Stephen Cope, a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and author of The Great Work of Your Life, dives deep into the quest for life's purpose through the ancient wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita. He discusses the importance of discerning your true calling and how that may often be quietly impactful rather than flashy. Cope emphasizes the necessity of pursuing your calling fully while practicing deliberate action. He also highlights the significance of letting go of outcomes and aligning passions with duties, using examples from history to illustrate these profound concepts.
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Thoreau's Simple Life
Thoreau, influenced by the Gita, found his calling by embracing a simple life at Walden Pond.
He focused on close observation of his immediate surroundings, demonstrating that a small life can be big.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Finding Your Dharma
To find your dharma, explore three areas: what excites you, your sense of duty, and life challenges.
These areas offer clues to your true calling.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Think Small as Big
Thoreau's Walden experiment, though seemingly small, led to profound work.
This exemplifies the idea of thinking small as big.
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The Bhagavad Gita is a central text in Hinduism, embedded within the epic Mahabharata. It recounts a dialogue between the warrior-prince Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, who is an avatar of the god Vishnu. The text explores themes of dharma (duty), karma (action), and the path to spiritual enlightenment. Krishna advises Arjuna on the importance of performing his duties without attachment to the outcomes, emphasizing the concept of nishkama karma (nonattached action). The Gita synthesizes various strands of Indian religious thought, including Vedic concepts, samkhya yoga, and bhakti (devotion), providing a coherent vision of Hindu philosophy and spiritual practice[2][4][5].
One of the most burning questions in life is what it is you're called to do with it. What is your life's purpose? What great work are you meant to do?
Guidance on this question can come from many sources, and my guest today says that one of the best is the Bhagavad Gita, a text of Hindu scripture thousands of years old. He's a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and author of The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling. Stephen Cope and I begin our conversation with an introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, the significant influence it's had on philosophers and leaders for ages, and what it can teach us about making difficult decisions. We then discuss the insights the Gita offers on the four pillars of right living, beginning with discerning your true calling or sacred duty. We unpack the three areas in your life to examine for clues to your life's purpose, and why that purpose may be small and quiet rather than big and splashy. Stephen then explains the doctrine of unified action, why you have to pursue your calling full out, and why that pursuit should include the habit of deliberate practice. We also discuss why it's central to let go of the outcome of actions to focus on the work itself, and the need to turn your efforts over to something bigger than yourself. All along the way, Stephen offers examples of how these pillars were embodied in the lives of eminent individuals who lived out their purpose.
The Art of Manliness 
