Spiritual Quotient Journey as a Part of Our Intelligence

Spiritual quotient is one of the facets of human intelligence. It can be described as spiritual intelligence journey. This essay explores what is a sign of the balanced personality in modern life. Nowadays we need spiritual quotient journey to be the part of our intelligence especially when we work in a group or in cooperative sector or in the corporate world. School education is our main source of knowledge. We can specifically use literature either English or any other regional language to increase spiritual quotient of the students. Literature has got certain inherent features that can help to improve our spiritual quotient.

A crying baby and a mother holding a mobile hand-set in front of it is the common scenario of the modern time. The next stage of this scenario is that a child is restricted from playing with the mobile handset and is asked to focus on the social interactions or public speech. But the restless child becomes so impatient and it consistently asks for the mobile handset. His reactions and response is almost irresistible and irritating. Another common sites of the modern life can be summarized as unrest among the students, a student opening gun-fire on the fellow students, students committing suicide with either a failure in academics or something going against his will, a crowd throwing stones and creating chaos with delays in public transportation, religious riots and open display of anger. These are only some of the very discouraging instances of the lack of Spiritual Quotient in the modern times. All the episodes of unrest only suggest that we live on the edge of depression, disillusionment, failure and we all need a very high level of spiritual intelligence to tackle all these issues.

Spiritual Quotient: Origin of the Concept

Spiritual quotient is one of the facets of human intelligence. It has been recently realized and emerged as a concept. In fact modern age is an age of multiple intelligences as a man has to perform multitasks continuously. Spiritual quotient can be described as spiritual intelligence. The credit of the invention of the spiritual intelligence goes to Danah Zohar. In 1997 she introduced the term in her book entitled Rewriting the Corporate Brain. By spiritual quotient she implied larger thinking in terms of patterns, relationships, objectives, goals and convictions. Stephen Covey perceives spiritual intelligence as the most central and the most fundamental of all intelligences as it becomes the source of guidance for the others.

Good spiritual quotient is the sign of the balanced personality. All the saints and religious men seem to have high spiritual quotient. They acquire it through meditation, and the study of religious books. As a result of this meditation they have mastered certain skills like tolerance, accepting resistance or adversity, peace of mind, respects for others, self-awareness and most important is the sense of belonging. They never face an identity crisis and know themselves with all their scope and limitations. In modern life we need the spiritual quotient to be the part of our intelligence especially when we work in a group or in cooperative sector or in the corporate world.

Since spiritual quotient is the fundamental intelligence it is naturally there in all human beings. It is a natural gift being reflected in the virtues like tolerance, patience, kindness, generosity, wisdom, reasoning, logic, morality and righteousness. It is developed by continuous practice of these virtues. In the modern times man seems to have come far away from nature- his original abode- and the effect is severe lack of the spiritual quotient in him.

Spiritual Quotient Journey in the Earlier Generations

It seems that the earlier generation people had good level of spiritual quotient. Our forefathers were altogether different from us. They were uneducated or less educated. But they were thoughtful in their words and actions. They didn’t know modern concepts like individuality, freedom, science and materialism etc. They used to depend on their reasoning, wisdom and logic. They had rare ability to take recourse within and to find out solutions to their problems. They could even wait for a longer period of time to get their solutions as against today’s generation that needs everything instant. Their clear stream of reasoning and their sharp intuitions were the sources which they used to rely on for the guidance.

The reason for their equipoise was that our ancestors believed in their traditional religion whatever they might follow. They were not at all confused about the existence of God. They always believed that there is some unknown power that governs the world in a unique way. They never challenged the traditional religious books and always believed that they were guided by those books. Moreover they were the people who respected all values. They never sacrificed their values nor did they make any compromise with the set of values. At the same time they were less ambitious people who had no competitions, less challenges and a lot of goodwill. As a result they lived happy and complacent life. They never had any grudge or repentance for anything. Since spiritual quotient is the most fundamental intelligence it is found most in the people of earliest generations.

Life began to change considerably after the Industrial Revolution in 1750. The emergence of science with Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution challenged many things of human life. The most important things were the traditional religion and the existence of God. Since then there has been continuous conflict between science and religion. This can be marked as the beginning of the decline of the spiritual quotient in modern man. This is a withdrawal from and a breach of something that was vital and at the very basis. Whatever may be the repercussions of the industrial revolution and the emergence of science, man could never deny the significance of traditional religion. But unfortunately modern man is always confused about many things. He is doubtful about possibilities, dwindled in hope and duel in expectations. The result is a lot of intolerance, frustrations, depressions and disillusionment. In other words there is total lack of spiritual quotient.

Education System and Modern Spiritual Journey

There is a close link between education and spiritual quotient as man is expected to become civilized, sophisticated and cultured through education. Unfortunately our education system seems to contribute very less for the development of the spiritual quotient. Our school syllabus is still based on Macaulay’s Blueprint of education. Earlier it was directed towards basic learning and later to the higher education and recently in modern times to the skill development. It hardly prescribes anything that can lead to the development of the spiritual quotient. So far we were concerned measuring intellectual quotient. Now we are aware of social or emotional quotient. But we are hardly aware of our spiritual quotient.

