What does it take to live undercover in enemy territory, battle stage-3 cancer, and still wake up every morning saying, "I feel healthy, I feel happy, I feel terrific"? For Dhruv Das Munshi, former RAW officer, former COO of a Giant Financial Services Company, author, and proud Marzi member, the answer lies in an unshakeable mindset forged over decades of extraordinary service and personal adversity.

A Childhood Shaped by Resilience and Independence

Dhruv grew up in a progressive, dual-income family in Delhi. His mother was a trailblazer, the first woman officer of Eastern Railway, who faced stones thrown at her just for attending college, yet persevered into government service. Growing up mostly with his father while his mother worked in Calcutta, Dhruv learned self-reliance early. He studied at Mother's International and later Kendriya Vidyalaya schools across Delhi and Chennai, and captained his college football team, though he was, by his own admission, never a top student.

The Secret Exam That Changed Everything

While preparing for IAS during his post-graduation in history at Hindu College, Dhruv was told about a confidential UPSC examination, a "secret" recruitment he knew nothing about. He sat the test, finished in under 40 minutes, and nearly stumbled at the interview. He was finally offered the job. Only later did he learn he had just joined RAW, India's external intelligence agency, an organisation he had never even heard of.

Two Decades of Covert Service for India

Dhruv's 20-year RAW career reads like a thriller. After basic training in Madhya Pradesh and military attachment with the 18 Gorkha Rifles, completing anti-insurgency, guerrilla warfare, and commando courses, he was posted to the jungles of Arunachal Pradesh. He later participated in two covert operations of national significance. His family paid a heavy price: his children sometimes did not recognise him when he returned home. He was awarded the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri Award of Excellence for his work in Investigative Journalism.

A Second Career and a Life-Changing Diagnosis

After taking voluntary retirement, and encouraged by his wife's faith in him, Dhruv joined a Financial Services Giant Company, and rose to Chief Operating Officer, overseeing 22,000 people. On 10 January 2008, he quit both smoking (a 40-year habit) and drinking (35 years) in a single moment. He was awarded the Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi Award in 2009, for his work among poor youths. It was, in February 2010 he was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. In December 2012, doctors at Tata Memorial

Hospital gave him 9 to 12 months to live. His response: "I accept your prognosis, but not your prediction." By July 2014 the same doctor declared him cancer-free. He has since survived five remissions.

The Mind-First Philosophy That Saved His Life

Dhruv credits his recovery entirely to mindset. He repeated three affirmations every day

- "I feel healthy, I feel happy, I feel terrific", and chose to start each morning by saying, "I choose to be happy today." A practitioner of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism, he has also committed to touching one life per day since 2016: visiting cancer patients, offering encouragement by phone, and distributing drinking water to those in need near his local metro station. He has written three books (available on Amazon) and is working on a fourth. His daily routine begins at 4 am with exercise, 75 minutes of meditation, journaling, and two hours of serious reading from a personal library of around 8,000 books.

Finding Community on Marzi

Dhruv now lives in Bangalore and describes Marzi as a source of virtual friendships that have grown very real. "Marzi gives me motivation, it gives me light moments," he says, appreciating both the Circle of Strength meetups and the warmth of the community. He remains, as always, just a phone call away for anyone needing counselling, encouragement, or guidance.