It is an attempt at a complete knowledge of being in all the phases of its manifestation in the various processes of consciousness. The discovery of the ultimate meaning and essence of existence is the central purpose of philosophy. It is the art of the perfect life, the science of reality, the foundation of the practice of righteousness, the law of the attainment of freedom and bliss, and provides a key to the meaning and appreciation of beauty. Swami Sivananda holds philosophy to be the Vedanta or the consummation of knowledge, Brahmavidya, or the sacred lore of the Eternal, which is inseparable from Yogasastra, or the methodology of the ascent of the finite to the infinite. It is the way to the knowledge of being as such, of that which is.
Philosophy is love of wisdom, or striving for wisdom.
Philosophy has its goal in the highest generalisation conceivable, and this consists in the final grasping of the deepest meaning of existence taken as a whole. Philosophy is no doubt the grand artistic edifice constructed by the higher purified intellect of man, but to Swami Sivananda, it is not merely this, for, according to him, it is based on intuition and is meant to justify rationally one s faith in Truth. Philosophical knowledge in the true sense of the term cannot be had through sense-experience, for, the latter is confined to appearances. Thus, many of the schools of Western philosophy would be excluded from Swami Sivananda s definition of philosophy. The architect of the monumental mansions of philosophy is not merely the abstract and unaided intellect, but the intellect free from all desires, purged of all prejudices, and based on immediate intuition.