Emotions – II; Pujya Gurudev

Intelligence vs Emotions

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Cultural values are related to the norms of a society, but they are more general and abstract than norms. Norms are rules for behavior in specific situations, while values identify what should be judged as good or bad. Flying the national flag on a national holiday is a norm, but it also reflects the value of patriotism. Wearing dark clothing and appearing solemn are normative behaviors at a funeral. They reflect the values of respect and support of friends and family.

Members of a society take part in a culture even if their personal values do not entirely agree with some of the normative values sanctioned in the culture. This reflects an individual's ability to synthesize and extract aspects valuable to him from the multiple subcultures he belongs to. As a wise member of a society, group or community, an individual can hold both a personal value system and a socio-cultural value system at the same time.

In case of serious conflicts, while ideally preference for the welfare and collective well-being of the community takes precedence over individual rights (personal values), in general, an emotionally mature person would try to maintain harmony and choose a balanced path to begin with. Similarly, for efficient management between self, family/society and professional duties, one needs to have emotional wisdom. But how does one attain a high EQ ? This is where spirituality plays a key role.

Spirituality, as explained by Pandit Shriram Sharma ^{[3, 4]} is an evolved, enlightened psychology and the preeminent science of life-management. He therefore envisaged and launched the Vichar Kranti Abhiyan (Thought-Revolution) in the light of scientific spirituality as an epochal movement of the present era. Here we outline ony some practicable guidelines derived from his teachings.

Key to Improvement of EQ :Daily self introspection to avoid mistakes, to overcome shortcomings of today and to resolve feasible plans for execution of something that improves self-behavior or action tomorrow — this simple practice of ten minutes before sleep and five minutes before leaving the bed works like effective autosuggestion. It induces courage, self-confidence and emotional stability with gradually increasing impact. Yoga-practices of prañayama and meditation lend essential support for calming of mind. Balanced diet, physical exercises and self-restraint ( swayam ) are prerequisite for best effects. Emotional depth and enlightenment are then achieved through sincere practice of Upasana – inculcation of sensitivity and invocation of divine thoughts and qualities hidden in the inner self by heart-felt prayers, meditative practices andSadhana – refinement of thoughts and deeds, self-transformation by self-determination in light of the teachings of spiritually illumined sages, and noble works of great personalities. Aradhana – admiring and beautifying God’s creation by helping the needy and making thoughtful use of time, talent and resources with a cheerful and caring attitude for uplifting of more and more people.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma