Albert Einstein credited his brilliant mind to having a childlike sense of humour. Einstein was known for his wit and fun. According to some sources, Einstein’s IQ was probably about 160. While celebrated for his scientific genius Einstein also possessed a playful and often quirky side. He frequently used humour in his speeches, writings, and interactions, showcasing a sharp and witty mind. Indeed, several studies have found an association between humour and intelligence. Few research has shown that a sense of humour improves mental and physical health of people, it boosts a person’s attractiveness and improve your leadership skills. In my opinion humour is a critical life skill, one needs to boost it as it cannot be taught.

George Bernard Shaw was well-known for his witty and insightful quotes. Some of his most famous witticisms include: “England and America are two countries separated by the same language,” “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it,” and “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” He also famously quipped, “There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it,” 

Researchers in Austria recently discovered that funny people, particularly those who enjoy dark humour which often explores serious subjects, such as death, crime, fiascos and societal issues, while filling these topics with humour to create an unusual and often thought-provoking contrasts is a gifted skill. They have higher IQs than their less funny peers. Researchers argue that it takes both cognitive and emotional ability to process and produce humour. Their analysis shows that funny people have higher verbal and non-verbal intelligence, and they don’t have mood swings, disturbances and ferocity. It’s nice to have people with sense of humour around. Evidence suggests that having a good sense of humour is highly desirable quality in a partner.

Psychologists have described humour as an  innate trait that signals mental fitness and intellectual agility to potential mates. In studies of attractiveness, both men and women rate funny people as more attractive and charming. A study has also shown that  having a good sense of humour is one of the most important traits in a long-term partnership in marriage, friendship, business partnership etc. Humour is associated with relationship satisfaction, sociability, and high self-esteem. Having a humorous outlook on life is also a good coping strategy. It helps people better manage stress and adversity.

Atal Bihari Vajpeyi, the former Prime Minister of India was known for his articulate speeches and witty remarks. He often used humour to diffuse tense situations and connect with the public on a personal level.

The Broaden & Build Theory is psychological framework, developed by Barbara Fredrickson, suggests that experiencing positive emotions, such as those caused by humour, broadens our thought-action range. This expansion enables individuals to think more creatively and adopt flexible approaches to problem-solving. Over time, these broadened cognitive patterns help build enduring psychological resources, such as resilience, social connections, and emotional well-being. Humour, by promoting laughter and joy, serves as a powerful trigger for this virtuous cycle, enhancing not only mental health but also interpersonal dynamics and overall life satisfaction.

While humour is often linked to higher IQ and EQ, it’s important to note that humour is subjective. Cultural, personal, and social factors shape what we find funny. Therefore, while someone’s intelligence might influence their humour, it’s not a definitive measure. Humour also manifests in different styles, from witty wordplay to situational comedy, meaning there’s no one-size-fits-all when assessing intelligence through humour. However, the ability to produce humour consistently often reflects advanced cognitive abilities.

Anand Mahindra is known for his witty and humorous personality, often expressed through his engaging posts and interactions on social media. He is the chairman of Mahindra Group, a large Indian conglomerate, and is recognized for his insightful commentary and light-heartedness on platforms like X (formerly Twitter). 

Not only do funny people make other people laugh, but they also laugh more themselves. And neurobiology shows that laughter leads to brain changes, which may explain the link between humour and intelligence. Neuro-psychological studies have found that experiencing positive emotional states, such as joy, fun and happiness, increases the production of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine not only make us feel great, but it also opens the learning centres of the brain, which enables and sustains more neural connections. As a result, we become more flexible and creative in our thinking, and better at solving problems. It also boosts our working memory. Scientifically, when we laugh, our body releases the chemical Endorphins – the body’s natural ‘feel-good’ chemical, and there’s truly nothing better than a hearty laugh to get these hormones activated.

Spiritual faith is a conscious decision. Spiritual faith happens when we place our trust in God. Giving our trust to God releases the element of faith inside of us. A person may be high in their Spiritual Quotient (SQ) but may have no religious faith or belief in form of God. Similarly, a person may be religious but low in their SQ. Those seeking meaning form their life and the purpose of life are on their path to attaining that spiritual realization.

IQ, or intelligence quotient, which is tested using the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales. The scale is an individually administered measure of general intelligence for persons ages 2 years to 23 years 11 months. The scale yields a standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16. It refers to our rational, logical, rule-bound problem-solving intelligence. It is supposed to be what makes us bright or dim. It is also a style of thinking. All of us use some IQ, or we wouldn’t be functional.

