[100 Emerging Women Leaders] How Shilpa Datar is blending Indian philosophy and modern psychology

Growing up in Bengaluru with her family, Shilpa Datar forged a deep connection to health, wellness, and spirituality. Her paternal grandfather was a yoga enthusiast and Rajyotsava Award recipient—Karnataka’s second-highest civilian honour, and her father was a physiotherapist. 

She was armed with a passion for health when, in 1997, her child was diagnosed with dyslexia.

“Despite my child’s school telling us to opt for special education, I refused to accept that my child needed to leave mainstream education,” Datar tells HerStory. 

Determined to understand the issue, she worked in a special needs school and discovered a fundamental flaw in the diagnostic tools used in India—most were imported and culturally irrelevant, she says, explaining, “Western psychology dominates most of our society, but the Indian context demands a different approach.”

This realisation sparked Datar’s journey into developing psychometric tests that were relevant to the Indian population. Frustrated by the gaps in Western psychology, she delved into Indian philosophy, studying ancient texts such as the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. Her PhD research led to her creating the Mysore Tridosha and Mysore Triguna—personality scales that integrate Ayurveda and Sankhya philosophy into personality assessments. These tools assess individuals holistically, considering physiological, psychological, and ethical dimensions—which Datar says is a unique approach in psychometrics.

In 2021, in an attempt to bring these tools to a wider audience, she founded Swayam Analytics. The company works with students, educational institutions, and corporates, providing personality and career guidance assessments as well as recruitment tools.

“Our reports hold a mirror to the individuals’ minds, helping them understand their strengths, weaknesses, and behavioural challenges,” says Datar.

For students, Swayam Analytics offers tailored recommendations, such as diet changes, yoga practices, and curated resources like books and podcasts. In the corporate sphere, the focus shifts to recruitment and employee development, aligning individual traits with organisational goals. 

“We did face quite a bit of resistance initially when we used these terms in Sanskrit; talking about Vata, Pitta, and Kapha was met with skepticism,” says Datar. Eventually, the company found a foothold by “anglicising” terms and simplifying concepts for broader acceptance. “We rebranded these as ‘creative’, ‘logical’, and ‘methodical’ traits, respectively, to resonate better.” This approach, combined with partnerships with platforms like Karnataka Government’s Skill Connect, has driven Swayam’s steady growth. 

Since its inception, the company has doubled its revenue annually and secured seed funding of Rs 20 lakh from initiatives like Startup India Seed Fund.

However, the journey hasn’t been without challenges. Building psychometric tools rooted in Indian philosophy required rigorous validation. Datar says she collaborated with Ayurvedic doctors and researchers to establish an 80% Concurrent Validity (checking if two tools meant to measure the same thing produce similar results when used simultaneously) between traditional Ayurvedic methods of assessing personalities/states of being, and the tool developed by Swayam.

Despite the scientific backing and published research, her work is often dismissed as “alternative” in India while these concepts continue to gain traction internationally, she says.

She also brings her experiences as a woman to the field. “As women, we bring empathy and an instinctive understanding of people, which gives us an edge in psychology,” says Datar. Yet, she also highlights the credibility her PhD lends, enabling her to navigate male-dominated corporate spaces. The pandemic, she notes, was a turning point, shifting client meetings online and expanding Swayam’s reach.

Women aspiring to enter psychology must “know your strengths, stay curious, and embrace evolution. Change is a conscious journey, and the tools we build today will shape a more aware and inclusive tomorrow,” she says.

Looking ahead, Datar is working with Christ University to design career guidance assessments for children with learning disabilities, a project close to her heart, as she recalls beginning this journey with her child’s diagnosis. 

“There's nobody who's doing career guidance for special needs children in India. Because we've been able to stabilise and standardise this entire process for regular children, we know that it's working. Now it is time to include children with special needs as well. We hope to have this up and running by March 2025,” says Datar.