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Spiritual Intelligence is the new buzzword in organizations. The subprime crisis in America and closer to home the infamous Satyam case has brought to forefront the importance of “ethics above profits”. Notions like stakeholder perspective, corporate social responsibility, better accounting standards, business ethics and going green are doing the rounds as every organization is trying to remain afloat now by standards defined globally as being fair and sustainable.

The syndrome of greed, obsession with bottom line, fear phobia of competitors, and an unjustifiable belief that all is fair in business; is changing. Age-old organizational habits to  grab and steal market shares by any means , hood wink consumers by cunning marketing and advertising ploys and ill-treat  the environment are  giving way to new consciousness globally. From Intelligence (IQ) to emotional intelligence (EI) we are now moving to Spiritual Intelligence (SI).

In the past ,IQ (intelligence Quotient), determined the worth of a person in an organization. People who were skilled in reasoning, logical, numerical, verbal and allied abilities were expected to succeed as managers. Organization’s soon discovered that possessing high Emotional Intelligence (EI) made better managers. After all EI makes you good at dealing with not only your own emotions and perceptions, but also with those of customers and team members. But there was still a missing link - character, values, ethics and principles were  not considered important by organizations- a collective global lapse that is responsible for the world wide economic downturn we face today.

Spiritual Intelligence (SI) is the new mantra that is expected to make businesses responsible, caring and also successful. Leaders and managers with a high SI have clarity of purpose and an inclusive universal vision. They are energized, motivated and creative while adapting to rapidly changing environment seamlessly.

Parents, schoolteachers and institutions of higher education have always emphasized developing the  IQ. Organizations try to sensitize employees to nuances of Emotional Intelligence through team building and leadership training. At no stage in life, individuals are trained to be spiritually intelligent. We may find many people who are religious but they may not be spiritually intelligent.

What is Spiritual Intelligence?

Understanding the three spiritual laws is the starting point to develop your spiritual Intelligence. These laws have culled been from the collective wisdom of Hindu Vedanta, Taoism from China, Japanese Zen- Buddhism, and the Sufi and Judeo-Christian tradition. Spiritual wisdom is also found in folktales, literature, and biographies of acknowledged leaders. Personal experiences of ordinary people who have lived life fully and with integrity are also deep sources of Spiritual intelligence.

 The Three Spiritual Law

Law-1 Unity underlying diversity.

Law one states that, the created world- human beings and the whole universe are projections of an “ Omni” -all containing, self subsisting, self governing and unified intelligence known as Brahmn ( Vedic philosophy) , Kokoro  (.Japanese),  Hsin (Chinese)  and  Haqq (Sufi) and  God   (Judaism). All of us are manifestations of the unlimited qualities ( ananta svabhava)  of Brahmn;  each with a specific nature ( svabhava) with a different name and form (nama and rupa ).Quantum physicists corroborate by saying , the universe consists of energy in different states of excitation. People, table, chairs, trees, stardust, etc are patterns of dynamic energy set against a background (the quantum vacuum) of still unexcited energy, whose qualities cannot be directly seen, touches or measured. The Sufi poet Jami puts it beautifully:

 He takes on so many different forms
His beauty expresses itself in varied artistry,
Multiplicity is there to heighten the charm of unity
The One delights to appear in thousand garbs.

People with high Spiritual Intelligence (SI) realize interdependence and unity in diversity. They are therefore embracing in their attitude. They experience positive emotions like love, care , compassion most of the time and negative emotions like jealousy , anger envy and rejection are fleeting and easily overcome. Because of this they give and reciprocally get more support from others. They are ethical because they understand deep down that when they hurt others– they also hurt themselves.

Law 2- Involuted Perfection:

The second law derives from the first. Every one has a constitutive nature called svabhava – a particularistic quality of  Brahmn who itself is  Anantasvabhava. This is like the relationship between waves and ocean. Both are made of water but a particular form restricts the wave. All waves are different. Wave is diversity and ocean is unity, but remembers wave comes from ocean and not vice versa. Chinese Taoist calls this special wave quality virtue.

Tao produces life (all things)
Virtue feeds life;
All of them appear in different forms;
Each is perfected by given power.

When we preserve our form, our special intelligence, our life is meaningful and makes a difference. People with high SI know their calling and use and nurture their special quality effectively. They are not copycats and this is why they really make a difference in the world. This is the real meaning of success. Some of the by` products of success are money, fame and position.

Law 3-Ordered change:

The third law states -the world changes every moment. The Hindi word  Jagat  ( world) means “ to move “.and it is through movement the world  sustained. If movement stops there is no universe – just as when we stop inhaling and exhaling there we will be dead. This movement ordered as per the triune principle of  Brahma ( Creator),Vishnu ( sustainer) and Shiva(destroyer ) . Together they keep the universe ordered ( rta) .

Brahma is the creative principle, Vishnu sustains and supports the creation, and dissipation is Shiva . All innovations, inventions, creativity is Brahma.  Growth and reaping profits (tangible and intangible) is Vishnu. When stagnation sets Shiva destroys and makes way for new creation. Usually people are critical and unsure of new, but they enjoy when something is well established and suffer when the old order is going. People with high SI do well in all the three stages.  They never lose their balance because they are over excited with success or become shattered in the face of failures. They take the normal ebb and flow of the tide with energy, focus and motivation.

HOW CAN ORGNIZATIONS NURTURE SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE IN EMPLOYEES?

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