To the question "What is the relative importance of the constituents of the threefold path?" there can be no stereotyped answer. Each man will find that one to be most important to him which he most lacks. Whoever, for example, has practised little meditation in the past will probably feel within himself--and feel rightly--that meditation is the most important member of the tribe. But this will be true only for himself and not necessarily for others. The improvement of concentration and the tranquillization of a troubled mind are essential. He must have experience in yoga before he can have expertness in philosophy, but if he wants to overdo it, if he becomes excessively preoccupied with this single facet of life, then he is to that extent unbalanced. The aim must always be to bring each element not only to maturity, but also into balance with the other elements. Whatever is needful to achieve these aims becomes important to an individual. He must not let one member of the self walk too far ahead of the others without stepping back to bring them up too. He must tread a middle path and keep away from extremes.
The philosopher cannot afford to take only a selfish or sectional view; he must take a balanced all-embracing one, if only because he knows that his duty towards truth calls for it. This is why the man who has no philosophic aim in life cannot achieve balance in life.
-- Notebooks Category 20: What Is Philosophy? > Chapter 3 : Its Requirements > # 362
