A Conceptual analysis of Spiritual Intelligence and its Relavance

The Intuitive mind is A Sacred Gift and The rational mind a faithful servant. We have created
a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. Albert Einstein
Crisis in character and loss of values & virtues are reflected now in every
sphere of human life. Standards of moral & social life of people are gradually declining. In the
changing scenario due to globalization & urbanization where the growth rate 9% as projected by
our prime minister there is increase in the number of jobs as well as cut throat competition. There
is also a rapid conversion of joint family system to nuclear family system in which children are
becoming more & more lonely & growing emotionally dwarf. Wide spread disturbance, chaos
confusion & dislocation in life have become common phenomena. Belief in higher ideals is no
more found. Corruption is rampant due to the rat race of showing oneself prosperous in wealth
from others. Contradiction in living is the order op the day. In the race of accumulation of
wealth, peace & tranquility in mind is no more found.
Different problem in youth are mounting up day by day. Many youth in schools &
colleges are now addicted to drugs & intoxicants. Teenage pregnancies & increasing rate of
divorce among the so called socialites further add fuel to the problem.
In the circumstances stated above, there is a clarion call of drastic change
in the very outlook of man.
Education is Key to spirituality:We are schooled to know about our society and nature but not about ourselves,
especially the nature of our mind and our spiritual potential. Even as adults and senior citizen, we
remain ignorant of the mischievous of our mind & the magnanimity of our heart. So, we always
try to determine a persons success or failure of the life on the bases of his intelligence a
cognitive one. But now we have often seen that people with high intelligence failed in achieving
what they want to achieve in life and of course there are numerous examples of people whom we
thought as dome but they work very well. How it is possible? The answer is spiritual
intelligence. Our outward inquisitiveness is rarely turned inward, except at moments when we
are struck by grief or crisis. Even those somber moments do not kindle inward inquiry but leaves
us in sad quietude. Thus, we continue to be slaves rather than masters of the mind.
It is that turbulent psyche with endless desire and narrow mindedness which seeks false
security through material gains and tries to escape the inherent aching void through sensual
pleasure. It is a psyche which has to be seen and sainted. This means trying to work towards a
stage where the mind becomes free from the limitations and desires that seem to be inherent in
ones nature. And in this context, R.N. Tagore has rightly said that, education is the only means
to enable the mind to find out that ultimate truth which emancipates u8s from the bondage of
dust and gives us wealth not of things but of inner light, not of power but of love.
Now-a-days violence & crime is reflecting in every sphere of life starting from
school where shooting at gun pints by the tender pupils becomes a common phenomenon in
different parts of our country to religious spheres were crime in the name of one religion or other
is day to day affair. But every religion-expounds the ultimate goal by transcending the pleasure-

obsessed violent mind. In Hinduism, it is atman or soul, in Islam it is room and in Christianity it
is the holy spirit this is what the renowned educationist J. Krishnamurthy wanted education to
bring out in the students. Etymologically, education means brining out the potential.
Ironically, this is what our present education lacks. Being biased in favour of mere
Intelligence Quotient or I.Q, it overlooks the most vital spiritual quotient of S.Q.
It is the energy of the S.Q. that makes up and maximizes the attribute known as the
conscience. Indeed it is the deficiency of this human conscience that is the root case of our
degeneration and decadence, masquerading as amoral culture and crass and civilization fostering
violence & vice-versa all over the world. The extortion, corruption and criminality of the
powerful elite and the governing polity are traceable to the glaring deficiency of conscience.
Influences on our
Modern Generation

