Bhagavad Gita for the Creative Soul

Ep 20- Breaking Through Resistance

• The Voice Bank • Season 1 • Episode 20

Share episode

In Episode 20, Saurin grapples with the relentless force of creative resistance. Drawing inspiration from Gita 9.26 as well as Steven Pressfield’s ‘War of Art’, he discovers how tiny steps, daily practice, rewarding every small achievement, and creating without attachment will overcome the obstacles. Join him in the ongoing battle against resistance and learn the key to creative mastery.


We welcome you to join us in building a community of creative souls on this journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Reach out to us at gitacreativesoul@gmail.com or find us on:

And don't miss an episode - subscribe to the podcast today!

Bhagavad Gita for the Creative Soul

  • Produced by The Voice Bank
  • Concept & Writing: Saurin Desai
  • Executive Producer: Rashmi Sundaram
  • Director: Sundar Sethuraman
  • Voice Artists: Sheetal Sawhney & Saurin Desai
  • Special Advisor: Kushagra Singh (Writer, Spiritual Speaker & Yoga Teacher)
  • Sound Designer: Sushant Sonawale
  • Music Composition: Sushant Sonawale & Ameen
  • Recordist: Agnel & Sushant Sonawale
  • Recorded at Crescendo Studio, Mumbai

00:00:00 Sundar

The voice bank presents Bhagavad Gita for the creative soul conceived and written by Saurin Desai, narrated by Sheetal Sawhney and  SaurinDesai. This interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita is not scholarly or literal, but personal and creative with no intent to hurt the sentiments of any individual.

00:00:21 Sundar

Community or religion?

00:00:26 Sheetal

It is said that the Bhagavad Gita has answers for all and all the answers join writer and seeker Saurin Desai as each week he grapples with thoughts and challenges related to life, work and creativity. Then explore the timeless wisdom of the Gita.

00:00:47 Sheetal

To discover how to harness creativity with grace, understanding, empathy and timelessness.

00:00:59 Sheetal

Welcome to Bhagavad Gita for the creative soul.

00:01:03 Sheetal

This is episode 20, breaking through resistance.

00:01:07 Sheetal

And Saurin is figuring out how to start small.

00:01:12 Sheetal

While on his way to creating big.

00:01:21 Saurin

I could have been a doctor, a PhD.

00:01:25 Saurin

I would have won a doctorate in the art of procrastination, but that would require me to write a thesis.

00:01:32 Saurin

Writing is the one thing I do well, and the one thing I run away from.

00:01:38 Saurin

I had touched upon this briefly in episode 6, Overcoming Creative Blocks where I spoke about being stuck and thus unable to create.

00:01:48 Saurin

But most of the times the obstruction does not appear passive.

00:01:53 Saurin

The way a stone or even flowing water would be on a road.

00:01:58 Saurin

The barrier feels alive, a sinister, relentless force whose only purpose is to stop me from writing.

00:02:06 Saurin

Now, I might sound overly dramatic.

00:02:09 Saurin

But I'm paraphrasing a concept in Steven Pressfield 's book The War of Art called Resistance.

00:02:16 Saurin

Pressfield calls it a formidable ever ever-present obstacle that artists and creative space in their pursuit of their craft.

00:02:25 Saurin

The following shlok from the Gita offers a way through the resistance.

00:02:38 Sheetal

Patram pushpam phalam toym.

00:02:42 Sheetal

Yumi Bhagya Praya chati.

00:02:46 Sheetal

Padham bhakti U pareteum.

00:02:50 Sheetal

Ashna Mei prayat Etat Manah, Chapter 9, verse 26.

00:02:58 Sheetal

Whoever with the devoted heart.

00:03:02 Sheetal

Offers to me.

00:03:03 Sheetal

A leaf, flower, fruit 

00:03:07 Sheetal

Or water.

00:03:09 Sheetal

I will partake of that offering.

00:03:15 Saurin

The Shlok tells me that as long as I stay devoted to my craft of writing, even the tiniest of steps will take me closer to my goal and slowly break the whole. That resistance has over me.

00:03:28 Saurin

Not just that.

00:03:30 Saurin

I do not need to create something grand, a small but sincere expression can touch people 's hearts and make a difference.

00:03:39 Saurin

Some small action steps that I can follow.

00:03:43 Saurin

Identify resistance. Step one is to recognize and name the enemy resistance in its various forms is the antagonist that keeps me from doing.

00:03:55 Saurin

My creative work.

00:03:57 Saurin

Without this awareness and acceptance, there can be no Step 2.

00:04:02 Saurin

To practice daily.

00:04:04 Saurin

Now that I know what I face, I must face it every day without fail, and ideally at the same time make it a habit. After all, showing up is half the battle. 

00:04:20 Saurin

Be realistic-Just because the enemy has been identified and fought does not mean it will disappear. In fact, it will redouble its attack. A page a day every day is what I should work towards and ensure for now.

00:04:35 Saurin.

Divide into tiny steps- The smaller the step, the easier it is to slip through resistance.

00:04:42 Saurin

So I have to breakdown projects and tasks into subtasks.

00:04:46 Saurin

So the resistance to doing that is another matter altogether.

00:04:51 Saurin

Minimize distractions.

00:04:53 Saurin

Resistance has allies, and distraction is one of them.

00:04:58 Saurin

I have been making slow but steady progress on this.

00:05:02 Saurin

And have covered this in previous episodes, including Episode 3, working with attention and awareness.

00:05:11 Saurin

Create without attachment. This is another powerful philosophy. I have started enjoying the act of creating without being attached to the original vision or the results.

00:05:23 Saurin

More on this in episode 2 creating without attachment.

00:05:28 Saurin

Reward myself

00:05:29 Saurin

 I must celebrate every.

00:05:32 Saurin

Achievement, no matter how tiny.

00:05:35 Saurin

Even meeting the daily goal deserves their reward.

00:05:39 Saurin

Fight daily - according to Pressfield, resistance can be weakened but never destroyed. It is an ongoing struggle.

00:05:49 Saurin

The most important thing is to keep writing everyday.

00:05:53 Saurin

Even if it's just a page or even a.

00:05:55 Saurin

Few words at a time.

00:05:57 Saurin

Overtime, these words and pages will add up, and once it turns into a habit, the page a day will become 10s of pages and the few words will become thousands.

00:06:10 Saurin

And one day, the enemy will accept that resistance is futile. Thank you for your time and attention. The greatest gift you can give me. I am Saurin Desai. And each week I delve into the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.

00:06:27 Saurin

Together, let's create a community of Creative Souls on this journey of self-discovery and growth. If you have any thoughts, questions or feedback, reach me at Gitacreativesoul@gmail.com

00:06:44 Saurin

And from this moment onwards.

00:06:46 Saurin

I am on a quest to figure out how to start small while on my way to overcoming resistance and creating big.

00:07:00 Sundar

You are listening to Bhagavad Gita for the creative soul.

00:07:03 Sundar

Produced by The Voice bank, conceptualized and written by Saurin Desai, voiced by Sheetal Sahani and Saurin Desai. Directed by Sundar Sethuraman. Executive producer Rashmi Sundaram.

00:07:17 Sundar

Special adviser Kushagra Singh, music by Sushant Sonawale and Dhirendra.

00:07:24 Sundar

Recorded by Tejas Jadhav and Agnel George, Sound designing and mixing by Sushant Sonawale recorded at Crescendo Studios Mumbai.

00:07:33 Sundar

Text copyright Saurin Desai.

00:07:36 Sundar

Sound recording copyright The voice bank.