...is making others happy.
i was reading this article here and was struck by this passage:
India Knowledge@Wharton: Do you have any reason to hope that the way Indians are will some day become the way Indians were?
Raghunathan: I am not a spiritual person. But in doing research for this book, for the first time I read the Bhagavad-Gita [...]. I realized that the Gita has a lot of things which help resolve the prisoner's dilemma readily. For example, if you do your dharma [duty] towards humanity, the level of cooperation could be much higher. That is what having a good character is all about.
This gives me hope for the future. As India's economy improves and education spreads, I hope defection will be replaced by cooperation. My question about why Indians are the way they are is a rhetorical one -- it is an expression of my frustration. But my attitude towards India is like that of a parent towards a beloved child who needs correction. You don't love that child any less; it is because of your love that you want to bring about change. I hope these ideas will encourage some introspection about how to make things better.
At the end of the Mahabharata (svargArohaNika parva, 5.49), Sri Vedavyasa expresses exactly this sentiment (hat-tip: prekshaa).
ऊर्ध्वबाहुर्विरौम्य़ेष न कश्चित् शृणोति माम् ।
धर्मादर्थश्चकामश्च स किमर्थन्न सेव्यते ।।
Liberal translation: Here i cry out, with uplifted arms, that from dharma flows artha (material wealth) and kAma (desires, their fulfillment). But none listens. Why don't people pursue dharma?
So dharma (duty/righteousness/...) not only will leave us feeling good about ourselves but also leave us materially happy.
References:
1) http://bombay.indology.info/
2) http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m18/m18005.htm