Emotional Intelligence and Spirituality: A Review

It is generally believed that people with high I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) better accomplish in life. But some recent researches indicate that people’s EI (emotional intelligence) and SI (spiritual intelligence) might be greater predictors of success than their I.Q. (Goleman, 1995). ‘EI’ is the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions. ‘Spirituality’ is the basic feeling of being connected with one’s complete self, others, and the entire universe. This study reviewed the previous researches which explored association between emotional intelligence and spirituality. Sample size is 40 published articles, over the period 1998-2012. Findings of this study are EI and SI is associated with lower level of stress and better health outcomes and has a positive impact on psychological as well as physical health functioning, and also plays a better role in context of education and organization.