Advanced
Technology

Growing
Urbanisation

Social Mobility

Mass Media

Relaxation
of control

Leading to
Rationalism and
Materialism

Break up of joint
family system

Rapid Social
Change

Propagation of
various types of
values

Licence,
irresponsibility,
permissive conduct

They need to Cultivate

Moral and
Social Values

Domestic virtues Proper Adaptability

and perspective

Power of Right
choice

Self control & Self

Discipline

The conspicuous corruption, mental and monetary of the so called educated

elite schooled and graduated in exclusive institutions confirms their depthless self-aggrandizing
education. This evil-oriented education manifesting as drugs, violence, sex and AIDS needs to be
revolutionized, if we are not to end up as violence feeders or worshipers of greed and goods. The
universal visible effect of the present day education is all-round sickness precipitated by the
scourge of stress. The recent firing by the students in the schools of Gurgaon, Satna or Ghaziabad
and increasing rate of by the burning example of intolerance and stress. Further the increasing
date of suicide among the adolescence before and after completion of examination and

declaration of result of different school boards shows the stress of the education system and over
parental expectation favouring cognitive intelligence or I.Q.
Unless this stress is overcome by infusing the spiritual quotient with intelligent
quotient in education, there is no hope of enlivening the human nature. This is what has been
emphasized in the UNESCO international commission on education for the 21 st century named
as Learning: the treasure within which declares that, education through out life is based on 4
pillars i.e. Learning to know as Gyanyog, Learning to do as Karmyog, Learning to live
together as Sahyog, and learning to be as Atmasakhatkar, i.e. self realization, which is the
ultimate goal of human life. It is interesting to note that while the two pillars are associated with
I.Q. and comes under cognitive & psychomotor domains respectively; third one is concerned
with E.Q and comes under affective domain. The forth pillar involves S.Q., and needs an
additional domain Spiritual domain to be included in the taxonomy of educational objectives.
Learning to be (Atmashakshatkar) i.e. self realization involves S.Q which means, for
human beings their inner freedom is as important as their external freedom. Purpose of life has to
go beyond playing the role of a wage earner & a family provider. Each one of us has to have
some personal mission in life to fulfill beyond achieving happiness through material gains. The
present health minister A. Ramdoss has raised a number of questions regarding rising stress
levels, cardio vascular diseases, mental disorders, divorce rates and day time sleepiness of the
newly recruited youths in metropolitan cities. The rate of divorce and living relationship is
escalating day by day which affect our social fabric. If we know the learning to be, the chances
are that we might be able to organize ourselves from dehumanized or being exploited as human
slaves and may also have the conviction to stand up against ideologies of individuals or groups
which are destructive to mankind. Only stead fast resolve to realize our wonderful spiritual self
or the soul, by rejecting our habitual ego-centric consciousness and adopting the soul-centric
awareness, can free us from our own dehumanizing mind.
Only such self-awareness can bring out the S.Q or the ability to come upon bliss and
move beyond it, not to mention the E.Q or the capacity to enjoy life and the I.Q or the
knowledge-based analytical ability in us. Developing such a three dimensional personality
should be the objective of education.

Spiritual intelligence: Genesis of the concept

At the beginning of the 20th century, psychologists discovered wage and
means to measure intelligence. Aristotles definition of man as a rational animal developed into
an obsession with I.Q on the basis of which parents, educators & doctors are all interested to test
a childs I.Q to ascertain the childs potential for future development. In 1990, Salovey & Mayer
define the concept of emotional intelligence which emphasizes blending cognition with emotions
and in the mid 1990s Daniel Goleman popularized emotional intelligence E.Q, illustrating that
E.Q is a basic requirement for the appropriate use of I.Q now as we are in the 21 st century, there
is growing evidence that there is third Q S.Q. or spiritual intelligence.
Unlike I.Q, which computers have, and E.Q which exists in higher mammals, S.Q is
uniquely human and the most fundamental of the three (Zohar & Marshall 2001). It is linked to

humanitys need for meaning, an issue very much at the for front of peoples mind in the
beginning of this century. S.Q is what we use to develop our longing and capacity for meaning,
vision & value. It allows us to dream & to strive. It underlies the things we believe in and the
role our beliefs and values play in the actions that we take. It is, in essence, what makes us
human.
It is the intelligence with which human address and solves problems of meaning &
value, the intelligence with which we can place our actions and our lives in a wider, richer
meaning-given context, the intelligence with which we can assess that one course of action or
one life path is more meaningful than the other. It is considered to be the ultimate intelligence.
We have a longing to see our lives in some larger meaning-giving context, be it family, the
community, the work, religious framework or the universe itself. If takes us beyond the present
moment & ourselves. Spiritual intelligence allows human beings to be creative, to change the
rules and to alter situation by extending the boundaries. S.Q. Operates out of the brains centre
and integrates all our intelligence. S.Q makes us the fully intellectual, emotional & spiritual
creatures that we are. It has no necessary connection with religion.
Donah Zohar and Ian Marshall in spiritual Intelligence: The ultimate intelligence
(2000) have reported the indicators of a highly developed S.Q., these include:

