Vidushi Dixit, Department of Psychology, Banasthali University, Banasthali, Niwai, Tonk, Rajasthan-304022, India.
Gurpreet Kaur, Defence Institute of Psychological Research, DRDO, Lucknow Road, Timarpur,Delhi – 110054.
Vinod K Shanwal, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida – 201310. India.
Received on 17-Nov-2016, Accepted on: 15 Dec 2016. Published on: 4-Jan-2017
ABSTRACT
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the topic of concern for the last six decades. The existence and promotion of EI skills in Indian society from ancient times were explored through popular collection of Indian folklore, such as Panchatantra, Hitopdesha and Jatakas. The cultural literatures including the religious texts play a significant role as people believed in imbibing it. But due to scarcity of text, people developed different types of folklores. The main objective behind creating folklore was to champion the core values and promote the holistic development of the society. The most common competencies observed in the folktales were perception, understanding, and managing emotions of other’s. Abilities repeatedly mentioned in the stories were considered necessary for a person to grow as socially adept individual. Moral teachings from the stories of panchtantra, hitopdesha and others provided evidence in favor of the emphasis laid on the skills related to EI in the folktales. It also helps in concluding that emotional intelligence is not a new concept in India rather it was one of the prime concerns of the ancestors to guide their children and young people in growing as a healthy,mature and responsible individual of the society.
Introduction
Goleman1 in his bestselling book “EI: Why it can matter more than IQ? made a claim about the importance of Emotional Intelligence (EI) by comparing it with Intelligence Quotient (IQ). According to Goleman, if IQ contributed up to 20% of life’s success, the remaining was contributed by other factors. He emphasized about the significant contribution of EI to success at home, at school and at work.2 In other studies it was found that people with highly developed EI are more successful because they can understand their own emotions, reasons behind their behavior and use their emotions as clues. Emotionally intelligent people understand others emotions and their point of views. Along with this, these people are healthier, happier and enjoy better relationships with others.3 Recent studies indicate that at the individual level, EI relates to academic achievement, work performance, ability to communicate effectively, solve everyday problems, and build meaningful interpersonal relationships. Emotional intelligence has the potential to increase the understanding of how individuals behave and adapt to their social environment. Research has led to the understanding that emotions often provide individuals with valuable information about their social environment. 4 The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) has garnered interest both in the lay as well as in scientific fields.5 In the western world, the term emotional intelligence was first used in 1960s in literary criticism and psychiatry. About two decades later Payne6 in his study of emotion discussed developing emotional intelligence. Further, in 1990, Mayer and Salovey wrote articles in which they defined EI, developed a theory and demonstrated its measures.7 Later, the term EI got popularized by Daniel Goleman in the book “Emotional Intelligence” regarding the influences of these zbilities upon many areas of life.1 But in the Indian culture, the concept of EI was evident from ancient times in the form of religious texts, folklores, teachings and in families that directly or indirectly emphasized effective management of emotions. In India, social competence, hard work and emotional control are seen as components of intelligence.8 According to Sibia, Srivastava and Misra9 the concept of impulse control in the Indian context is related to jitendriya, nishkam karma and the tradition of yoga, all of which emphasize regulation of emotions. For instance, certain religious practices like Vratas help an individual to control and regulate one’s emotions. Similarly other cultural traditions and moral values provide a framework for evelopment of emotional competencies. Therefore, it doesn’t seem feasible in the Indian context to speak about regulation of emotions in the absence of highly valued social concerns, virtues, religious traditions and customs. The existing literature and researches across the globe ensure the presence and utility of emotional intelligence in the life of each and every individual. The present paper is an attempt to elucidate the existence of emotional intelligence in the Indian folktales narrated from ancient times. The paper describes emotional intelligence, its models, emotional intelligence in India, significance of Indian.
Integrated Journal of Social Sciences
Folklores, its characteristics, categories and evidence of presence of skills related to emotional intelligence in the Indian folktales. In a study, Abraham10 described three components of EI. The first component referred to the accurate appraisal and expression of emotions both in self and others. The second component involved an adaptive regulation of emotions and the last one included the ability to use knowledge to solve problems. Thus, EI was defined as the ability that motivated a person to pursue his unique potential and purpose, and actuated his innermost values and aspirations transforming them from thoughts to what he experienced. 9 Later Mayer & Salovey12 combined emotions with intelligence, and considered it as “reasoning that takes emotions into account”. They defined EI as “the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth”. Therefore a person who possesses these abilities is considered a well-adjusted and emotionally skilled individual. 9 While showing some unique variances, the abilities defined by emotional intelligence are interrelated and are also related to pre-existing intelligences. Emotionally intelligent person is an effective manger of his own emotions, possess effective leadership qualities and also capable of executing higher cognitive abilities. But everything or anything that connects cognition to emotion cannot be necessarily termed as EI. Congruent judgments and emotional self-control do not essentially improve the quality of a person’s emotion or intelligence. EI may also refer to heightened emotional or mental abilities, it is a mental skill to understand one’s own and others’ emotions from traits such as being sociable or warm. Sibia, Srivastava and Misra9 in Emotional Intelligence: Western and Indian perspectives mentioned that Scarr considered EI as real intelligence and explained that along with the traits of sociability, trustworthiness and warmth, there are actual abilities which involve considerable thinking such as knowing what another person is feeling, which could ultimately be considered as intelligence. According to Mayer and Salovey12EI is partly innate, while part of it is driven by experiences. The experiential part of EI may improve through efforts, practice and experiences. The abilities of EI develop with age and experience.9 EI constitutes a set of skills and competencies that can be both taught and learned, such that a person may become better educated emotionally. A number of concepts like intrapersonal intelligence, experiential intelligence and emotional competence have provided the basis for the development of the concept of EI. To facilitate the conceptual understanding of EI and distinguish it from other related concepts, the following sections present a brief discussion of these concepts.
Interpersonal Intelligence
Interpersonal Intelligence involves control of desires, recognizing and responding to other’s thoughts and feelings, knowledge of rules and strategies to resolve conflicts, organizing oneself and making group decisions. People with strong interpersonal intelligence have good understanding and are also good in interacting with other people. These individuals are skilled at assessing the emotions, motivations, desires and intentions of people around them and then use this information to mold their approach of interacting with others. Most common characteristics of such people are that they are good in communicating verbally, are skilled at nonverbal communication, perceive situations from different perspectives, create positive relationships with others and are good at resolving conflict in groups. The development of interpersonal intelligence depends upon social, contextual, cultural as well as biological factors. For example Martin Luther King, Jr., Aristotle, Mother Teresa etc. are significant figures that had high interpersonal intelligence. They were easily able to interact with and understand those around them. Therefore, interpersonal intelligence can also be considered to facilitate emotional intelligence.13
Experiential Intelligence
David Kolb being influenced by the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget, proposed a theory. According to Kolb, experiential learning can be defined as "the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of grasping and transforming experience". Therefore, experiential learning involves learning from experience. In the model, Kolb described two different ways of acquiring experience, namely concrete experience and abstract conceptualization. He also identified two ways of transforming experience. They are reflective observation and active experimentation. These four modes of learning are often portrayed as a cycle.14 Experiential learning facilitates development of experiential intelligence. According to David Perkins, 15 experiential intelligence refers to one's accumulated knowledge and experiences in different areas of life. Experiential intelligence is based on accumulated knowledge and experience in both informal and formal learning environments. Such knowledge and experience can lead to a high level of expertise in one or more fields. People who live in learning environments have a significant advantage over people who grow up in less stimulating environments. Experiential intelligence can be increased by such environments.15 Epstein16 also argued that besides rational intelligence, there is an experiential intelligence which cannot be measured by IQ tests. The rational mind learns by abstracting, analyzing, reasoning etc., whereas the experiential mind learns directly from experience and operates on the basis of past experiences. It is considered vital because it automatically interprets what is going on, how one feels, and what should be done. The way experiential mind enhances basic life skills, it influences everyday effectiveness and success (dealing with emotions, getting along with people, solving practical problems), in a way acts as an important part of emotional intelligence.
Emotional Competence
Similar to experiential and interpersonal intelligence, emotional competence is also another concept closely related to emotional intelligence. Emotional competence is the ability to understand, manage and express the social and emotional aspects in ways that enable successful management of life.17 Keltner and Haidt18 considered emotional competencies important for social interaction because emotions serve as communication and social functions, conveying information about people’s thoughts, intentions and coordinating social encounters. As emotional responses are learned messages about cultural values, norms, relationships etc., these can be assumed to have social meanings. EI is related to the demonstration of self-efficacy in emotion eliciting social transactions. 19 Self-efficacy and emotions eliciting social interactions are considered central to the emotionally 19 Emotional competence addresses “the issue of ‘emotion’ related capacities and abilities needed by people to engage with the changing environment so as to emerge as more differentiated, better adapted, effective and confident person”. However, the adaptive use of emotion related capacities and abilities are linked to the specific cultural context and vary across individuals. Saarni19 integrated emotional competence with wisdom, sympathy, self-control, fairness and a sense of reciprocity. This is in contrast to Mayer and Salovey’s12 stress on EI as an ability which is not related to traits and talents of individuals. Emotional skills are “capacities and abilities which cannot be divorced from a moral sense or moral character and involves doing the right thing”. An individual’s moral disposition is related to his sense of emotional self efficacy.
Emotions contribute to thought and are also linked to personality. The notion of EI is grounded in emotional reasoning. It is seen as a part of social intelligence though it is clearly distinguished from motivational intelligence. EI, according to the western view, is a mental ability or skill to be acquired by an individual through the hierarchical progression of the mental abilities. It is distinguished from socially valuable traits like warmth, trustworthiness and sociability. According to this view of EI, an individual is competent or successful if he can regulate the external environment. The direction of emotion regulation is outward i.e. changing the environment for personal benefit.9 On the basis of the above literature, it can be said that EI is one of the most essential mental skill, required to understand one’s own and other’s emotions which in turn facilitates the overall development of an individual’s personality ranging from personal to professional and social grounds.
