Just Write

Jaya Rādhā-Śyāma!

Finally I am progressing with writing! Being here in Māyāpura is truly rewarding and the atmosphere of the dhāma is unparalleled. But this progress has not been without its challenges—extraordinary challenges. 

Unfortunately, due mostly to time expended on vlogs and on their follow-up preaching, over the last year my writing had slowed to a pace that made me lose focus on Sādhana-sāra-dīpikā. What does that mean?

It means that I forgot the substantive inspiration for writing the book. I lost both the inspiration for writing and the vision of what I was writing about. The inner fire of inspiration keeps one writing and creative. And the vision is the systematic structure that communicates the message of a book. Lose these two—inspiration and vision—and it’s like trying to find your way blindfolded. 

Sounds catastrophic? It’s devastating! It was an unfamiliar and time-consuming mistake. In order to regain full inspiration and clarity on Sādhana-sāra-dīpikā, I have to reread what I had written to date. So when I say I am progressing with writing, I mean that I am just getting ready to write. And when I say “write,” I mean “rewrite.” And a rewrite is an author’s bane. 

But, Kṛṣṇa has a hand in all of this. By rereading the written 150+ pages, I realised that the structure of Sādhana-sāra-dīpikā was wobbly and its message lacked clarity. Thus I have an opportunity to upgrade the book and so better communicate with my readers. 

It’s not easy to pick up momentum again. I have had experience of having to rewrite chapters lost to computer blackout, and of saying goodbye to hundreds of written pages to editorial cuts. But losing sight of what I am writing about is a new experience. An educational experience to say the least! It reminds me that the most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing. And as I have mentioned earlier, the most important thing for me is to write books, and part of writing is to keep up momentum by writing daily. In Śrīla Prabhupāda’s words “…every day, just write…”

Dear readers! Please give your support and blessings to help me get back on track and fulfill my calling. Jaya Rādhā Śyāma.

Yours in Kṛṣṇa s service,
Śivarāma Swami