Santa Ana, CA, US: On Saturday morning, Sister Usha shared on the topic of “Increasing the Spiritual Quotient,” at the Common Ground Temple in Santa Ana, CA. It was a beautiful and deep class, and everyone in the hall took a lot of inspiration from what she shared. Sister Haleema, the instrument of Seal Beach center, introduced the organization and Sister Usha to the audience.
Sister Usha shared that in this world, it was first recognized that we needed a high I.Q.(Intelligence Quotient). Then people realized that we also needed a good E.Q. (Emotional Quotient). She said that our I.Q. and E.Q. need to be balanced.Then people realized that it’s not just that we need to have I.Q. and E.Q., but we also need M.Q. (Moral Quotient), which is operating with moral values and appreciating the moral values of others.
She said ultimately, people have understood that we need to have a high S.Q. (Spiritual Quotient). SQ is the combination of IQ + EQ + MQ, plus spiritual awareness.As stress increases in the world, we need to increase our strength and spiritual immunity (and therefore spiritual quotient).The first step to having spiritual quotient is to be aware of the true self, as a soul.
Sister Usha then talked about how to nourish ourself spiritually and raise our spiritual quotient. She said that when the spiritual self and physical self are combined, that is called life. Just as we take care of the body, we also need to take care of the soul. We need nourishment, exercise, and rest for both the body and soul.
She shared that the food for the soul is spiritual wisdom. Spiritual thoughts are the best nourishment for the soul. Knowledge is power, light, and might. Knowledge gives us strength because when we digest knowledge, it gives us spiritual immunity and maturity.Sister Usha said just as we need spiritual nourishment; we also need spiritual exercise for the soul. Exercise is practicing the spiritual knowledge that we receive; this also gives strength to the soul and increases our spiritual quotient.
Lastly, she said that the soul also needs to have rest. Meditation gives rest to the soul because we relax the mind and generate empowering thoughts and recharge the battery from within by connecting to the Supreme Source of power, the Supreme Battery.
Then she gave everyone a yukti to increase their S.Q. She said that we could use the word OM, to remind ourselves that we need to use spiritual knowledge at every step, thereby increasing our spiritual quotient. Om is AUM and can stand for our Actions, Utterance and Mind. All three have to be in harmony…thoughts, words, and actions. This is exercise and also gives rest to our mind. So when we say Om Shanti, we first become aware of our thoughts, words, and actions are in harmony…only then will we be able to experience peace in life and truly be AUM Shanti.
A powerful guided meditation followed this deep and insightful discourse. Then everyone took toli and blessings from Sisters Usha, Pravina and Gita.