While acquiring skills related to EI, the individualistic and collectivistic cultural aspects influence the development of these skills. Gayathri and K20 in a paper mentioned that culture plays a significant role in deciding a person’s response to any given situation and it has been recognized that basic psychological processes depend on socio-cultural practices and meanings.21 In individualistic society the self-concept is defined in "individual" or trait terms, whereas in a collectivistic society an individual is defined with reference to a societal and cultural context. Collectivistic societies emphasize characteristics such as priority to group goals for attaining individual goals; concern for how one action will impact group members; tendency to share resources within group members; and in these societies social behavioris strongly influenced by rules.22,23 Allocentrics or the collectivists have an interdependent self – construal, 24 are concerned with social support and report low alienation whereas idiocentrics or the individualists have an independent self-construal, they focus on achievement, and multiple group memberships.25 Markus24,26 suggested that cultural context influences an individual by shaping their self-concept which guides the behavior27and also influences emotional intelligence. The overt expression of emotions such as anger, frustration, and pride are particularly restrained in interdependent cultures. In contrast, expression and experience of these emotions is considered essential for being effective in individualistic cultures. 28
EI in the Indian context cannot be viewed as a mental ability devoid of social concerns like respecting elders, concern for others and fulfilling one’s duties. These along with the moral values of ahimsa, kindness and benevolence, provide the very basis for emotional expression and responsibility. These culture specific ways of behaving are basic to the notion of EI. It is due to these reasons that individuals approach emotions differently across cultures, subcultures and within societies or families.
In eastern culture, the regulation of emotion is directed inwards. Individuals attempt to change their behaviors, actions etc., and adapt themselves to the environment. Thus the need of others takes precedence over personal, social and environmental values. But the direction of emotion regulation in western culture is directed outwards, which means that individual is considered competent if he/she is able to regulate the external environment for personal benefits. Similar to emotion regulation other skills of EI are also affected by cultural aspects.
Emotional Intelligence in Western perspective
In western perspective, the concept of EI was explained in terms of models. The proposed scientific models pose theoretical explanations of the components included in the concept of emotional intelligence. These theoretical approaches or models try to discover the emotional components that underlie emotionally intelligent people, the mechanisms and the processes that set off the use of these abilities in everyday life. Various psychologists have suggested different models of emotional intelligence. Among which, three of which are accepted by the scientific committee namely, the ability model of Mayer and Salovey, 12 Emotional Social Intelligence (ESI) model given by Bar On29,30 and Emotional Competence model suggested by Goleman.31The following section describes the models as well as the rationale behind the popularity of these three models.
The ability model of Mayer and Salovey is popular because of three reasons. Firstly, it has the solid and justified theoretical base; secondly it emphasizes the novelty of the measurement and finally the systematic evaluation and support by empirical data obtained from basic and applied fields. This approach proposes a theory of emotional intelligence constituting four interrelated abilities i.e. perceiving and expressing emotions, using emotions to facilitate thinking, understanding emotions and managing emotions in self and others. 12,32,33 These abilities influence one’s capacity to handle conflicts, manage stress, create a productive work environment, communicate feelings more effectively and develop as an emotionally productive individual.
Another model known as Emotional Social Intelligence model was suggested by Bar-On. 29 This approach is considered to be wider and more comprehensive than Mayer and Salovey’s model. According to Bar-On34, emotional social intelligence is a cross-section of interrelated emotional and social competencies and skills that determine how effectively an individual understand others, relates with them and cope with daily demands. According to this model emotional intelligence comes by implicitly mixing non-ability traits with the ability ones. The five broad areas of functioning relevant to adaptation are intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, adaptability skills, stress management skills and general mood.
The third model of EI focuses on the competencies essential at the workplace, suggested by Goleman. 35 The model was created and adapted to predict the effectiveness and personal outcomes in the workplace and organizational fields. The model described that emotional intelligence was comprised of three personal competencies and two social competencies. The personal competencies included self-awareness, self-regulation and self-motivation whereas the two social competences included social awareness and social skills.
Emotional Intelligence in India
According to Sibia, Srivastava and Misra,9 contrary to western conceptualization of self, there exists a relational and situational sensitive understanding of self. Non-western societies like India, China, and Japan perceive a person connected to others and less differentiated from them. Thus, in Eastern perspective self is constructed as “interdependent” 24, “sociocentric”, “allocentric”36, “embedded”37 and “constitutive”. 38,39 The Indian view of self is characterized more as interdependent. Kitayamaet al.40 also noted that emotions are not distinct biological events, but are influenced and shaped through social, cultural and linguistic processes.According to Sibiaet al. 9 the “concept of emotional intelligence in the Indian context is embedded in its highly valued social concerns, virtues, religious traditions, and cultural practices”. In the Indian context, the person who is able to manage and regulate his emotions is called Jitendriya. The Indian concept of EI focuses on the role of significant others including the guru, family and larger society in shaping and developing one’s emotional intelligence.9 These moral values determine emotional responsivity which is culture specific. 12Certain traits valued in the Indian culture like respecting elders, caring, kindness, compassion and peacefulness involve typical emotional expressions. These are grounded in the cultural traditions and have been passed on from one generation to the next in various ways. As cited in Srivastava, Sibia, and Misra41considering the Indian cultural context, an indigenous model of emotional intelligence was proposed by Srivastava, Sibia and Misra. 42 The model has four dimensions: social sensitivity, prosocial values, action tendencies and affective states. The dimension of social sensitivity refers to the relationships between individuals, between individuals and groups and the way people relate to others, the pro-social values dimension emphasizes welfare of group rather than that of self, the dimension of action tendencies relate to the competencies such as punctuality, dedication, persistence with which an individual performs a task, and lastly the dimension of affective states refers to positive emotional state of mind such as feeling content, optimistic, happy etc. According to Gangopadhyay and Mandal28, the cultural developmental perspective shows how ‘self’ develops as a function of culture, which in turn, regulates emotions and emotional intelligence. Ancient literature in India, especially from the Bhagavad Gita, is cited to substantiate the cultural developmental perspective of EI. The Bhagavad Gita, also speaks about managing one`s emotions. It explains how man is caught in emotional crises and how one should understand and manage his emotions to fulfil his duty. Shri Krishna in the Bhagvad Gita says
“krodhadbhavatisammohah
sammohatsmrti-vibhramah
smrti-bhramsadbuddhi-naso
buddhi-nasatpranasyati”
(The Bhagavad Gita, 2; 63)
which means that from anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool. Similarly another shloka from Bhagvad Gita states
“duhkhesvanudvigna-manah
sukhesuvigata-sprhah
Vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah
sthita-dhirmunirucyate”
(The Bhagavad Gita, 2; 56)
meaning that one who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind. Similarly, the entire Bhagavad Gita and other these kinds of ancient texts focus on the development of emotionally intelligent skills.
