4 Pillars from the Bhagavad Gita to Apply to Writing

Thank you Jeroen Langendam for writing this ej article about the trials and tribulations of writing personal essays: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/09/i-havent-written-for-elephant-journal-in-two-years-heres-why/

This is so true: “sensitive topic + personal story = vulnerability = scary” I also adore Brené Brown’s work.

One thing that helps me (although it’s always still a work in progress) but through studying the Bhagavad Gita, I learned the fundamental principles of:

Pillar #1 Know Your Dharma/Action. And here I refer to the Hindu (not Buddhist) meaning of dharma. We do not even have an exact equivalent English word for the Hindu concept of dharma, but it centers around the idea of our “sacred duty,” or “the great work of our lives,” or our “personal legend” as Paulo Coelho puts it in The Alchemist, or as the poet Mary Oliver writes, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”   See here for more details: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/09/why-i-write/)

Pillar #2 Do your dharma full out.

Pillar #3 Relinquish the fruits of your efforts: look to cultivate mastery while remaining detached from outcomes.

Pillar #4 Turn your work over to God/the Divine Beloved/the Universe/the Creator/the Force – whatever you may want to call the Divine Intelligence that connects us all in love.

And for me, living my dharma is about continuing the practice of the craft of writing.

****

BIO

Rev. Camilla Sanderson, author of The Mini Book of Mindfulness (Running Press/Hachette, 2016) https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Book-Mindfulness-Meditation-Practices/dp/0762457929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535388190&sr=8-1&keywords=mini+book+of+mindfulness, was ordained an interfaith minister in 2014, and she earned her MFA in Creative Non-Fiction Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2017. She is a guide for the Interfaith Seminary program offered online through the Tree of Life Interfaith Temple: https://www.tolinterfaithtemple.org/overview.html. This program involves a two-year commitment to a daily spiritual practice, an overview study of world religions, and an in-depth study of the ancient Hindu sacred text, The Bhagavad Gita—Hinduism being the oldest religion in the world with a recorded written text. It would be Camilla’s delight, privilege and honor to walk with you through your own spiritual journey as you excavate your inner treasures that will support you in sharing your light in the world.

Comments