Bg. 3.21 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जनः । स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ॥ २१ ॥

Verse text

yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate

Synonyms

yat yat — whatever ; ācarati — he does ; śreṣṭhaḥ — a respectable leader ; tat — that ; tat — and that alone ; eva — certainly ; itaraḥ — common ; janaḥ — person ; saḥ — he ; yat — whichever ; pramāṇam — example ; kurute — does perform ; lokaḥ — all the world ; tat — that ; anuvartate — follows in the footsteps.

Translation

Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

21. Whatever actions the superior performs, other persons will also perform. What you do according to scriptural authority, others follow.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

21. Whatever actions the superior performs, other persons will also perform. Whatever the scripture the superior man follows, will be followed by other.

Purport

People in general always require a leader who can teach the public by practical behavior. A leader cannot teach the public to stop smoking if he himself smokes. Lord Caitanya said that a teacher should behave properly before he begins teaching. One who teaches in that way is called ācārya, or the ideal teacher. Therefore, a teacher must follow the principles of śāstra (scripture) to teach the common man. The teacher cannot manufacture rules against the principles of revealed scriptures. The revealed scriptures, like Manu-saṁhitā and similar others, are considered the standard books to be followed by human society. Thus the leader’s teaching should be based on the principles of such standard śāstras. One who desires to improve himself must follow the standard rules as they are practiced by the great teachers. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also affirms that one should follow in the footsteps of great devotees, and that is the way of progress on the path of spiritual realization. The king or the executive head of a state, the father and the schoolteacher are all considered to be natural leaders of the innocent people in general. All such natural leaders have a great responsibility to their dependents; therefore they must be conversant with standard books of moral and spiritual codes.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

In this verse he explains how the people are taught: by following example.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

This verse shows the method of instructing the population. Whatever action the greatest person performs, the others (itaraḥ), even the low person, will follow. Whatever scripture (pramāṇam) the superior person considers in performing his actions (kurute), the lower persons will follow that. Thus the intention is that the best actions authorized by scripture should be performed by the inferior person desiring auspiciousness. And whimsical action performed by the superior or powerful person is rejected, because though it is performed by the superior, it is not approved by scripture.

Surrender Unto Me

No one considers that "O he is much more qualified than me and I cannot follow his example". If someone sees something that looks like is fun in some way and is exciting, everyone immediatly wants to do it without considering qualification. Therefore Krsna's instructions to Arjuna are to help people by setting a good example because "if they follow your example even though you, being so highly qualified may be doing alright by going to the forest, others will only get themselves into trouble.