Shloka 27
Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path
Ethics of Non-attachment
अध्वा सूर्येण निर्दिष्ट: कीटवच्च चरेन्महीम् । दयार्थ चैव भूतानां समीक्ष्य पृथिवीं चरेत्
adhvā sūryeṇa nirdiṣṭaḥ kīṭavac ca caren mahīm | dayārtha caiva bhūtānāṃ samīkṣya pṛthivīṃ caret ||
„Er folge dem vom Sonnengott gewiesenen Pfad und wandle über die Erde wie ein winziges Insekt — demütig und ohne Hochmut. Und aus Mitgefühl für alle Wesen soll er umherziehen und die Welt betrachten.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should live and move through the world with humility (like a small insect, unnoticed and harmless) and with active compassion toward all beings, using one’s travels and observations to cultivate mercy and ethical conduct.
Vāyudeva is speaking, giving a prescriptive instruction on right conduct: to follow a disciplined course ‘indicated by the Sun’ (a regulated, orderly way of moving through the world) while observing the earth and acting from compassion toward living beings.