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!!!       

We all have at least one best friend with whom we share all our secrets without hiding anything because he/she is a friend who is special to us than all other friends. A friend with whom we can be just what we are. If for a boy there is a girl who is his special friend and with whom he shares all his secrets, he depends on her fervently. In many cases, a man and a woman when they share friendship can’t live without each other, but at the same time they are nothing more than just good friends.  The thought of being in a relationship other than friendship never even touches their minds. The media has fuelled a man-woman’s friendship with an undercurrent of romance; it is portrayed as either the man or the woman at some point, falls for the other.  But, that’s not true. There are men and women who have maintained great friendship without any romantic bonds.  Lord Krishna and Draupadi’s friendship was one such friendship.

Draupadi and Krishna were best friends and loved each other as friends. All stories about him being a like a brother comes from analyses and interpretations from historians who cannot accept a woman and man just being friends. They were not in love, nor did they have feelings of siblings for each other, they were very good friends. Krishna called her ‘Sakhi’ and she called him ‘Sakha’ (friend).  They were always there for each other. She was called Krishnaa not after Krishna but because she was of dark complexion. While many of the writers in their books have said that they both had feelings for each other, the truth is, each considered the other “sakha” and “sakhi”. So, the love they had was nothing more than the love for friends.

And if we suspect their relationship because Krishna robed Draupadi when she was being disgraced by Dusshasana; I think it just shows how shallow our thinking can be. Historical accounts are subject to frequent disagreement and most of the disagreement are due to the fact that accurate history is difficult to obtain, for a variety of reasons. Much information regarding the past has been lost. Many cultures have a rich oral history, but lack written documentations. A man cannot marry or love every woman whom he protects to save her from humiliation.

We make friendship cheaper by comparing it to other relationships. Why should we tag relationships with ‘brother’, ‘sister’, ‘cousin’, ‘child’ when two people can just be friends? The principles of good relationships are universal. They apply not only to romantic relationships, but also to platonic friendship and business relationships. You can love a friend as a friend just as much as you would love your life partner as a life partner. Krishna and Draupadi shared a great rapport; both of them were beautiful, talented, ambitious and capable humans. Both of them wanted to establish a ‘dharma rajya’ which means virtuous society.  They shared the same ideals, morals and ideas and hence made great friends.  Like great friends, they shared their hopes, fears and dreams together.

I think it is nice to have a friend, preferably of the opposite gender, for every man as well as woman to have a special friend, in whom he /she can totally confide in and depend on emotionally. Clearly such a strong bondage needs to be unconditional. It is something which does not exactly fit into a stereotype of traditional and age-old companionship.

Lord Krishna is worshipped more by girls because they see a perfect friend in him, he fits into the bill of being hailed as ‘a genuine friend in adversity’.  Though Krishna’s special relationship with Draupadi sounds mythical, it’s a proof that a man and woman can be friends after all. It shows that a genuine friend protects his/her friend’s dignity, gives the right advice and supports the friend in all adversities.  Like Krishna did – that unending supply of sari to Draupadi in the cheerharan. In this poetic description of a miracle lies a man’s ability to see a woman as a human being rather than an object or ownership and lust; as a person who isn’t tainted by what is inflicted upon her.

Have that special friend, who will hold you, no matter how edgy your journey becomes; have a Krishna/Draupadi in your life, who is always there for you. To me, Krishna and Draupadi symbolize this spirit of unconditional man-woman friendship. There are many versions described by many historians in which a sexual overtone is used to describe their camaraderie, but it is a fallacy. Their friendship did not ever rise above their trust in each other. Nor did it color their non-possessive acceptance of each other. It was a friendship of equals. It is very rarely found in a marriages or any man-woman relationships. Krishna and Draupadi shared a beautiful platonic bond. They showcased to the world that such connect was possible. A man and a woman can care about each other intensely, support each other unconditionally, and in arguments mock each other mercilessly.  They bond well because of the richness and depth that friendships can possess.