Emotional Intelligence in India is defined as using emotions to do what is right and fulfil one`s karma in life. It should have the ethical and moral ways of expressing, managing and understanding emotions. The biological perspective also shows that social learning have a key role in developing emotional intelligence. 28 According to Srivastava, Sibia and Misra41, Indian parents tend to give primacy to the ancestral values such as extending the family tree, service to elders and material contribution received from them in child rearing.43 The Indian tradition stresses talents such as priyamvada(felicitous speech), dama(restraint), satyavachana(truthfulness), dana(charity), and daya(compassion). 44 About 14 per cent of the suktis in the Indian literature describe control of emotion as one of the important characteristics of an intelligent person. It was assumed that an intelligent person is one who is able to control his/her anger. It is believed that anger is the result of agyana(ignorance) which destroys all qualities of man including intelligence. Analyzing the notion of wisdom, Misra, Suvasini, and Srivastava45 explored Bhagavad Gita, and found that one who is able to control his anger among others, has control over senses. He is not attached to sensual pleasure, is able to tolerate lust and anger. The prime concern of all the teachings in the Bhagavad Gita, suktis, other religious texts and stories narrated by grandparents has always been to inculcate values among people and guide them to become successful in life.
The concept of EI described in Western and Eastern perspectives complement each other. The western models emphasize on perceiving, using emotions to facilitate thinking, understanding, and managing emotions in self and others, on interrelated emotional, personal and social competencies, on skills that determine how effectively an individual relates with others and cope with daily demands. These abilities influence one’s capacity to handle conflicts, manage stress, create a productive work environment, reframe emotions, communicate feelings more effectively and develop as an emotionally productive individual.
Similarly, in the eastern perspective, specifically in the Indian context emotional intelligence is an age old concept. The Indian text focuses on the interdependent self in which one’s personal satisfaction and happiness resides in the satisfaction of others. The preferred value system includes ahimsa, kindness, respecting elders etc. The value of nonviolence relates with not violating the physical as well as psychological boundaries of others, being kind towards others and respecting them not only in words but also in actions. All these are part of the core sanskars that are embedded within every Indian and the central theme that lies behind all these values is welfare of others. All these concerns influence
abilities of individual for handling others as well as their own self. In Indian culture, if significant others in an individual s life are satisfied and happy, only then the individual considers himself to be satisfied. The Indian text focuses on the control and management of emotions and one who is able to do so is considered to be the most intelligent person.
Significance of Folklore
The Indian cultural literature is dominated by the religious texts. It is so because people believe in following nearly all what is preached in these texts. The Sanskrit literary tradition includes all these teachings but it’s not easily accessible for every individual. Therefore, people developed different types of folklores which included the core concerns of Indian tradition but in layman terms, so that the heritage becomes easily accessible and interesting. Folklore is created and enjoyed by people to champion their values and raise themselves. The important aspect of folklore is its impact on society as well as society’s influence on folklore. Folklore has a symbiotic relationship with society, it causes changes in the society and the social changes also effect modifications in folklore. The experts argue that since folklore is the product of the society and not vice-versa, the influence of the society on the folklore is much greater than the influence of the folklore on the society. 46 Most Indian folklore has a religious character and it may be associated with sacred rites or festivals.
According to Putnam, 47 folklore is a significant factor in the life of every pupil. A pupil’s heritage includes the folk heritage of all the groups with which he is associated. The groups include the child’s family, the neighborhood play group, classroom, school groups, religious group, family’s economic or occupational group, the racial group, state and regional groups and the nationality group. The most significant folklore to a child is that which belongs to the groups with which he has the closest ties.
Folklore serves two important functions, first it entertains and secondly, it provides social education. The entertainment value certainly made the folklore, as well as its underlying message for human society and philosophy of life, readily acceptable to the people. The functional aspect of social education made folklore the integral part of the development process of society. This in turn also allows folklore to perform economic functions as well.46
Thus, the important functions of entertainment, social education and economic growth highlight the major contribution of folklore in Indian culture. What the term folklore means, its characteristics and types of folklore evident in the Indian society are described in the next section.
