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Good morning. On Sunday, a songbird fell silent. Another Covid-related death. This time, a 92 year-old woman: Srimati Lata Mangeshkar, known and beloved as the Nightingale of India. Her passing has been observed by two days of mourning throughout the country. India’s popular music industry is dominated by film songs – sung, not by the actors, but by professional musicians – the playback singers. And for decades, Lata Mangeshkar was the dominant artiste whose melodious vocals captured the emotions of the dances and romances of India’s favourite screen stars – and so… her voice is indelibly etched into the nation’s consciousness. I was fortunate to meet her on two occasions during her many visits to the UK. Once, when she welcomed us into her home to chat about the Bhagavad-gita. Another time, I found her sitting alone in the temple where I was then the principal. Other temple visitors recognised her and wanted her to sing for them. She gently declined saying she was there as any other spiritual pilgrim - to pray and contemplate her relationship with God. Although, she often sang devotional songs, her popular output expressed the highs and lows of romantic love. Even so, the special quality of her voice brought hope and solace to a wounded nation - particularly in the period when India was still raw from the communal turmoil that followed Partition. Her outlook was broad and integrative: “I believe in one power – the hand of God. I respect all religions,” she said. ”I feel God has sent me to Earth to sing.” Perhaps, many of us would wish to be so clear or certain as to our own purpose. The Hindu tradition explores this in the concept of dharma as it relates to our individual occupation or activities. The advice is to consider if we have a particular talent or proclivity. I’ve heard this expressed as the question: What work would you do – even if you were never to be paid for it? No matter if that seems a fantasy scenario, the question helps us identify our natural inclinations. But, dharma isn’t about self-centred fulfilment. Nor is it passive – Dharma is transitive – intended to benefit others. Ordinary activity becomes dharma, it’s said, when one’s talents are engaged as service to those whose lives we touch. Lata Mangeshkar’s approach to her vocation is summed up in her advice: “bring the soul to the song”. I think that principle is at the heart of dharma: whatever we are doing, we are to find the essence and bring the best of ourselves to brighten and enhance others’ lives.