8: 

"You cannot see Me with your material eyes. Therefore, I give you divine eyes. Behold My opulences." 

And, hence, Chakshura and divya-chakshu embodying this scientific interpretation of vision transcending the material limitations-into the infinite to see in the finite. 

Observer Effect in Introduced in Hindu Philosophy

A very crucial insight for the application of Drishti would be that whatever is being observed according to Hindu philosophy would be intensely colored by the observer. In the words of the poet in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:

Through what should one know the knower? 

Thus consciousness itself cannot be made an object of knowledge-it is the eternal subject that allows for knowledge. Your Drishti (alti-tude) shapes your reality. 

Concrete Applicability for Spiritual Seekers

For those who are drawn into the paths of Hindu spiritualism, Drishti itself comes in various concrete terms. 

**In Yoga:** Asanas always have messages directed at fixed spots in the position of the body; thereby it becomes easier to fix the mind at that place. 
**In Meditation:** Such visualization techniques place the consciousness increasingly inwards. 
**In Darshan:** The holy act of being seen and of seeing God's image in worship through the temples.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (3.1-3) mentions a discipline of dharana (concentration) that describes' binding consciousness to a single point,' and then gradually brings about drishti, which eventually penetrates into deeper meditative states. 

Beyond Dualism: The Final Drishti

It is in this supreme Drishti that the subject-object distinction disappears in a way so that that which is "Tat Tvam Asi" of the Chandogya Upanishad states.

"That thou art." 

This mahavakya reveals that seer and seen are thus always the same. True Drishti sees unity among the apparent diversity- the vision of Brahman in everything. 

Drishti

Here too the aspirants wishing to live Hindu aesthetics with an eye for the right Drishti will consider what limits concentration at one's beginning and ending. In the Shanti Parva 329.13 of his Mahabharata, this warning is given:

"The eye is the sense-organs for men, but for him with real wisdom, this must go beyond." 

The focus would then go far into a steady elevation toward the eternal and away from a gradual drop toward the ephemeral, toward the Divine, bringing one's Drishti into a hallowed realm of existence.

Inviting one into the journey of Hindu spirituality is an invitation to fine-tune one's Drishti-to look beyond the mere semblance into the fabric of reality, where the observer and the observed merge into one consciousness.