It is also a fact that school education is our main source of knowledge. We have other sources also like religious education or internet –today’s most widely used source of knowledge. But by and large the majority of the students still depend upon the school education. Of course there is some focus on moral and value based education. Now we need to make some deliberate attempts to increase the spiritual quotient of our students so that we may bring forth a spiritually sound generation. We can specifically use literature either English or any other regional language to increase spiritual quotient of the students. Every literature has got certain inherent features that can help to improve our spiritual quotient.

Literature and Language as Mirrors of Life

As literature highlights what is human life it is a mirror of the life. It can reflect all the possible and probable things that can happen to human life. It exposes us to the reality and we get multiple sets of reality which is impossible to get in one life. Thus we can have firsthand experience with different lives. Many a times we get exact or similar picture of our own life. Thus literature can give us self awareness and a sense of belonging. Many a times it works out catharsis of pity and fear as suggested by Aristotle in his The Poetics. Through the purification of pity and fear man is regenerated which is impossible in isolation. He gets a new strength to face the problems of life. In this way literature can help to increase our spiritual quotient. It gives a larger thinking and a new vision of life. It helps man to get spiritual balance.

Religion is the base of almost all literature. We can get the archetype of all characters and fables in traditional religion only. So literature can be the best substitute to the religious teaching. Moreover the young generation doesn’t want to learn from the religion. They feel religious teaching as orthodox or outdated. They even find it unrealistic, remote and distinct. But the protagonists of their own time appeal to them. They feel them to be close and intimate. Moreover they like to imitate them. On this background literature with its renewed fables and modernized characters appeal to new generation. This new literature appeals them for their real situation. They appreciate good characters for their values and in turn try to imitate them. If they visualize the same life situation through literature they are not shocked but they are prepared to accept it and tackle it more patiently making it the stepping stone of their life. Thus reading literature automatically help to improve their spiritual quotient.

Language is a rare gift given to human beings only. Literature is the most beautiful use of language. The language of literature is altogether different from our day-to-day communication as well as the scientific language. This language has its own features. The special use of the words in literature appeals to us. The words are used in new, striking combinations. There is new coinage too. Sometimes the same words are used but in new context and sometimes the words are reinvented. Some words appeal to our senses, some to our brain while some to our heart.

Again different forms of literature make different impact on our mind. The use of different combinations of the words with meter and rhyme in poetry is not only an easy aid to memory but also makes unique effect on mind. Novel with its narrative and descriptive quality of words takes us to the very core of reality. Drama with its actions exposes reality in a striking way. The 20th century Plays of the Idea seem to resolve the crisis in every mind by its unique end.

Every writer has got his/ her own vision that he wants to communicate through literature. We can look at the reality from the writer’s point of view. Thus we get a new perspective for the reality. This new perspective can be encouraging, enlightening and can lead to the new avenues and solution. Literature inspires us and everybody knows the role of literature in generating the feeling of nationalism Indians in pre-independence era. The same literature united us for freedom struggle and created feeling of patriotism. We can understand certain feeling like love, passion, affection, hatred, jealousy –in depth only through literature. The better understanding of these feelings can even lead to the spiritual maturity.

Apart from the power of words literature has many facets that attract us. With all its technical devices like images, metaphors, symbols and motifs literature can give us highest type of artistic pleasure. Sometimes this pleasure is of such a highest quality that we are carried out of ourselves and experiences to be on the seventh height. This literature not only appeals us but also moves us. We forget the harsh reality around us and seem to be in the different world. It lifts us above the earthly things and all of sudden we begin to feel all material, worldly things to be trifle and insignificant. This high quality literature helps us to develop high spiritual quotient. With this type of literature man can reinvent himself.

Conclusion

Thus literature specifically can be used to increase the spiritual quotient of the students. Literature sometimes becomes a spiritual journey for the students as all Shakespearean literature used to be. This spiritual journey leads to the moral and spiritual purification of the mind. The mind is purged of all unessential, materialistic things. There comes a moment when we realize what is momentary and what is permanent and everlasting. Like a quick flash of lightening this literature enlighten us and bring about a change. Thus literature can lead to the moral and spiritual edification in turn contributing for the increase of the spiritual quotient.

References

• Wilfred L., Guerin, Earle Labor at el. (2005), A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Oxford University Press
• The Holy Bible, NKJV,(1982), The Gideon International, India
• Bhatnager Manmohan K,(1996), Twentieth Century Literature in English, Atlantic Publisher and Distributors, New Delhi
• Burkett Larry,(1998), Business by the Book, The Complete Guide of the Biblical Principles for the Workplace, Crown Financial Ministry.
• Tilak Raghukul,(2013), History and Principles of Literary Criticism, Rama Brothers India PVT.LTD.