Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 2: The Path of Understanding

Bhagavad Gita 2.69

yā niśā sarvabhūtānāṃ tasyāṃ jāgarti saṃyamī | yasyāṃ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ ||

What is night for all beings is the time of waking for the self-controlled; and the time when all beings are awake is night for the sage who sees.

Modern context

This is a riddle about what one is awake to. Most people are fully alert to gain, status and pleasure, and asleep to the inner life. For the sage it is the reverse. It does not mean the wise are impractical. It means that what crowds call important and what is truly important are often two different things, and it takes some independence to stay awake to the second.