May Gītā: 3.21

yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas
tat tad ev'etaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaḿ kurute
lokas tad anuvartate

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

Bhagavad Gītā 3.21

Well let’s just remove the idea of great and common men, there are better words and phrases these days. We all know people that in some way inspire us, they walk from their heart centre speaking and acting in a way that encourages us to be better. We are all perfect imperfection of course and history has shown us that it may be unwise to place anyone on a pedestal but we can be sensitive and aware of ourselves and of others and we can use this sensitivity and awareness to lift our own standards as yogis. Sometimes I am tired – not just physically but sometimes emotionally or mentally, I feel like going to sleep in a corner but this sloka encourages me to challenge myself. As adults we lead a path for the children behind us, standing side-by-side we can help each other to find our resolve to be better. As astanga students we have, for sure, endurance and whether we take inspiration from another or not, I am sure we can find that inner great man or woman to plant a positive footprint today and tomorrow.

– Louise Newton