Classical Perspectives of Wholeness/Spiritual Intelligence

This chapter provides an overview of the classical perspectives of spiritual intelligence. Although there is very little empirical research on spiritual intelligence, the classical literature provides a wealth of knowledge and perspectives on spiritual intelligence and its various aspects, especially one based on wholeness. Reviewing the classic spirituality literature, I identified the salient contributions on the topic of spiritual intelligence focused on the idea of wholeness from Lao-Tzu, Ken Wilber, Aurobindo Ghosh, Jalaludin Rumi, Martin Buber, and Thomas Merton to help inform the topic of this book. I reviewed these literature sources based on the criteria that they transcend the boundaries of any particular religious tradition, although they are rooted in a specific religious tradition. Although there are other classical perspectives and contributions of spiritual intelligence, such as the writings of Teilhard de Chardin, the Cloud of Unknowing, Philokalia, and others, I chose these five sources since they focus on the concepts of wholeness and nonduality, and individual contemplation with community work, which is crucial for wholesome leadership. In the following section, I briefly discuss the five perspectives: Tao of wholeness, Wilber’s integral spectrum of consciousness, Aurobindo’s spiritual evolution, Rumi’s love and wholeness, and Merton’s concept of solitude and solidarity, and Martin Buber’s I-Thou Relationship, to illuminate the idea of spiritual intelligence in the context of contemporary leadership.