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Spiritual Intelligence as in Nichiren Buddhism: Implications for Consciousness-Based Leadership and Management

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Abstract

Spiritual intelligence (SI) has been gaining popularity as a concept among academicians and the general public since its inception. In the COVID world, many people are suffering from the problems of stress, anxiety and depression, and SI presents a promising solution. It is often confused with spirituality. We tried to highlight their difference by separately defining them. Though many attempts have been made to conceptualize SI by researchers worldwide, efforts to define it from Nichiren Buddhism are limited. This study aims to fill this gap. It’s an exploratory study based on qualitative research methods using ‘Gosho’ as the data source. Inductive content analysis is used to analyze the data. A total of seven themes emerged for SI, suggesting that we can achieve “absolute happiness”. Further, a multilayered model is proposed to represent the themes. This article discusses the implications of SI for conscious leadership and ends with future research directions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.searo.who.int/india/depression_in_india.pdf, April 2020.

  2. 2.

    https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/buddha, June 2019.

  3. 3.

    The ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/wisdom, October 2021.

  4. 4.

    https://www.lexico.com/definition/spirituality, October 2020.

  5. 5.

    https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/intelligence, April 2019.

  6. 6.

    https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/T/143, June 2019.

  7. 7.

    https://www.sokaglobal.org/about-the-soka-gakkai/at-a-glance/a-global-organization.html, April 2021.

  8. 8.

    https://www.sokaglobal.org/practicing-buddhism/nam-myoho-renge-kyo.html, October 2021.

  9. 9.

    https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/N/11, October 2021.

  10. 10.

    https://www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-writings/on-practice.html, June 2019.

  11. 11.

    https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/F/228#para-0, June 2019.

  12. 12.

    https://www.sokaglobal.org/about-the-soka-gakkai/buddhist-lineage/nichiren.html, October 2021.

  13. 13.

    https://www.ikedacenter.org/about/core-convictions/one, October 2021.

  14. 14.

    https://www.dalailama.com/messages/compassion-and-human-values/compassion, October 2021.

  15. 15.

    https://www.lionsroar.com/christof-koch-unites-buddhist-neuroscience-universal-nature-mind/, October 2021.

  16. 16.

    SGI President, Ikeda, D. (2014). The New Human Revolution (Vol. 26). Middleway Press, 39.

  17. 17.

    Appendix A, code-8, Food and Health, for mental health.

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Author notes

  1. Richa Awasthy

    Present address: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi, Delhi, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University Delhi, Delhi, India

    Richa Kathuria

  2. Management Development Institute, Gurugram, India

    Tanuja Sharma

Authors
  1. Richa Kathuria
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  2. Richa Awasthy
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  3. Tanuja Sharma
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Correspondence to Richa Kathuria .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA, USA

    Anil K. Maheshwari

Appendix A

Appendix A

Codes with supporting verbatim from Gosho (WND-1 and 2, Writings of Nichiren Daishonin volume 1 or 2) with page numbers as ‘p’ (Table 13.6).

Table 13.6 Codes and related verbatim from Gosho
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Kathuria, R., Awasthy, R., Sharma, T. (2023). Spiritual Intelligence as in Nichiren Buddhism: Implications for Consciousness-Based Leadership and Management. In: Maheshwari, A.K. (eds) Consciousness-Based Leadership and Management, Volume 1. Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06234-6_13

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