Exploring Advaita as an Essential Basis for Spiritual Leadership

Abstract

Developing leaders who are not only effective in their assigned leadership roles but also believe in their accountability for right actions and hold a high sense of interpersonal sensitivity toward the people they manage is important considering the leadership challenges faced by organizations all over the world. In this context, the present study critically reviews the existing models of spiritual leadership and emotional intelligence by exploring the mediating role of Advaita in spiritual and consciousness-based leadership. Based on the review, this paper proposes a new model of spiritual leadership which underlines the significance of Advaita consciousness and offers pragmatic suggestions on how it could be implemented by new age leaders. Advaita is an ancient Indian doctrine of Collective Consciousness propounded in Indian ‘Vedic literature’. The objective of the study is to examine various dimensions of the principle of Advaita and its relevance in modern times to cultivate effective spiritual leadership. In the process, the study comprehensively explores the concepts of consciousness and Advaita through an extensive literature review of various ancient scriptures as well as research works of modern scholars and through that tries to explain its applicability as an essential dimension of spiritual leadership. The study also attempts to examine the role of meditation as a tool in fortifying the experience of universal oneness, i.e., Advaita. It discusses the significance of the Advaita philosophy and Advaita experience through meditation for developing effective spiritual leadership. It also deliberates on how the Advaita experience can help us develop interpersonal sensitivity and empathy, and thereby our emotional and social intelligences. A new model of consciousness-based spiritual leadership is proposed as an outcome of the study based on the doctrine of Advaita consciousness and the existing models of spiritual leadership and Emotional Intelligence.