What This Book Does Best
The Great Work of Your Life is a book that doesn’t disappoint on it’s grand title. It teaches the lessons from the ancient Hindu text, The Bhagavad Gita, making them accessible and relatable. The Gita, dating back to the second or first century BCE and originally written in Sanskrit, has been translated many times. But Cope’s book is much more than a translation, it stands alone as a complete work. His ability to illustrate the relevance of its teachings through examples of today, masterfully conveys why these lessons still matter today. This book offers one of the clearest explanations of the complex concept of dharma.
The Short:
Ancient wisdom from The Bhagavad Gita on how to live a life of purpose, broken down and told through relatable stories.
The Long:
This book is a modern interpretation of The Bhagavad Gita, delivering powerful messages about discovering and living your life’s purpose. The Great Work Of Your Life not only translates the text in a way that is approachable but also intertwines the lessons with real life stories of some history’s most remarkable figures: Jane Goodall, Robert Frost, Susan B Anthony, Beethoven, and Harriet Tubman.
At its core, this book explores the concept of Dharma. Dharma is a loaded word that is hard to define with a single definition. Words like purpose, meaning, true calling come close but don’t fully explain its full depth. A phrase that is often repeated in this book, further helps to explain dharma.
“If you bring forth what is within you, it will save you; if you do not bring forth what is within you, it will destroy you.”
The book then proceeds to break down the 4 pillars of dharma through engaging storytelling. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book because it not only explained these theoretical topics, but also offered proof that these concepts have helped transform the lives of others. Cope masterfully extracts the wisdom from The Gita and demonstrates it with stories of both for ordinary individuals and those who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments.
One of my biggest takeaways from this book was the idea of “letting go of the fruits.” In modern society, it’s so easy to tie our sense of success to likes, views, listens, or other forms of external validation, but the third pillar of dharma is about doing exactly the opposite: acting without attachment to the outcome. This was a challenging concept for me to grasp at first, especially when I thought about my personal endeavors such as creating music. About a month ago, I was thinking to myself, if I create a song and very few people listen to it, should I even record or release it? The Bhagavad Gita’s answer would be yes. We shouldn’t act for acclaim or fame, but for our own inner calling, regardless of whether it bears fruit.
The more I reflected on this, the more it resonated. When I write a song, I feel truly alive in that moment, sitting by myself not thinking about anything else in the world; simply creating. The experience alone is enough to keep me pursuing my craft. While acceptance from others is nice, I shouldn’t deny myself the joy of creation because others “not enough” others listen. By focusing on the feeling it brings me, I embrace the essence of dharma.
The final point I want to share about this book is its discussion of reincarnation. The idea recurs throughout the text: The Self—our soul, our essence—cannot be destroyed. While we may leave our earthly body, our soul endures. I grew up Catholic but never fully connected with the religion. It often felt more like an obligation rooted in guilt than a space where I could understand the lessons of the bible. As I’ve grown older, my spirituality has deepened, and the notion that we may live multiple lifetimes, giving our souls the chance to evolve, feels true to me. It also puts our daily struggles into perspective, much like gazing out at the vast ocean or the stars above. Knowing that the soul endures more than just one lifetime, gives me comfort that I don’t need to be perfect, and I can take risks and learn along the way. The journey itself, the growth, and learning is what matters most. This book served as a gentle, timely reminder of that lesson.
Who needs to read this now?
This book truly resonated with me and my pursuit of finding purpose in my work and life. It helped validate my inner pull toward a calling and showed me how to deepen my work towards purpose. If you’re someone who feels that inner voice nudging you toward something more, this is a book you need to read. The ancient wisdom of The Bhagavad Gita is broken down so clearly, and the writing is so engaging that I couldn’t put it down. For anyone searching for their purpose, their dharma, this is an absolute must-read.