I came across this nice paragraph while reading a book on Vedanta. I think, the example is very explanatory & thought provoking.
“Your ignorance keeps you in the spiritual darkness. When a room is plunged in darkness you are bound to strike against cornices & corners, against niches & notches, against fittings & furniture, against anything in your way & injure yourself. You may rearrange the furniture in the room, you may make the walls straight & smooth, you will still get knocked in the dark. So long as the darkness remains in the room you are certain to suffer breakage & damage. Instead of reorganising the room bring the light into it; let things lie as they are, the light will provide you with smooth & easy passage. You will have nothing to worry thereafter.”
For the uninitiated, these lines talk about the room of your conscience, your inner-self. The furniture that it mentions are the people, situations, experiences, problems, responsibilities, resources etc in your life. All your life you are busy arranging, in the best way, this set of tangibles & intangibles of life. It seems that more often than it succeeds. But then for how long? Only till there’s a addition or subtraction to this set.
So this is where you need the light of the knowledge of self. For that the existence of self should be acknowledged.
The light that we are talking of is the light of realisation. Of the eternal fact that we are here with a definite purpose, a goal. And then all of a sudden everything s seems to so clear & unobtrusive. You tend to be the master of the room of life. The unchallenged, eternal master.