“Whatever a respected person does, others do the same. Whatever standard they set, the world follows.”

Children copy what we do

In chapter 3, Lord Krishna explains why even a person who has nothing left to gain should keep acting well. One reason: people are watching.

The key word is śreṣṭha, the best, the most respected. It doesn’t only mean kings and leaders. In a home, the śreṣṭha is the parent, the grandparent, the older sibling. Whatever they do, itaro janaḥ, “the other people”, do too. And whatever they treat as pramāṇa, the standard of what’s right, becomes everyone’s standard.

In the next verses Lord Krishna applies this to himself: he keeps acting, he says, because if he stopped, others would follow his example.

This is both a weight and a gift. Our children will forget most of our lectures. They will remember how we spoke to the shopkeeper, how we handled a mistake, and whether we kept our promises.

For a parent: if you want readers, let them catch you reading. For an older sibling: the little ones copy you more than anyone. At work: a team’s culture is set by what its leaders actually do.

For kids: “Little ones copy me, so I’ll give them something good to copy.”