The capacity to be flexible (actively and spontaneously adaptive)

A high degree of self awareness.
A capacity to use & face suffering.
A capacity to face & transcend pain.
The quality of being inspired by value and vision.
A capacity to inspire others.
A reluctance to cause unnecessary harm.
A tendency to see the connections between diverse things (being holistic)
A marked tendency to ask why? Or what if questions and to seek fundamental answers.
Being what psychologists call field independent possessing a facility for working
against convention.
If cognitive intelligence is about thinking and emotional intelligence is about feeling
them spiritual intelligence is about being. Zohar and Marshall (2000) in Spiritual
Intelligence- The ultimate intelligence discuss the scientific evidence for S.Q in the 1990s
research by neurophysiologist Michael Persinger and neurologist V.S Ramachandran at the
University of California led to an identification of a God-spot in the human brain this area
is located among neural connections in the temporal lobes of the brain. During scans with
positron emission topography these neural areas light up whenever research subjects are
exposed to discussion of spiritual topics. Of course, this is culture specific, with westerns
responding to ideas of God and Buddhists & Hindus responding to certain symbols. While
the God-spot does not prove the existence of God, it does indicate that the brain is
programmed to ask fundamental questions.
Humans are essentially spiritual beings, evolved to ask fundamental questions. Who
am I?, Where am I going?, What do others mean to me? It is an ability to answer
question like these that lead people to personal growth. Spiritual intelligence to motivate
people to balance their work schedule to spend time with the family or an executive with a

high S.Q might look beyond profit margin and devote time for voluntary work with orphans.
Spiritual intelligence also addresses the need to place ones life in a shared context of value.
The transformative power of S.Q distinguished it from I.Q and E.Q.. I.Q. primarily
solves logical problems. E.Q. allows us to judge the situation we are in and behave
appropriately. S.Q. allows us to ask if we want to be in that situation in the first place. It
might motivate us to create a new one.
Academic or cognitive intelligence (I.Q) on its own offers little preparation for the
emotional challenges that we meet in the course of our life. E.Q is a term for other factors
that can lead us to healthy relationship and the ability to respond to the trials of life in a
positive manner. It is our ability to manage emotions rather than opposite way round. It is
also linked to I.Q.
In this age of uncertainty, when changing events and situations appear to be beyond
our control, children need to develop inner strength, So that, they can adapt rather than give
up or give in. Spirituality sustain us from within when all else falls away. We use our spiritual
intelligence (S.Q) to dream, to aspire, to raise ourselves.
Thus spiritual intelligence is the intelligence about meaning and value of life.

Important ingredients to spiritual intelligence:

1) A high degree of reflective power: to see the why and what if in addition to what
and how.
2) An ability to analyze complex and metaphysical problems.
3) A high level of awareness about oneself and ones environment.
4) An ability to get inspiration from almost everything: contemplative power.
5) A capacity to associate different and diverse thing.
6) An ability to face & utilize suffering & pain.
7) An ability to stand against bad hierarchy or tradition.
8) An ability to convey values & meaning to others: inspirational.

Nurturing of S.Q
There are 7 steps to cultivate Spiritual Intelligence (Zohar & Marshall)
Evaluation

Step-1 Awareness: we became aware that we are lost, that we dont

understand the purpose of our life, that is internal, now knowing

Vision

Projection

sense is infact the real sense of self confined by the lack of any
intelligence to escape.

Being
Centred

Step-2 Meaning: we explore the bigger picture, to make

keys that might open the space we are confined in.

