Here is soemthing food for thought for all of us.
We all talk of IQ and EQ in interviews, selection, performance evaluation etc etc.
But what about SQ - Spiritual Quotient?
Here is an excerpt from Danah Zohar's book - Spiritual Intelligence-the ultimate intelligence.
Read and let us debate on whether this is to be considered necessary for organisations, HR etc or shall we ignore this saying that it is too utopian?
Quote:
Danah Zohar in her latest book 'Spiritual Intelligence-the ultimate intelligence' rightly points out that development of IQ (Intelligece Quotient) or EQ (Emotional-Quotient) is not enough, SQ- (spiritual quotient) is very important for ultimate success and fulfillment in life. To illustrate she gives a beautiful example.
An American businessman was standing on the jetty of a Mexican coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellowfintuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it had taken to catch them.
The Mexican replied, 'Only a little while.'
The American then inquired why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish.
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked, ' But what do you do with the rest of your time?'
The Mexican Said, ' I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Senor.'
The American scoffed, ' I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York, where you would run your expanding enterprise.'
The Mexican fisherman asked, 'But Senor, how long would this take?'
To which the American replied, 'Fifteen to twenty years.'
'But what then, Senor?'
The American laughed and said that was the best part. 'When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.'
'Millions, Senor? Then What?'
The American said, 'Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.'
Unquote:
Commenting on this example, Danah Zohar states further that:
Quote:
"We can easily see that the American businessman in this story is spiritually dumb, while the Mexican fisherman is spiritually intelligent.
Why?
The fisherman has an intelligent sense of his own deep life's purposes, his own deepest motivations. He has evolved a lifestyle that meets his own and his family's needs, he takes time for the things that matter to him, he is at peace, he is centered.
The American businessman, on the other hand, is a child of his own spiritually damb culture. He is driven, he has to achieve for the sake of achievement, he is out of touch with those things in life that deeply motivate someone like the fisherman, he has absorbed goals that make no sense just because he learned them at Harvard. The fisherman will most likely live a long life and die at peace. The businessman is set for a coronary at fifty-five and will die feeling he never achieved his goal."
Unquote:
Note the sentence "achieve for teh sake of achievement"!!!!
Don't many of us do this atleast once in a while?
Best Regards
Bala
We all talk of IQ and EQ in interviews, selection, performance evaluation etc etc.
But what about SQ - Spiritual Quotient?
Here is an excerpt from Danah Zohar's book - Spiritual Intelligence-the ultimate intelligence.
Read and let us debate on whether this is to be considered necessary for organisations, HR etc or shall we ignore this saying that it is too utopian?
Quote:
Danah Zohar in her latest book 'Spiritual Intelligence-the ultimate intelligence' rightly points out that development of IQ (Intelligece Quotient) or EQ (Emotional-Quotient) is not enough, SQ- (spiritual quotient) is very important for ultimate success and fulfillment in life. To illustrate she gives a beautiful example.
An American businessman was standing on the jetty of a Mexican coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellowfintuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it had taken to catch them.
The Mexican replied, 'Only a little while.'
The American then inquired why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish.
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked, ' But what do you do with the rest of your time?'
The Mexican Said, ' I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Senor.'
The American scoffed, ' I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York, where you would run your expanding enterprise.'
The Mexican fisherman asked, 'But Senor, how long would this take?'
To which the American replied, 'Fifteen to twenty years.'
'But what then, Senor?'
The American laughed and said that was the best part. 'When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.'
'Millions, Senor? Then What?'
The American said, 'Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.'
Unquote:
Commenting on this example, Danah Zohar states further that:
Quote:
"We can easily see that the American businessman in this story is spiritually dumb, while the Mexican fisherman is spiritually intelligent.
Why?
The fisherman has an intelligent sense of his own deep life's purposes, his own deepest motivations. He has evolved a lifestyle that meets his own and his family's needs, he takes time for the things that matter to him, he is at peace, he is centered.
The American businessman, on the other hand, is a child of his own spiritually damb culture. He is driven, he has to achieve for the sake of achievement, he is out of touch with those things in life that deeply motivate someone like the fisherman, he has absorbed goals that make no sense just because he learned them at Harvard. The fisherman will most likely live a long life and die at peace. The businessman is set for a coronary at fifty-five and will die feeling he never achieved his goal."
Unquote:
Note the sentence "achieve for teh sake of achievement"!!!!
Don't many of us do this atleast once in a while?
Best Regards
Bala