Three Spoilers of Creativity
I have a full-time job, and several other creative endeavours on the side. Some are only in my head, some are in experimental stages and some are dying to jump out into the world.
I don’t know about you, but I often run into certain problems when working on my creative projects. And these aren’t even the huge problems of finding the resources or the time. It is the simple problems that stump me — the problem of the three spoilers. Without fail, at least one of the three comes nagging, very soon after the project begins.
The three spoilers (along with their Sanskrit names)*:
- Vitteshnaa: A desire for wealth (to earn material rewards)
- Lokeshnaa: A desire for fame (to be praised)
- Putreshnaa: A desire for legacy (to have offspring to continue your work)
[*The reference can be found in several Indian philosophies]
Living beings are wrought with desire. It is quite natural for us, in fact, to desire, to want. Unfortunately, when one of these desires takes over and becomes the very purpose of one’s action, then the action becomes streaked with selfish motives. The creative process gets ruined.
We start our actions with all good intentions and suddenly, from somewhere — ever so subtly — these desires creep in. Before long, they are swaying us madly.
Several of my creative projects have turned into ‘castles in the air’ because I let myself be swayed by these spoilers. I don’t quite know how to get over it, other than to work on myself. Before doing the outer creative work, I think I will have to get internally creative. Perhaps I should start with believing that the ultimate desire of a creative thought is expression, and nothing else. If other desires become the guiding force, I would have to rethink whether I really am a creative!

