Page 221 - Complete Works of Dr. KCV Volume 1

Paths to Realisation
The World has witnessed many attempts to see, understand and interpret Reality. These attempts have proceeded from several levels of knowing, and understanding and interpreting it, since reality is not only multi-faced but also multi-levelled; it is not known through the senses alone but is also understood by reason, and interpreted by conduct and activity and intuition. It is no wonder therefore, that there have been, and are, many ways of knowing, understanding and interpreting it, each of which is ambitious enough to attempt a total comprehension of that Reality. It is undoubtedly true that the more modest of these seekers after truth are content to confine knowledge to the limits of their day-to-day activity, whatever these limits might be. Therefore, some seek to know only about solids and metals, and some others know only about liquids and so on. Thus there have developed many sciences - bits of knowledge limited to the spheres of interest, activity and utility. Such knowledge, requisite for proper adjustment to the environment, is valuable for life,and within its limits, absolute. Biological sciences alongside physical sciences, social sciences alongside political sciences, have been existing from the dawn of speculative interests - perhaps even prior to the latter.
In one sense philosophical knowledge might be said to attempt a comprehensive single theory to embrace both. Philosophy thus demands a type of mind different from the scientific, in so far as its interest is to know, understand and interpret the whole range of human experience, sometimes exceeding it. Thus whilst scientific knowledge is aimed at by most people for better adaptation and adjustment to the world around their immediate vicinity, and not the knowledge of the whole of Reality, Philosophy aims at this latter alone. A scientific mind is different from the philosophic mind. Despite the utility of science towards philosophical comprehension, the philosophical approach seeks to apprehend Reality as a whole, and as it is in itself. True to definition, philosophy is the love of knowledge (sophia) which is experience of Reality by an attempt to live for it, in it and by it. It is what Spinoza called as living and moving and having one's being in God or Reality in its All-ness. This is undoubtedly a great aim.