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To believe that one must live in a monastic ashram if progress is to be made and to despise the world outside as being spiritually unprofitable, is a mistake. This has been amply verified by experience, observation, and reflection. A life wholly spent within the walls of an ashram without lengthy periodic returns to the world, is an unbalanced one. On the other hand, it is equally true that a life wholly spent in the world's activities without periodical retreats into solitude or Nature is also an unbalanced one. Therefore, philosophy, in the true sense, places balance as one of its foremost practical aims. This reference to ashrams is used only by way of illustration.

-- Notebooks Category 3: Relax and Retreat > Chapter 1 : Take Intermittent Pauses > # 99