EQ – Emotional Quotient became famous in 1995 by Daniel Goleman. He articulated the kind of intelligence that our heart, or emotions, have. EQ is manifested in trust, empathy, emotional self-responsiveness and self-control, and the ability to respond appropriately to the emotions of others. It’s a sense of where people are coming from; for example, if someone looks dull and drawn, he must be facing some personal issue in family before coming into the office that morning, it’s not the best time to raise a query before him. 

SQ, or spiritual quotient, underlines IQ and EQ. Spiritual intelligence is an ability to access higher meanings, values, abiding purposes, and unconscious aspects of the self and to be surround by these meanings, values, and purposes in living richer and more creative lives. Signs of high SQ include an ability to think out of the box, humility, and an access to energies that come from something beyond the ego, beyond concerns of I, me, myself.

All of us at some points do get in touch with that higher self. Researchers say that 70 percent of adults throughout the world, regardless of culture, education, or background, have had what they call “peak experiences.” Peak experiences are those moments when you suddenly feel that everything is beautiful, that there’s a super link of yourself with the surrounding,  that love fills the world. You really feel them with your whole being, and then they flash by and are gone. Often people are shaken by having these experiences and don’t talk about them. These are called spiritual peak experiences; they are often described as superior moments of pure joy and elation. These are moments that stand out from everyday events. The memory of such events is lasting, and people often link them to a spirituality.  

I narrate here one story from Mahabharat which shows how IQ, EQ and SQ are connected and how powerful spiritual faith is in every living being’s lives. Here the story talks about Krishna’s IQ and EQ led by compassions and a tiny bird’s spiritual faith in Lord Krishna.

The battlefield of Kurukshetra was being prepared to facilitate the movement of mammoth armies with large cavalries. Areas were marked for rival camps. Huge bundles of wood were organized to cook food for a sea of an army. Trees were being felled by elephants to clear the ground. On one such tree lived a sparrow, a mother of four young ones. As the tree was knocked down, her nest landed on the ground along with her offspring who were too young to fly. Miraculously they all fell on ground unscathed.

The vulnerable and frightened mother sparrow saw Krishna scanning the field with Arjuna. They were there to physically examine the battlefield and devise strategies. She flapped her tiny wings with all her might to reach Krishna’s chariot. She pleaded before Krishna “Please save my children, else they will be crushed tomorrow”.  “The wheel of Time moves indiscriminately,” Krishna spoke like an ordinary man implying that there wasn’t anything he could do about it. The sparrow told Krishna she is surrendering to him and its HIS responsibility to save her tiny children and herself. Krishna told her to stock her nest for three weeks. Unaware of the conversation, Arjuna was trying to shoo away the sparrow when Krishna smiled at the bird.

Two days later, just before the conchs were blown to announce the commencement of the battle, Krishna asked Arjuna for his bow and an arrow. Arjuna was shocked because Krishna had vowed that he would not lift any weapon in the war. Besides, Arjuna believed that he was the best archer out there, why is Krishna wanting the bow and arrow? Quietly taking the bow from Arjuna, Krishna took aim at an elephant. But, instead of bringing the animal down, the arrow hit the bell around its neck and sparks flew from it. Arjuna couldn’t contain his chuckle seeing that Krishna had missed an easy mark. Arjun asked Krishna why he shot at the elephant, Krishna answered that this elephant had knocked down the tree sheltering that sparrow’s nest. Arjun didn’t understand which sparrow, and though Krishna shot at the elephant, it was not harmed, Only the bell from elephant’s neck fell.

The war began and numerous lives were lost over the next eighteen days. The battlefield had turned red with blood, body parts scattered everywhere. The Pandavas won in the end. Once again, Krishna took Arjuna with him to traverse through the flushed field. Many corpses still lay there awaiting their funeral. The battleground was littered with severed limbs and heads, lifeless steeds and elephants. Krishna stopped at a certain spot and looked down thoughtfully at an elephant bell. He asked Arjun to lift the bell and put it aside.

The instruction, though simple, made little sense to Arjuna. After all, in the vast field where plenty of other things needed clearing, why would Krishna ask him to move a trivial piece of metal out of the way? He looked at him questioningly. Krishna reiterated. “It’s the same bell that had come off the neck of the elephant I had shot at.” Arjuna bent down to move the heavy bell without another question on his facial expression. As soon as he lifted it though, his world changed forever. One, two, three, four and five. Four young birds flew out one after another followed by the mother sparrow. The mother bird whirled in circles around Krishna, few times, in great joy and gratitude. The one bell Krishna had clung eighteen days ago protected the entire family. This is spirituality, this is faith!!!       