Folklore
The word Folklore is comprised of two words. The word “Folk” refers to any group of people from economic, religious, generational or ethnic backgrounds who share a common interest. The another word “Lore” represents the knowledge and artistry of a group in forms such as stories, jokes, art, architecture, music, dance, custom, belief, ritual and festival. When people interact with one another then folklore is created as a form of communication.48 According to Putnam47, folklore is probably the most important and well-acclaimed component of the cultural heritage of a nation. It can reflect the essentials of a nation’s cultural attributes and is recognized as a basis for its cultural and social identity. According to Kutty46the term folklore was first coined by William Thoms in 1846 who meant for it to include manners, customs, observations, superstitions, ballads, proverbs etc. The customs and beliefs, the language spoken and the traditional patterns of livelihood share certain common characteristics. Folklore, thus, is the product of the creative ideas of the people who express such creativity through verbal, artistic or material forms and this in turn is transmitted orally or in written form or through some other medium from one generation to another. 46 Folklore includes the traditional elements of the way of life of a group of people and the creative expressions developing naturally as a part of this way of life. In addition to folk songs, dances, tales and handicrafts of a group, folklore includes the generally held beliefs of members of a group and their activities resulting from these beliefs.47
Characteristics of the folklore of India
According to Mathur49 field of folklore literature is characterized by at least three major paradigms:
(i) The humanist paradigm, which treats folklore as oral literature with emphasis on the creativity of the folk performers or those who render it to other members of the community;
(ii) The historical reconstructions, where folklore is treated as an entry point into cultures of the past and conceive it as a mirror which reflects dominant values, beliefs and ethos of a cultural group
(iii) The psychological or psychoanalytic paradigm, wherein folklore is treated as an expression of the unconscious mind. On the basis of the characteristics that have been identified as essential attributes of folklore Kutty46 has categorized elements of folklore in following way:
A) Folk Practices: Folk beliefs, customs, superstitions, rites, rituals, folk festivals, etc., are folk practices forming a part of community’s daily life. Folk games, folk sport, animal sports, etc., are also related to the folk’s life. Like, the game of snakes and ladders originated in India. It was widely played in ancient India as Moksha Patamu. It was invented to teach children about the consequences of good deeds and bad deeds in which ladders represented virtues such as generosity, faith, and humility, whereas the snakes represented vices such as lust, anger, murder, greed and theft.50
B) Folk arts or artistic folklore: Folk art is classified as performing and non-performing arts. Folk dances, folk theatre, folk gestures are all performing arts whereas arts like painting, sculpture, embroidery, weaving, carpet making, costumes designing, archery are non-performing arts.51 All these folk arts depicted the traditions and teachings dominant in particular folks.
C) Folk Science and Technology: similarly, the Indian folklore also includes the folk science and technology. Methods of folk treatment, folk medicines, preparation of dairy products, fertilizers, and methods of agriculture and seed technology all of these fall under folk science. And on the other hand folk architecture, tool making, ornament making, pottery, etc., fall under folk technology.
D) Folk Literature: Besides folk practices, arts and science a very important and popular component of folk lore is folk literature. These include myths, legends, fairy tales, anecdotes, short stories, etc. In addition to these, proverbs, riddles, ballads, songs, rhymes, folk titles, metaphors, poetry, etc. are all part of the folk literature. Most of these elements which form part of folk literature have been created and passed on by word of mouth, some of them have been essentially oral literature preserved in script and some have been traditionally preserved in written form. Oral tradition is the means through which propagation of the necessary elements of culture takes place in the society. In such a society, scholars used the term ‘folklore’ to refer to the language of the people, the system of their livelihood like hunting, agriculture, customs relating to marriages, deaths, etc., and the basic code of conduct, all of which are transmitted orally. Many stories which are part of great epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharata , the Panchatantra, Betalstories etc, form part of the rich heritage of folklore, but are still essentially expressed and communicated in written form. Indian literature has a sizeable share of folk songs, folk tales, poems, riddles. The present paper focuses on the part of folktales in folk literature and how these have the component of emotional intelligence.
Folktales
The Indian folktales may be used to entertain as well as teach religious precepts or moral lessons to the young children. Several written compilations of Indian folk tales have been in existence for more than a thousand years. Many of the same themes are found in the folktales of other cultures, either because of the cultural contact or because they are so universal that they occur wherever people live together in a community. Collection of Indian folklore, as represented by the Panchatantra, Hitopdesha, Indian fables, the Jatakasstories that are described below
1.The Panchtantra: The panchtantra is a legendary collection of short stories from India. Originally composed in the 2ndcentury B.C. Panchatantra is believed to be written by Vishnu Sharma along with other scholars. The purpose behind the composition was to implant moral values and governing skills in the children of the king. The ancient Sanskrit text boasts of various animal stories in verse and prose. The panchtantra is the best guide to enroot moral and emotional values in children since its each tale has moral or emotional lesson in its end. The etymology of the term ‘Panchtantra’ suggests that it is a combination of two words, ‘Pancha’ (five) and ‘Tantra’ (practice/ principle). The five principles illustrated in it are: mitrabhedha (the loss of friends), mitralaabha (gaining friends), suhrudbheda (causing dissension between friends), vigraha (separation) and sandhi (union). All the stories in panchtantra revolve around these principles and conclusions of the stories suggest all what could harm a person in growing as a fully functional individual as well as ways that promote values, relationships effective decision making and problem solving strategies.
