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.
