CHAPTER THREE, TEXT 21: Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.
Once, I asked my spiritual teacher if he had any instruction for me. He simply said, "Be exemplary."
Year after year, his words have rung in my head and reverberated out into my behavior. It's very confronting.
Would I want another girl or woman to wear what I'm wearing?
Say what I'm saying? to her mother? to her student? to her husband?
Would I want another woman to do what I'm doing? in the subway? at the temple? online?
Post a picture that I'm posting?
Write what I'm writing?
How does an exemplary woman behave at work? At school? With her husband?
Basically, the declaration is: Make my life transparent. I have nothing to hide.
What's more, I need people to look up to, to show me the way to live a transparent life. Without their examples, I would be very lost indeed. In my mind I think of my mother, dance teacher, husband, spiritual master, professors, other teachers, and more.
In the purport to this verse, Prabhupad writes that "People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behavior" (149). Practical behavior is the key phrase here. Philosophy and words only take us so far. We all need someone who can show us the way through his or her example.
A leader is often equated with a powerful role that he or she attains, such as the CEO of Amazon or the President of the United States. In this verse, for the phrase "great man" Krishna uses the word sresthas, which is translated in the word-for-word as "respectable leader." In this sense, just being in the position of a CEO or the President is not enough for us to call him or her a "great man" - the person must be respectable.
Nevertheless, a role does carry a heavy responsibility. Prabhupad elaborates that "The king or the executive head of state, the father and the schoolteacher are all considered to be natural leaders of the innocent people in general" (149). Note that while many people may or may not have a king or even a schoolteacher to look up to, everyone has a father. For better or for worse, the example the father sets is a powerful precedent for the family and for society at large. The repercussions are great: "All such natural leaders have a great responsibility to their dependents" (149).
Would I want another father to do what I'm doing?
Would I want another mother to do what I'm doing?
Would I want another teacher to do what I'm doing?
Sometimes, it's hard to answer those questions. We simply don't know. That's why we need other people to set the example for us, those who are more powerful, loving, and wise.
So then I may ask: Who is MY role model? Who do I look up to? What would he do? What would she do? Those role models often light up a path that seems very dark. And then, once we are guided, we light the way for others. We are all meant to be leaders, to set standards that the whole world would follow.
Once, I asked my spiritual teacher if he had any instruction for me. He simply said, "Be exemplary."
Year after year, his words have rung in my head and reverberated out into my behavior. It's very confronting.
Would I want another girl or woman to wear what I'm wearing?
Say what I'm saying? to her mother? to her student? to her husband?
Would I want another woman to do what I'm doing? in the subway? at the temple? online?
Post a picture that I'm posting?
Write what I'm writing?
How does an exemplary woman behave at work? At school? With her husband?
Basically, the declaration is: Make my life transparent. I have nothing to hide.
What's more, I need people to look up to, to show me the way to live a transparent life. Without their examples, I would be very lost indeed. In my mind I think of my mother, dance teacher, husband, spiritual master, professors, other teachers, and more.
In the purport to this verse, Prabhupad writes that "People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behavior" (149). Practical behavior is the key phrase here. Philosophy and words only take us so far. We all need someone who can show us the way through his or her example.
A leader is often equated with a powerful role that he or she attains, such as the CEO of Amazon or the President of the United States. In this verse, for the phrase "great man" Krishna uses the word sresthas, which is translated in the word-for-word as "respectable leader." In this sense, just being in the position of a CEO or the President is not enough for us to call him or her a "great man" - the person must be respectable.
Nevertheless, a role does carry a heavy responsibility. Prabhupad elaborates that "The king or the executive head of state, the father and the schoolteacher are all considered to be natural leaders of the innocent people in general" (149). Note that while many people may or may not have a king or even a schoolteacher to look up to, everyone has a father. For better or for worse, the example the father sets is a powerful precedent for the family and for society at large. The repercussions are great: "All such natural leaders have a great responsibility to their dependents" (149).
Would I want another father to do what I'm doing?
Would I want another mother to do what I'm doing?
Would I want another teacher to do what I'm doing?
Sometimes, it's hard to answer those questions. We simply don't know. That's why we need other people to set the example for us, those who are more powerful, loving, and wise.
So then I may ask: Who is MY role model? Who do I look up to? What would he do? What would she do? Those role models often light up a path that seems very dark. And then, once we are guided, we light the way for others. We are all meant to be leaders, to set standards that the whole world would follow.
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