On one hand the tales are adapted for kids, and on the other hand, the essence of the Panchatantra transforms into a buzzword among young managers with its prescribed management practices and strategies making its way in the corporate sector as well. Similar to the stories of panchtantra, hitopdesha stories are also available.52
2. The Hitopdesha: the word ‘Hitopadesha’ is derived from two words, ‘hita’ and ‘upadesa’, which means ‘to counsel or advise with benevolence’ for the welfare and benefit of everyone. These are also collection of Sanskrit fables in prose and verse. The author, Narayana, says that the main purpose for creating the Hitopadesha is to instruct young minds in the philosophy of life so that they are able to grow into responsible adults. The stories feature animals and birds as the protagonists and are written so that the moral lesson of each tale is clear. These actually help children to develop into responsible and mature adults.53
These elements combine together to form the folktales of Indian society. It has been evident that folktales are used by people to formulate, establish and assert the community’s concept of itself and drawing boundaries to separate it from others. The basic aim of these folktales has been to groom the personality of every individual in a socially adept manner. So that as a consequence, every individual is able to adjust, adapt and manage both good as well as adverse situations in life and live effectively. From tales, songs, proverbs and customs intellectuals and policy makers look to folklore for nationalist images.49
Emotional Intelligence & Folklore
The Indian folktales such as panchtantra, hitopdesha provide evidence about the presence of emotional intelligence. Through cross-border mutations, adaptations and translations, the Panchatantra remains the most popular work of literature, especially amongst storytellers. The five principles of the science of wise conduct revolve around a frame story. The stories cited in the text within each principle guides the kids to act wisely. It attempts to illustrate how to understand others, how to choose reliable and trustworthy friends, how to overcome difficulties and problems through tact and wisdom. Moreover, it illustrates how to live in peace and harmony even in the midst of deceit, hypocrisy and other pitfalls in life.
The contents of the folktales initially emphasize the appropriate management of situations as well as emotions. Stories from panchtantra and hitopdesha provide evidence in favor of the emphasis laid on the skills related to emotional intelligence in the folktales, which are predominantly used by each and every individual in the society in one way or the other. Some of the stories from panchtantra and hitopdesha are being described here in the following section to elaborate that how these stories influence development of EI among individuals.
In one of the story of Panchtantra, titled ‘The tale of two fishes and a frog’ there were three friends who lived in a same pond, and when some threat to their existence was indicated the two fishes out of over confidence on their abilities, did not prepared to protect themselves whereas the frog perceived the severity of the situation and acted according to the need of the hour. As a result, the two fishes suffered but the frog escaped from the threat. The story explains that lack of intrapersonal skills and lower adaptability towards threatening situation lead to the suffering of fishes whereas in the same condition the frog was able to perceive the danger as well as his own fear and channeled it appropriately to handle the stressful situation effectively. The story indicates that the two fishes lacked the skills required to be emotionally intelligent but the frog had those abilities. Therefore, the consequence was in favor of the frog and the fishes suffered. Similar to this story Srivastava, Sibia and Misra41 also found that a person showing sensitivity to context behaves according to the desh(place), kala (time), and patra(person). Such a person adapts to the changing ecology and behaves according to the requirement of the place. Similarly, recognizing the importance of time, he/she begins work at the right time and utilizes time for his/her personal benefits. Along with this, behaving according to the patra(person) is also important. Therefore, this short story also repeats the importance of the ability to perceive and understand the sensitivity of the situation as well as of emotions. And when one understands his/her own strengths and weaknesses, he/she are able to use these to facilitate his/her thinking and behavior accordingly.
In another story of Panchatantra, titled “Tale of the golden droppings” there was a bird and its droppings turned into gold. It was caught by a hunter, who out of fear of getting punished gifted the bird to the king. The king initially accepts the gift but on the advice of one of his minister doubts on the intentions of the hunter consequently releases the bird and asks the attendants to arrest the hunter for punishment. As the bird flew, its droppings fell and turned into gold. In this story, the hunter when catches the special bird experiences two emotions simultaneously, namely eustress and distress. Eustress due to catching money bank in the form of a special bird and distress due to the thought of getting caught and being punished by the king. The hunter handled the stressful situation very effectively, instead of becoming greedy, he decided to be content with the offerings of the king. He was able to manage and regulate his emotions (happy as well as fear) and channeled the stressful situation in a socially acceptable manner. On the other hand, the king due to lack of selfawareness, was unaware of his strength, he lacked confidence in his own decision making, and made judgments according to the understanding of others. Therefore, it is evident in this story also that how the hunter handled the situation effectively because of the emotionally intelligent behavior but at the same place the king was not able to handle it and lost the gift of a special bird. Thus, this story also adds to the evidence of importance of emotional intelligence skills in the teachings of the Indian folktales.
Similarly, there is another story titled ‘Right mind and Wrong mind’. In this story, Dharma buddhi had a wicked friend, named Paapbuddhi, who mis-used the strengths of Dharma buddhi. Because of being in the company of a wicked and cunning friend, dharma buddhi was alleged with the charges of stealing by his same friend. But because of Dharma buddhi’s ability to recognize the bad intentions of Paapbuddhi as well as his ability of handling stressful situation effectively, he was able to prove himself innocent and Paapbuddhi as the guilty for stealing and misleading the villagers. The interpersonal and stress management skills of Dharma buddhi saved him from the adverse consequences of being a friend of a wicked person.