The world requires more and more individuals with higher spiritual Quotient (SQ) for making the planet a better place to live. SQ has several dimensions such as compassion, wholeness, and gratitude to name a few. People with a good SQ score can handle egos easily – both of self and others. Ego stems from our memories. It gets reinforced when we repeatedly embrace a particular thought for longer time. One of the key aspects of handling ego is to analyze the way in which our thoughts are organized because our ego is rooted deep into our thought process. Spiritual quotient is a measure that looks at a person’s spiritual intelligence. Spirituality helps in increasing the ability to be creative and insightful.

We forget the basic truth of life that to be born as a human being alone gives us a platform for attaining higher levels in realization. A long and healthy life is important for any individual. Ill-health can either halt one’s progress or, even if one succeeds, result in the ‘gifts’ of a heart disease, blood pressure or diabetes. A happy individual builds a happy family and society. Spiritual Quotient therefore is the ability of an individual to see his personal vision and the ensuing endeavor to achieve the same through the prism of the larger good to the society, bringing good health and happiness to him and the world at large.

IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a measure of intelligence. If IQ is high, a person is good at studies, research and can achieve brainy accolades such as many degrees, higher degree and awards. You will find all premier educational institutions in world full of people with good IQ. In one way it reflects the thought process.

EQ (Emotional Quotient) deals with the core of a human being. It deals with feelings and emotions. EQ denotes a healthy mind to individuals with higher EQ score.

When organizations are blessed with accomplished leaders who are equally good in IQ, EQ and SQ such organizations sustain in challenging times also. Often we see that despite the very best efforts put in, results are unexpected and unfavorable. A leader who is very high in Spiritual Quotient will instead of brooding over failed attempt try to rectify mistakes with a very positive frame of mind.  He plugs the loopholes and ventures out ahead. It is important to note that to create a turnaround; leaders need immense strength and conviction. It is very easy to be very happy, content and triumphant when the going is good but it takes lot of efforts to be mentally balanced when the chips are down.

When leaders lose their cool surely their subordinates and followers also grope in dark.  If the foundation is strong then the building will not collapse, so also if a leader has an unwavering mind and is ready to face any situation with stoic courage then the entire team will also be motivated to give in their best during recession.

If anything is constant in world it is only change which can either be positive or negative. With change sometimes uncertainty comes. To deal with it organizations require a very competent strategist who is impervious by the results and is only concerned with giving the optimum output and is ever ready to face any adversity and move on with giant strides. A good leader recognizes that there are many things which are beyond his purview and cannot be predicted but can be only accepted with grace, humility and gratitude.

SQ gives the power of the unconditional surrender unto the Almighty. In my opinion it is a quality of true Karma Yogi whether he/she is a student, a parent, a scientist, a teacher, a corporate leader, a politician or a common man. There are great examples of people with high SQ:  Mahatma Gandhiji, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, Mr.Jamsetji Tata, founder father of one of the most prestigious and ethical Tata Group of Companies , Mr.Ghanshyam Das Birla, scientist Jagadishchandra Bose, Dr. Homi Bhabha and many more.  These great people possessed high SQ.

It is worth mentioning here that according to the recent Pew Research Centre, USA, report, one in five Americans identify themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” In other words, they have some feeling regarding something greater existing in the world, but they feel allergic to religious institutions. But, it is also worth recognizing that as we approach Passover and Easter, it’s important to remember that it is institutions and not abstract feelings that tie a community together and lead to meaningful change. Religion brings along with it institutional disillusionment. They act poky and dictatorial; they can both enable and shield wrongdoers. They frustrate our spiritual ideas and desires by asking us to submit to the will of others.

In a recent research work on SQ by Danah Zoher and Ian Marshal have mentioned in their book that while computers have IQ and animals can have EQ, it is essentially an SQ that sets human beings apart. Therefore, for happiness and satisfaction in the world, human beings must have balanced IQ, EQ and SQ which are equally developed. The journey from IQ to SQ is moving from gross to subtle, finite to infinite and from tangible to intangible.

It is important to integrate spirituality in our daily life in everything we do. It helps us both in our business and private life. To integrate spirituality in the daily life is somehow similar to wearing dress: we wear clothes and make sure that we are adequately dressed all day round and not just on some rare occasions. It is also like eating sufficient amount of food throughout the day. Likewise we should try to be connected with the spiritual world. It needs practice and patience to achieve spiritual strength. It requires a lot of training. Until and unless we set apart time in our daily busy schedule, we cannot begin our spiritual journey. We need to make a conscious effort. Spirituality brings depth in our approach and perspective towards leading a more meaningful life.

Spiritually high people understand that emotions, thoughts, and actions are not three different things. They are three different forms of the same energy. The emotions occur in the heart; the thoughts move in the mind. And these emotions and thoughts manifest through the body as actions. The emotions in the heart trigger as thoughts in the mind, and the same thoughts manifest through the body as actions. One can slap somebody with the hand or one can shake hand with somebody with the same hand. It all depends on us as to how we use our thought energy.

