The One Track Mind

In brief, it seems spirituality requires reminding oneself of more than one thing being important in life. It doesn't work to have a one-track mind. 

What I mean by that is that often, we have a single virtue dominant on our minds as the one and only one important thing - at least for that moment. However, we feel completely isolated when we find that our views are not being reflected back by others with the same intensity as we would have expected. Take, for example the idea of not hurting anything or anyone. This is to be practised in thought, word and deed, and very often, the advanced seekers tell us that the thought part is even more important. So this becomes a challenging and tough goal and the mind builds other thought structures keeping this one as the highest. In all this work, which takes time and effort, it is often forgotten that someone else might have created his/her life around a  similar high - but different - principle. For example, pridelessness. Now one would want to believe that the two are the same, but in terms of the kinds of behaviours and thoughts they lead to, are they? 

So after a long time of adversity (in terms of views not really matching, etc.), one might discover that the other was as "great" an endeavour as one's own. Probably, this would happen when one would go to the books to learn why "they" behave the way they do. And what do the books say? 

Take for example the description of knowledge in the Gita (chapter 13). It is characterized by not one but several virtues, including tolerance, non-violence, pridelessness, restraint from sense objects, enthusiasm, respect for teachers, cleanliness, stability of mind and yet others. All of these are imporant to have, it seems, as per the author of the Gita. 

Patanjali's sutras and commentaries on it are quite clear that memory has a great role to play. It is very much to be used as an aid, to drive the body and mind into the right direction when it goes astray. The one track mind, focusing on only one virtue is far from astray in that sense, but it is also forgetting something. Of course, a simple, practical student cannot start with everything in his/her mind and memory right from the beginning and to that extent, it is perhaps better to at least start with a "one track mind" rather than never starting at all! However, that does not mean that the same mind cannot start remembering more things as more things get revealed to it in self-study (or formal instruction). As we see that other virtues also have at least a place in all this, and as we remind ourselves of the fact that these other virtues are also good, we can start thinking of moving out of the one-track mind, to even greater multi-trackness. Old habits die hard, but keep in mind that the old is not to be given up. One more is to be added to the list, to continuously make progress. 

Sadanand Tutakne