In a story of Hitopdesha, titled ‘The story of an elephant and a sly old jackal’ there was an elephant that lived in a jungle. There came a pack of Jackals in search of food. They saw the elephant and thought that if the elephant could die, then they would get enough food for several months. Then one of the sly old jackals went to the elephant and humbly greeted him. When elephant inquired him about the cause of Jackal’s arrival, Jackal said that elephant, you are gifted with all the qualities of a monarch because of which all of their group members have chosen him to be their king. The jackal also added that their astrologers have informed them about the only auspicious day for the elephant’s crowning was that same day and as the day was slipping fast, therefore requested the elephant to follow him for the ceremony without delay. The elephant was flattered by the jackal's talk and out of greed for the kingdom, he followed the jackal. The jackal walked across a lake full of mud. The elephant being heavy got stuck in the mud. He tried very hard to get out, but could not. When the elephant pleaded Jackal for help, the jackal replied that how a giant elephant did believed the words of a jackal. The elephant sank into the mud, died and finally was eaten up by the jackals. In this story, the elephant lacked the ability to understand emotions of the cunning jackal and also lacked social awareness regarding who could be the monarch of a pack of jackals. If at all the elephant would have been emotionally intelligent, then he would have perceived the evil ideations and emotions of the jackal, and ultimately would have saved his life.
The most common abilities or competencies observed in all the folktales were perceiving and understanding emotions of others, regulating and managing emotions as well as skills for stress management. Though all other abilities are considered to be sufficient abilities for becoming a socially adept person but those repeatedly mentioned in the stories are considered as necessary abilities without which a person would not be able to grow as a healthy personality. Therefore these abilities were repeatedly found in all the stories mentioned here.
Similar to these stories, nearly all other stories in folktales focus on grooming children to become capable of knowing the intention of others, being polite, refraining from self-praise, show initiative, interest in work, and lack rigidity.
In a study Srivastava, Sibia and Misra41found that proverbs are considered as abridgements of wisdom. They represent well known truths, social norms or moral actions and summarize the essence of folk wisdom in the form of shared experiences of a community. Similarly, Srivastava and Misra54 analyzed 393 proverbs in Hindi language having a bearing on intelligence. It was found that the proverbs, in addition to other characteristics, an intelligent person is able to control his/her emotions and also the egoistic (ahamkar) tendencies, such a person also remains vigilant, patient, confident and shows positive self-appreciation. Open-mindedness and humane personality makes him sensitive to others.
The moral teachings from the folktales provide evidence about the presence of skills related to EI in these texts. This in turn provides a picture about the prime concern of the Indian cultural literature to concentrate on the development of EI skills from ancient times. It also helps in concluding that emotional intelligence is not a new concept in India rather it was one of the prime concerns of the ancestors to guide their children and young people in growing as a healthy, mature and responsible individual of the society. Thus, the process of transmission of the folklore is still continuing in present-day societies and this will continue to be so in the days to come.
References
1. D. Goleman. Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ. New York; Bantam Books, 1995.
2. N.S., Thingujam. Current Trend and Future Research on Emotional Intelligence. National Academy of Psychology, 2004, 49, 155-165.
3. Anonymous. Emotional Intelligence: MTD Training. (2010). MTD Training & Ventus Publishing Aps, 2010.
4. R.J. Emmerling, V.K. Shanwal, M.K. Mandal. Emotional Intelligence: Theoretical and Cultural Perspectives. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2008
5. P.F. Berrocal,, N. Extremera. Emotional intelligence: A Theoretical and empirical review of its first 15 years of history. Psicothema, 2006,7-12.
6. W.L. Payne. A study of emotion: Developing emotional intelligence: Selfintegration; relating to fear, pain and desire. Dissertation Abstracts International, 1986, 47, 203A.
7. J.D. Mayer, P. Salovey, D.R. Caruso. Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Findings and Implications. Psychological Inquiry, 2004 , 197-215.
8. S, Rajan. Intelligence Measurement: Recommendations for a research based strategy in employment testing. IMJ, 2013, 52-59.
9. A. Sibia, A.K. Srivastava, G. Misra. Emotional Intelligence: Western and Indian perspectives. Indian Psychological Abstracts and Reviews, 2003, 2-42.
10. R.Abraham. Emotional intelligence in organisations: A conceptualisation. New York: Bantam Books. Retrieved from www.healthyworkplaces.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/emotionalintelligence.pdf, 1991.
11. A. Sibia, A.K. Srivastava, G. Misra. Emotional Intelligence: Western andIndian perspectives. Indian Psychological Abstracts and Reviews, 2003, 2-42.
12. J. Mayer, P. Salovey. What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey&D.Sluyter (Eds.). Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Implications for educators.(pp3-31). New York: Basic books, Inc., 1997.
13. Anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved, from http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/ss/multipleintell.htm#step7, May 13, 2015
14. Anonymous. (n. d.). Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/experientiallearning.htm, May 13, 2015
15. D. Perkins. Retrieved from http://otec.uoregon.edu/intelligence.htmPrabhupada, A. (1986). Bhagvad Gita As it is. Mumbai: The Bhakti vedanta Book Trust,1995
16. S. Epstein. You're smarter than you think: How to develop your practical intelligence for success in living. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
17. A. Sibia, G, Misra. Understanding Emotions. In G. Misra, Handbook of Psychology in India (pp. 286- 298). New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2011.
18. D. Keltner, J. Haidt. Social functions of emotions. In T.J. Mayne & G.A. Bonanno (Eds.), Emotions: Current issues and future directions. Emotions and social behaviour (pp. 192-213). New York: Guilford, 2001
19. C. Saarni. Emotional competence and self-regulation in childhood. In P. S. Sluyter, Emotional development and emotional intelligence (pp. 35-66). New York: Basic Books, 1997.
20. N. Gayathri, M. K. Emotional Intelligence in the Indian Context. Global Journal of Human Social Science , 2013, 1-7.
21. H.C. Triandis. Culture and conflict. International Journal of Psychology, 2000 35, 145-152.
22. H.C. Triandis. The Self and Social Behavior in Differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review, 1989, 96, 502-520.
