Emotional Intelligence Through the Lens of Gurbani: A Spiritual and Psychological Perspective

Gurbani, the sacred scripture of Sikhism, offers timeless wisdom on cultivating emotional intelligence in enhancing both personal growth and social harmony. The present review explores the conceptual and practical alignment between Gurbani and Emotional Intelligence (EI), as recognized in modern psychology, and the spiritual insights embedded in Gurbani. Drawing from Daniel Goleman’s EI model and the teachings from Guru Granth Sahib, the paper synthesizes how Sikh spirituality fosters emotional awareness, regulation, empathy, and resilience. It also identifies Gurbani’s unique contributions to EI, emphasizing the holistic development of the self-rooted in divine consciousness. The spiritual scripture of the Sikhs, primarily found in the Guru Granth Sahib, offers profound guidance on inner growth, self- realization, and compassionate living-aligning closely with these EI components. Although Sikh philosophy and Gurbani have long emphasized introspection, emotional regulation, and compassion, systematic empirical research connecting these teachings with modern Emotional Intelligence (EI) constructs remains in its infancy and needs further exploration and validation. This is a humble effort by authors to synthesize existing literature, presents case illustrations and propose avenues for future empirical validation and implications.