Emotional Self-Knowledge and Emotional Intelligence -- The Vedanta View

Emotional intelligence has become a buzzword. Recognizing emotions, managing them, having empathy. All valid. But Vedanta asks: is that enough?

What Psychology Offers

Emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995) is the ability to: - Recognize your emotions - Manage emotional reactions - Motivate yourself - Recognize emotions in others - Manage relationships

All of this is useful and necessary. It improves professional, personal and social life.

Where Vedanta Goes Further

Vedanta does not deny the importance of dealing with emotions. But it asks a radical question: who is the one having the emotions?

You say "I am angry." Vedanta asks: are you anger? Or is anger something happening in you?

If anger is something happening in you -- like a cloud passing through the sky -- then you are not the anger. You are the space (the sky) where anger appears and disappears.

The Practical Difference

• Emotional intelligence: manages emotions better
• Vedantic self-knowledge: discovers that you are not the emotions

This does not make emotional intelligence useless. It makes it a tool -- useful, but partial. Complete self-knowledge goes beyond managing emotions. It reveals who the manager is.

The Path

Develop emotional intelligence -- it is necessary for living well. And then, when you are ready, investigate deeper: who are you beyond the emotions?