23. H.C. Triandis. Individualism and Collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.
24. H.R. Markus, S. Kitayama. Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion,and motivation. Psychological Review, 1991, 98, 224- 253.
25. H.C. Triandis. Collectivism vs. individualism: A reconceptualization of a basic concept in cross-cultural psychology. In G. Verma& C. Bagley (Eds.), Cross-cultural studies of personality, attitudes, and cognition (pp.60-95). London: Macmillan, 1988.
26. H. Markus, E. Wurf. The dynamic self-concept: A social psychological perspective.Annual Review of Psychology, 1987, 38, 299-337.
27. P.C. Earley, C.B.Gibson. Taking stock on our progress on individualismcollectivism:100 years of solidarity and community. Journal of Management, 1998, 24, 265-304.
28. M. Gangopadhyay, M.K. Mandal. Emotional Intelligence- A Universal or a Culture-Specific construct? In R. J. Emmerling, V. K. Shanwal, & M. K. Mandal, Emotional Intelligence: Theoretical and Cultural Perspectives (pp. 115-134). New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2008.
29. R. Bar-On. Emotional Quotient Inventory: Technical Manual. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems, 1997.
30. R. Bar-On. Emotional and social intelligence: Insights from the Emotional Quotient inventory. In R. Bar-On & J.D.A. Parker (Eds.), The handbook of emotional intelligence: Theory, development, asessmentand application at home, school, and in the workplace (pp.363-388). San Francisco: JosseyBass, 2000.
31. D. Goleman. An EI-Based Theory of Performance. In C. Cherniss and D. Goleman(Eds.) The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2001.
32. P. Salovey, J.D. Mayer. Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 1990, 9, 185-211.
33. P. Salovey, A. Woolery, & J.D. Mayer. Emotional Intelligence: Conceptualization and Measurement. In G. Fletcher & M.S. Clark (Eds.).The Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology (vol.2: Interpersonal processes). Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishers, 2001.
34. R. Bar-On. The Bar-On model of emotional-social intelligence (ESI). Psicothema, 2006, 18, Suppl., 13-25.
35. D. Goleman. Working with emotional intelligence. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1998.
36. R,A, Shweder, E.J. Bourne.. Does the concept of the person vary cross culturally? InR.A. Sweder& R.A. Levine (Eds). Culture theory: Essays on mind, self and emotions (pp.158-199). Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1984.
37. R.C. Tripathi. Aligning development to values in India. In D. Sinha & H.S.R. Kao(Eds),Social values and Development: Asian perspectives (pp. 314-332), New Delhi: Sage, 1988.
38. G. Misra. Psychology of control: Cross cultural considerations. Journal of Indian Psychology, 1994, 12, 8-45.
39. G. Misra. Culture and self: Implication for psychological Inquiry. Journal of Indian Psychology, 2001, 19, 18-48.
40. S. Kityama, H.R. Markus. Emotions and culture: Empirical studies of mutual influences. Washington , DC: America Psychological Association, 1994.
41. A.K. Srivastava, A. Sibia, G. Misra. Research on Emotional Intelligence: The Indian Experience. In R. J. Emmerling, V. K. Shanwal, & M. K. Mandal, Emotional Intelligence: Theoretical and Cultural Perspectives (pp. 135-152). New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2008.
42. A. Sibia, G. Misra, A.K. Srivastava. Culture and emotional intelligence. International Journal of Psychology, 2004, 39, 364 (Abstracts of the XXVIII InternationalCongress of Psychology, Beijing, China).
43. G. Misra, A.K. Srivastava, S. Gupta. The cultural construction of childhood in India: Some observations. Indian Psychological Abstracts and Reviews, 1999, 6, 191-218
44. T.K. Mahadevan. Priyamvada: The Hindu perception of excellence. The Illustrated Weekly of India, 1978, 37, 20-26.
45. G. Misra, C. Suvasini, A.K. Srivastava. Psychology of wisdom: Western and eastern perspectives. Journal of Indian Psychology,2000, 18, 1-32.
46. M.P. Kutty. National Experiences with the Protection of Expressions of Folklore/ Traditional cultural Expressions: India, Indonesia and the Philippines. New Delhi. Retrieved from www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/tk/912/wipo_pub_912.pdf, 2002.
47. J.F. Putnam. Folklore: A Key to Cultural Understanding. Educational Learning , 364-368, 1964.
48. K. Hemdon. P. Shukla. Department of Folklore & Ethnomusicology undergraduate Handbook, Retrieved from www.indiana.edu/folklore/undergraduate/documents/fall09undergraduate Handbook.pdf.
49. N. Mathur. Alternative Paradigms in Folklore Studies: The Indian Chapter. Indian Folklore Research Journal, 2001, 25-34.
50. Anonymous. (n. d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/folklore_of_India, May 13, 2015.
51. Anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/folklore_of_India, May 13, 2015.
52. Anonymous. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the encyclopedia. Retrieved May 14, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/panchtantra
53. Anonymous. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitopadesha, May 16, 2015.
54. A.K. Srivastava, G. Misra.. Social representation of intelligence in the Indian folktradition: An analysis of Hindi proverbs. Journal of Indian Psychology, 1999, 17, 23-38.
Original article: Click Here
26 September 2017
24 September 2017