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.

If you want to be successful, the ability to regulate your emotions by self is important. The world cares a lot for IQ (Intelligence Quotient), but of late corporate care a lot for EQ (Emotional Quotient)   and SQ (Social quotient). SQ or SI (Social Intelligence) is largely developed from your experience, from what you learn. All the good and bad experiences of life prepares us to become socially intelligent. Social Intelligence is more commonly referred to as tact, common sense, sometimes even as street smart. Socially intelligent people come across as frank, without many inhibitions. They easily talk about themselves and are non-defensive. Therefore, are appreciated by co-workers, peers, their bosses everybody around them.

We all have emotions which drive us to take decisions, our ability to tackle our decisions make us successful or unsuccessful in life. We all live in society and whether we like or not, our self-regulation to manage our emotions and actions matters. We all are driven by our moods, feeling, and our actions are based on them. Don’t we like people who are cool and composed? Those who can cheer, those who lighten the atmosphere? We also come across people who behave negative, and are disruptive. Feeling come first and then we think; people who constantly react from an emotional state never wait long enough to allow their thoughts to override their emotions. People who can allow their emotions pass, respond to the feelings from a healthy state of mind tend to be logical. They use logic rather than simply reacting to feelings. Such people are labeled as mentally healthy, their actions reflect thoughtfulness. If they don’t have answers, they tell it frankly.

Social intelligence was coined by E.L. Thorndike (1920). He divided intelligence into three facets:  the ability to understand and manage ideas (abstract intelligence), concrete objects (mechanical intelligence), and people (social intelligence). His definition of social intelligence was “By social intelligence is meant the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls — to act wisely in human relations”  Similarly, Moss and Hunt (1927) defined social intelligence as the “ability to get along with others.” Vernon (1933), provided the most wide-ranging definition of social intelligence as the person’s “ability to get along with people in general, social technique or ease in society, knowledge of social matters, susceptibility to stimuli from other members of a group, as well as insight into the temporary moods or underlying personality traits of strangers”

Some of the important elements of social intelligence are:

Confidence in talking: In a party, or gathering you can easily spot a person with high score of SI talking to others with ease. Such people have verbal fluency and command of their conversation because of their composed state of mind. They are expressive and can carry discussions without boring others. Such people carry on their social roles easily. For example if the person is a host, he/she will make the guests so relaxed and at ease. If the person is a guest, he makes the host very comfortable, as though the he is a part and parcel of the household. Socially intelligent individuals learn to play various social roles with ease. A person with good  SI, conducts interviews also very well, without making the candidate nervous, he/she make the candidate comfortable. If it’s a doctor, he makes his patients comfortable, if it’s a judge, he keeps his courtroom good-humored place. If it’s a teacher his classroom has full attendance. So, the people with high SI, know how to play their roles. As a result, they are seen as socially sophisticated people.

Good listeners: Socially intelligent persons are great listeners. As a result, people who interact with them feel more ‘connected’ with them. They have better understanding of people. They are good observers too. They have a perfect reading of other’s behaviors Understanding emotions is part of social intelligence both. Remember, both SI and EI are inter connected. And, people who are especially skilled are high on both.

Good management skills: People with high SI, are good managers. They are good implementers too. They hold risk taking ability and are fast decision makers. They easily manage as well as control things. Even as they control things, they don’t make it obvious to others. This is the most complex element of social intelligence.

How do we develop social intelligence? It takes efforts to build social intelligence. By paying attention to world around, one learns manners, etiquettes and governance. Social intelligence is in a way complex socialization; such as we all experience politics, romance, family relationships, disagreements, tiffs, teamwork, tradeoffs, clichéd business relationships and philanthropy. Man is a social animal. Most of us go through highs and lows from our childhood. Our experiences in life develops the size of our brain. As we develop in life, our brain provides ability to interact with others in social circumstances. By and large, people develop themselves by observing others. Each one of us have role models, we develop by replicating them. The social intelligence quotient (SQ) is a statistical notion, similar to the ‘standard score’ approach used in IQ Test, with a mean of 100. Scores of 140 or above are considered to be high on score. SQ has until recently been measured by techniques such as question and answer sessions. These sessions assess the person’s rational abilities.

Audrey Hepburn – the greatest actress of all times, Oprah Winfrey – the famous talk show anchor, Barack Obama, Warren Buffet, Nelson Mandela, Indira Nooyi, are some names of people who are considered as social charmers. Friends, good leadership requires a combination of self-regulation and social intelligence. Self-regulation refers to how we handle ourselves; and social intelligence is handling others tactfully.