Why do you do what you do? What's your dharma?

For my book on innovation I met a bunch of business leaders, among them Suresh Krishna who was then the head of the TVS group and boss of Sundram Fasteners.

During our meeting, Krishna asked a question everyone should ask themselves at some point: What is your dharma? Why do you do what you do?

It's a query common across cultures. The Japanese call it Ikigai, in psychology we know it as self-actualisation in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

But I like the simplicity of the 'What's your dharma' poser, perhaps because of my cultural and civilisational roots.

When I thought about it, I realised that a Sanskrit verse from the Upanishads, a part of which was on my school blazer's crest, pretty much described my dharma.

Asato mā sadgamaya/ tamasomā jyotir gamaya.

Whatever else I may be, I'm primarily a writer of non-fiction and an urge to shed light and speak the truth is at the heart of all my writing.

It's not always easy. If you work for an employer or a client, there will be occasions when telling truth to power can cost you.

But its a goal. As a writer, I don't want an easier one.

Many times, when my words fall on deaf ears, it's tempting to console myself with the Ekla chalo re exhortation to plough a lonely furrow.

But as writers we want to be read, of course. It is our fervent hope, expressed so beautifully by Majrooh Sultanpuri, that,

Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar
Log saath aate gaye aur karwan banta gaya

So what's your dharma? Why do you do what you do?

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