Awareness

Step-3 Evaluation: we try the keys; fit them in the lock & turn.

Meaning
Mission

Step-4 Being centered: we open the door inward and enable what is on the other side to access
us.
Step-5 Vision: we allow the light from the new, bigger picture to flood in so we can see.
Step-6: Projection: we project our new level of self into the new territory we can see ahead.
Step-7: Mission: we act within the new territory and are now aware and conscious of what we
are doing within a grater territory.
Difference between I.Q., E.Q. and S.Q.:Cognitive intelligence (I.Q.): Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of an individual to act purposefully, to
think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment.
Refer to the cognitive aspect. Calculated by specific mathematical formula
IQ = MA/CA*100
About rational, logical & Rule bound thinking
I.Q. gets you hired.
Emphasis learning to know & learning to do.

Emotional intelligence (E.Q):-

S.Q

E.Q

I.Q

S.Q - Spiritual Intelligence. Our core nature

E.Q - Emotional Intelligence

I.Q - Cognitive Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the capacity or ability to understand ones own emotions, the
emotion of others and act appropriately based on these emotions.
Refers to non-cognitive & non-physical capacity of the organism. There is no specific
formula to find out level of E.Q. till today.
About associative, habit bound, pattern-recognizing, emotive thinking.
E.Q. gets you promoted.
Emphasize learning to live together.
Spiritual intelligence (S.Q):

Spiritual intelligence is the capacity to understand the meaning, vision & value of life.
Refers to spiritual and inner self. Spiritual intelligence cant be quantified.
About creative, insightful, rule-making, rule-breaking, transformative thinking.
S.Q. gets you inner peace, tranquility, real solace and balanced life.
Emphasize learning to be.
Basically all human beings are spiritual in their nature. They may differ in their
evolution of such a need and hence work at different levels of need satisfaction. Abrahom
Maslow, a great psychologist, classified such needs of man in 5 categories in hierarchical
nature:The lowest needs in such hierarchy are biological, such as hunger, thirst and sex.
Next one the safety needs that include security, stability and order. Then come
belongingness such as affiliation, affection and identification. Thereafter self-esteem

needs follows that include prestige, success and self respect. Finally at the top in
hierarchy comes the need for self-actualization that refers to persons need to develop his
full potentialities in whatever field he works.
The beauty & essence of self-actualization is that it is spirally cyclic in nature:
more & more a person gets satisfied, more & more he seeks such satisfaction. Its parallel is seen
in Indian concept of self-actualization and Atma Darashana. Vedanta refers to Ananda, that
keeps on multiplying and ever evolving that finally merges into Parmanand the universal self.
Antonio Damasio, a neurologist who has studied the links between cognitive &
emotional intelligence, believes that spirituality is the glue that holds together our conscious
intellect and our intelligent action:

Spiritually is what we use to solve problem of meaning & value.

It helps us to place our action and our lives in a wider and richer context.
It is our compass, helping us to live at a deeper level.
It is what connects us to our families, our community, all people & living things, the
universe.

In todays materialistic and highly competitive world man seem to be loosing his
identity and direction both. Fast growing technological changes have put a lot of pressure on him
that blinds his vision for other alternatives of growth & survival.
Man seems to have become machine forgetting his true essence and original needs
with which he comes to earth. Career, competition, jobs, more money, higher status etc. are the
slogans of the day. Breath a moment, give a chance to your self for self-reflection. You may find
some relevance of spiritualism not only with your career and career planning, but also with your
life and success. It gives you an opportunity to unconditional your mind and look for a different,
unstressed and relaxed way of life.

