There is a great truth hidden behind the following Zen story. Of how a burden can be made and used as a bridge for progress. A Zen master watches an ant carrying a piece of straw that seems too a big burden for it. The ant, he says, comes to a crack in the Earth; it is too wide for it to cross. The ant stands for a while pondering over the situation; it then places the straw across the crack and walks over it.
Spiritual development has long been considered a stack in management parlance. In the 1990s, only two per cent of US corporates’ annual allocation [US$2bn], for training and development, was spent on spiritual development programmes.
Interestingly, the new millennium is proving to be different. Why? Because, the theory of collective consciousness has meaningfully emerged and aroused us, more than ever before — and, for all the right reasons.
NO MONKEY BUSINESS
Researchers in Japan observed monkeys on a remote island, feeding on sweet potatoes. The monkeys were used to digging out the sweet potatoes from the sand and eating them directly. The researchers taught one of the monkeys to wash the sweet potatoes in seawater, before consuming it. Soon, it was found that all the monkeys on that island, off the coast of Japan, followed suit — they were washing the sweet potatoes before consuming them.
However, another group of this research team was keenly observing monkeys, hundreds of km away from the main island. They found that after the number of monkeys washing sweet potatoes had crossed the critical mass, all the monkeys, in all the islands, spread over a radius of hundreds of km, were washing the sweet potatoes before consuming them. This is the power of the theory of collective consciousness.
Let’s take a common example. When a popular meditative group reaches critical mass, following meditation programmes, all human beings will embark on the meditative practice — thanks to collective consciousness.
FIRST STEPS
I first recognised the prospect, when my company [PhenoMenon Consultants Inc.,] started ZeNLP meditation workshops in Bengaluru, in 1995. Our company now has reams of researched data on the effects of group meditation vis-à-vis productivity, harmonious industrial relations, team-work and motivational levels. The findings are in tune with corporate expectations. What’s more, most Fortune 500 multinationals are now adopting our strategies to enhancing productivity, improving IR, and building more effective and efficient teams.
Today, we are increasingly moving towards critical mass. What’s more, even Americans are changing their buzzword from IQ [intelligence quotient] and EQ [emotional quotient] to SQ [spiritual quotient]. Well, as we move yet another step in our evolution, our awareness and need for spiritual development are expanding among managers too. Almost every second person, as we all know, is now talking about Reiki, pranic healing, vástu, Feng shui, Zen meditation, transcendental meditation [TM], or energy medicine.
It also goes without saying that the need for spiritual empowerment will grow in number, before taking the quantum leap… more so, after crossing the critical mass. It would, therefore, be imperative for all of us to obtain a high SQ. This will help us to be more effective and efficient in our designated roles.
Now, the best part: the fact remains that Indian companies are at an advantage. India is the global leader in Spiritual Renaissance. Our ancient scriptures, as all of us know, are advanced treasure troves for spiritual empowerment.
NEED FOR SQ
In the future, companies will be keyed to measuring the spiritual quotient of associates/employees in a routine manner. Like health check-ups. Special workshops will be a part, too — to maintain, or improve, upon this score. It may also be highlighted that only those companies that recognise the trend early, and reschedule their training activities around SQ, will survive imminent tumults in the next decade.
Please allow me to invite you [and, also companies] to be pro-active rather than reactive — and, take the first step towards spiritually empowering yourself/employees. This invite is a serious, fun thing to do. More so, because, getting to know your SQ isn’t complex. It is easy.
All you need to do, as readers of The Integrative Post, is fill up the following SQ Questionnaire and E-mail it to us on the E-address given below this Form — to ‘know’ your Spiritual Quotient.
YOUR SPIRITUAL QUOTIENT SUBMISSION FORM
Name:
Date of Birth:
Residential Address:
City:
PIN:
E-mail:
[Circle/tick against choice most applicable to you].- Do you meditate?
YES NO
________________ [Any other]
- If yes, how often do you meditate?
Once a day. Once a week. Once a month
________________ [Any other]
- Do you fast?
YES NO
- If yes, how often do you fast?
Once a day. Once a week. Once a month.
________________ [Any other]
- Have you planted a tree?
YES NO
- If yes, how many trees have you planted in your life?
1 1 to 10. 11 to 100
________________ [Any other]
- Do you pray?
YES NO
- If yes, how often do you pray?
Daily. Once a week. Once a month ________________ [Any other]
- Are you aware about the existence of chakras in the body?
YES NO
- If yes, how many chakras exist in our body?
Three. Five. Seven ________________ [Any other]
- Are you aware about the concept of Kundalini Shakti?
YES NO
- If yes, what is Kundalini?
A mantra. A chakra. Latent energy ________________ [Any other]
- Have you been formally trained in spiritual disciplines?
YES NO
- If yes, what have you learnt?
ZeNLP. Reiki. Pranic Healing. Yoga. TM. Sufi Meditation
________________ [Any other]
- Can group meditation at the shop-floor level contribute to increased productivity?
YES NO
- If yes, would you like more information on such a meditative practice?
YES NO
- Can soothing spiritual music, during working hours, contribute to increased productivity?
YES NO
I now have a question for you, dear reader. How many of you will read this questionnaire, or take time off, to fill-in our 17 simple questions, for analysis? Wait a minute. The question is answered in the Zen story below.
An ocean liner is built so the captain can, by pressing a button, lower steel doors separating one airtight bulkhead from another. If the hull gets pierced during a disaster, this keeps the ship stay afloat. In the voyage of life, one should learn how to make doors come down and also shut out the yesterdays with all their errors and failures. One should learn to shut out the unborn tomorrows too, so that you can live for this day alone, in the present-moment. Also, as one moves into the next ‘bulkhead,’ you’d do well to close the doors that will shut out the past and the future too.
What are you waiting for? Make today the first day of your new life. Discover your SQ. Because, finding out your SQ is easy — just fill-in the above questionnaire and E-mail it to us at: tips4ceos@gmail.com
SPECIAL OFFER. Readers of The Integrative Post, who E-submit their all-complete SQ Questionnaire, will receive a detailed computerised analysis of their spiritual quotient, along with measures to improve their SQ, from Tips4ceos, pronto.
[Note: The ZeNLP stories, in this piece, have been deftly and appropriately woven — to touch your emotions and ‘programme’ your unconscious mind].