A thought is energy. And it creates its own world. It creates its own space and time. It creates its own world of thoughts and emotions. It creates a world of the mind. And this mind can be transformed into a creative mind. A moving thought is a space. A moving thought is time. A mind, therefore, is a space-time object. The mind is a space of moving thoughts. A moving mind creates an illusion of time.

Spirituality helps us to realize that we are part of a greater whole, and it helps us realize that we are not responsible for everything that happens in our life. We can share the burden of tough times as well as the joys of life’s blessings with persons around us. Spiritual individuals can cope better with stress and heal from illness or addiction faster.

When we look around, we find some people on the emotional or sensitive side of the spectrum. These people get affected by sensitive issues more than others. People who are emotional, don’t get emotional for the sake of getting attention; they are emotional because that’s the way they have always been.  Sadly, today not many people want show their emotional side, simply because society considers them as weaklings. Hence people dislike even appearing to be sensitive. Sensitive people frequently live life on the brink of emotional snowballing, which means sometimes their emotions get out of control, and out of proportion in some situations.

A highly emotional personality is also very sensitive and will not need a big stimulus to react. A not so emotional person can also be very sensitive but will not react emotionally at the same stimulus. I think people who are more emotional experience life more than those who aren’t. They are more connected with reality, they feel more deeply than others. Therefore, literally they live more than others. Having feelings makes these people experience the world on different levels with intensity; they see, touch, and feel, hear sounds, smell more vividly. They take in information from the outside world and experience it at personal level in their heart, hence they experience happiness, pain, agony and pleasure, mysteries easily; they are more connected with the surrounding and environment.

A research was carried out by The Carnegie Institute of Technology on EQ that showed that 85% of financial success is due to skills in “connecting with ease with others,” inner personality, ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. They found that only 15% was due to technical ability. In other words people skills come easily when emotional intelligence is high. And, this is the most crucial skills. Nobel Prize winning Israeli-American psychologist Daniel Kahneman found that people like to do business with a person whom they can trust rather than someone they don’t, even if that that person is offering a better product at a lower price.

Sensitive people are more empathic. Empathy is one of the greatest quality of a person which helps him/her functioning in the world with more understanding because it allows to put oneself in another person’s shoes, and see the world through their eyes, and feel the way they feel. This is incredibly important, as empathizing helps one to understand how other people function, why they do the things that they do, why they behave the way they do, why they talk the way they do. It allows the person to form a very personalized connection with others. Because of vulnerability they become very passionate about causes.  And, nobody can deny the fact that passionate people live a fulfilled life. Unless we connect with the world empathically, we will feel lonely. Even when we are surrounded by people and we don’t feel connected to them, we feel lost in the crowd.  When we experience emotions in response to things that happen outside of ourselves, we are forming a connection to those things and to the world outside our skin.

It’s sad, but people tend to perceive emotional people as weaklings, because emotional people feel things more deeply than others. Sometimes people with high Emotional Quotient make poor decisions, but they learn from those poor decisions, and come out well. Being sensitive is not being weak, in fact it is being human that allows one to be in tune with their souls, and it gives them permission to follow their instinct and have faith in themselves even when they experience odds. Being sensitive helps in looking at flawed people as beautiful people. Sensitive people can handle their egos subtly. They can much easily put their egos aside and bridge gaps with others. Speaking and feeling from a sensitive mind and heart is a strength and not certainly not a weakness.

I think probably when sensitive people show their emotion such as hurt, irritation, frustration or anger, where others see them as wavered. Whereas a more apathetic person, who can put on mask of calmness is able to hide his/her feelings, giving the notion of, “I don’t care”, “I am not bothered.” But then they are the dangerous people who pretend their feelings and emotions.

International search firm Egon Zehnder International analyzed 515 senior executives and discovered that those who were strongest in emotional intelligence were more likely to succeed than those strongest in either IQ or relevant previous experience. Research that has been done on the relationship between emotional intelligence (EQ) and IQ has shown only a weak correlation between the two.

When someone says that “I have invested my emotions in a cause/ a relationship” it means the person has invested his/her energy, conscientiousness, focus, dedication and drive in a relationship or a cause. We don’t deliberate on investing emotions, that’s because we don’t understand the concept. Make your emotions work for you, and you will be unstoppable. The more emotions you experience — the more emotions you can better understand — the more you will learn about yourself and people in general. Weakness is allowing your emotions to take the wheel. Don’t let your emotions govern your life.

When you get affected by situation or condition of other people and try your best to help them in improving or handling difficult situation effectively without making your own condition weak or worse, it is a trait of great human being.