Relevance of Spiritual Intelligence (S.Q) in the emerging Indian society

Spiritual intelligence could promote the following qualities which will ultimately lead to
peaceful co-existence in the emerging Indian society: Love, compassion and service: Love and compassion are often associated with the
beginning of a true spiritual life. Love dissolves confusion and fear and elicits kindness,
openness and respect. Unless we love and trust ourselves, we cannot love others.
Compassion goes beyond and personal form of love to a love of all creation.
Honesty and authenticity: No longer lying to ourselves and other about what we are doing
and what the consequences are. To live as we really are without delusion about the reality
of the past, the present, our selfhood and behavior.
Physical, emotional mental and spiritual clarity: physical clarity has to do with attention
to the bodys health and real needs. Mental and emotional clarity have to do with
awareness discernment and lucidity. Spiritual clarity has to do with wholeness simplicity
and sensitivity.
Responsibility and discipline: becoming accountable for ourselves without feeling
excessively responsible for other. Dependable and creative completion of our
responsibilities and a disciplined approach to personal growth.

 Serenity : A state of equanimity and peacefulness in the face of challenge and change
Personal freedom: letting go of attachments and living questions and problem into
answers and opportunity without drama, escape, or avoidance.
Tolerance and patience: the ability to embrace self and the other in spite of perceived
weakness or difference. To even move beyond tolerance to acceptance and celebration of
difference and diversity. Patience means to take events and experiences as they come
without complaint or expectation. It also means all things have a natural time and place to
be.
Faith, trust, and inner security: the ability to live without anxiety or doubt. An inner
security free or fear and deprivation.
Wisdom and understanding: deep insight, possible at any age, expressed through
everyday action.
Gratitude, humanity and willingness: gratitude is the recognition of the little miracles that
occur everyday. Humility is the ability to move beyond arrogance and grandiosity
towards and honest acceptance of ourselves with all our perceived limitation and faults.
Hope, happiness, joy, and homour: hope and happiness are state of well-being and
contentment emanating from a deep feeling of inner wealth irrespective of outer events or
experience. Joy and humor spring from a warm heart and sense of the cosmic game
Connection with the earth, nature and everyday life: even though we may find great
inspiration in sacred system of transcendent experience, we recognize the sacredness of
daily activities, other people, other life forms, inanimate matter, and nature. It is no good
being and angel if you are no earthly use.
Living in the present moment: the ability to live in the present rather escaping to the past
the future the ability to constantly let go.
A sense of wonder, mystery and reverence: a direct experiences of the cosmos which is
unitive, inclusive and expensive a sense of being aware of the profound
interconnectedness of all creation.
A sense of purpose and place in space and time: a sense of the unique and necessary place
and personal contribution of each individual being in the world.Where does my deep
gladness meet the worlds deep need?
In a holistic view, we are people with a body ,mind & spirit all interrelated and
arranged in a pattern that means that the whole is greater than the some of the parts as teachers
we must be particularly aware of this when working with students who are too easily labeled as
intelligent or slow-learners without considering the whole person which is mostly based on
the model of cognitive intelligence and teaching to exams. We can teach children all about the
sun & the moon and the planetary system but still miss the radiance of sunset.
In our society we have developed the intellect while neglecting our emotions and our
spiritual life. If our education were more holistic as students we would learn to balance our
intellect with our emotional and spiritual growth. And as educators we would take responsibility
for our personal as well as professional growth.

References
C.P. Tekkeveettil (2001): Now its SQ Life positive may 2001
Dash D.N. & Behera N.P. (2004): A Conceptual analysis of emotional intelligence
and its relevance .University News, vol. 42 April 05-11-2004.
Dancer Terry W. (2005): SQ versus IQ: Successful intelligence measuring and
teaching what matters. The international journal of business disciplines, 10th
march 2005.
George David (2006): Emotional & Spiritual intelligence, Gifted & talented
update, issue 32 march 2006.
Goleman, D (1996): Emotional intelligence, London: Bloomsbury.
Times of India, 7th Jan .2002.
The Tribune, 14th oct.2007.
Zohar, D. & Marshall, I(2001): Spiritual Intelligence, London: Bloomsbury
Zohar, D. & Marshall, I(2000): S.Q.: Connecting with our Spiritual
Intelligence .New York :Bloomsbury publishing.

Subitted by:-

Dr.Tapan Kumar Sahu

Principal,Shivam College of Education
Shikha Rani Pradhan
Lecturer,Shivam College of Education