Ordinary man (SB)

Expressions researched:
"ordinary man" |"ordinary men"

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

"My mission is to deliver all the fallen souls of this age," He thought, "but if they commit offenses against Me, thinking Me to be an ordinary man, they will not benefit. If they are to begin their life of spiritual realization, they must some way or another offer obeisances unto Me."

SB Introduction:

The Vedic mantras are too difficult for an ordinary man. Women, śūdras and the so-called twice-born higher castes are unable to penetrate into the sense of the Vedas.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.2.9, Purport:

The general tendency of any ordinary man in any part of the world is to gain some material profit in exchange for religious or any other occupational service.

SB 1.2.20, Purport:

In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.3) it is said that out of many thousands of ordinary men, one fortunate man endeavors for perfection in life.

SB 1.2.20, Purport:

No ordinary man, or even one who has attained success in human life, can know scientifically or perfectly the Personality of Godhead.

SB 1.3.21, Purport:

Originally the Veda is one. But Śrīla Vyāsadeva divided the original Veda into four, namely Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg, Atharva, and then again they were explained in different branches like the Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata. Vedic language and the subject matter are very difficult for ordinary men.

SB 1.3.22, Purport:

The conditions of each and every planet are different, and different classes of human beings are accommodated there for particular purposes mentioned in the codes of the Lord. But, puffed up by tiny success in material advancement, sometimes the godless materialists challenge the existence of God. Rāvaṇa was one of them, and he wanted to deport ordinary men to the planet of Indra (heaven) by material means without consideration of the necessary qualifications.

SB 1.4.24, Purport:

The seed of all knowledge, or the Veda, is not a subject matter which can easily be understood by any ordinary man.

SB 1.5.2, Purport:

Ordinary men with a poor fund of knowledge can identify the body as self or the mind as self, but Vyāsadeva should not have done so.

SB 1.5.11, Purport:

It is a qualification of the great thinkers to pick up the best even from the worst. It is said that the intelligent man should pick up nectar from a stock of poison, should accept gold even from a filthy place, should accept a good and qualified wife even from an obscure family and should accept a good lesson even from a man or from a teacher who comes from the untouchables. These are some of the ethical instructions for everyone in every place without exception. But a saint is far above the level of an ordinary man.

SB 1.6.13, Purport:

In this age of Kali, sannyāsa is forbidden for ordinary men.

SB 1.8.19, Purport:

In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa affirms that less intelligent persons mistake Him to be an ordinary man like us, and thus they deride Him.

SB 1.9.20, Purport:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, although acting as the cousin, brother, friend, well-wisher, counselor, messenger, benefactor, etc., of the Pāṇḍavas, was still the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Out of His causeless mercy and favor upon His unalloyed devotees, He performs all kinds of service, but that does not mean that He has changed His position as the Absolute Person. To think of Him as an ordinary man is the grossest type of ignorance.

SB 1.9.28, Purport:

Incidents mentioned in the Vedic literatures, such as the Purāṇas, Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa are factual historical narrations that took place sometime in the past, although not in any chronological order. Such historical facts, being instructive for ordinary men, were assorted without chronological reference.

SB 1.9.32, Purport:

For the ordinary man who wants to lord it over material nature, the Lord not only sanctions and becomes a witness of activities, but He never gives the nondevotee instructions for going back to Godhead. T

SB 1.9.45, Purport:

The respect and recognition of Bhīṣmadeva are never to be imitated by artificial means, as it has become a fashion to observe the so-called jayantī ceremony for any and every common man. According to authorized śāstras, such a jayantī ceremony for an ordinary man, however exalted he may be materially, is an offense to the Lord because jayantī is reserved for the day when the Lord appears on the earth.

SB 1.13.28, Purport:

To become narottama, or a first-class human being depending completely on the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is not possible for any ordinary man.

SB 1.14.37, Purport:

Satyabhāmā instigated her husband to get the pārijāta flower from the heavenly planets, and the Lord got it even by force from the demigods, as a common husband secures things to please his wife. As already explained, the Lord had very little to do with so many wives to carry out their orders like an ordinary man.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.4.18, Purport:

"One should not consider the Deity of the Lord as worshiped in the temple to be an idol, nor should one consider the authorized spiritual master an ordinary man. Nor should one consider a pure Vaiṣṇava to belong to a particular caste, etc." (Padma Purāṇa)

SB 2.5.10, Purport:

Nāradajī is one of the liberated souls, and after his liberation he was known as Nārada; otherwise, before his liberation, he was simply a son of a maidservant. The questions may be asked why Nāradajī was not aware of the Supreme Lord and why he mis-conceived Brahmājī to be the Supreme Lord, although factually he was not. A liberated soul is never bewildered by such a mistaken idea, so why did Nāradajī ask all those questions just like an ordinary man with a poor fund of knowledge?

SB 2.5.10, Purport:

There was such bewilderment in Arjuna also, although he is eternally the associate of the Lord. Such bewilderment in Arjuna or in Nārada takes place by the will of the Lord so that other, nonliberated persons may realize the real truth and knowledge of the Lord. The doubt arising in the mind of Nārada about Brahmājī's becoming all-powerful is a lesson for the frogs in the well, that they may not be bewildered in misconceiving the identity of the Personality of Godhead (even by comparison to a personality like Brahmā, so what to speak of ordinary men who falsely pose themselves as God or an incarnation of God).

SB 2.7.10, Purport:

The practice of jaḍa-yoga was possible for Ṛṣabhadeva and others on the same level of perfection, but such an uncommon practice is impossible for an ordinary man.

SB 2.7.32, Purport:

The demigods are engaged by the Lord as controlling deities of material affairs, and according to the Bhagavad-gītā, when a demigod is worshiped the process is accepted as the indirect method for worshiping the Supreme Lord. But when the Supreme Lord is worshiped directly there is no need of worshiping the demigods or offering them sacrifices as recommended in particular circumstances. Lord Kṛṣṇa therefore advised the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi not to offer any sacrifices to the heavenly King Indra. But Indra, not knowing Lord Kṛṣṇa in Vrajabhūmi, was angry at the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi and tried to avenge the offense. But, competent as the Lord was, He saved the inhabitants and animals of Vrajabhūmi by His personal energy and proved definitely that anyone directly engaged as a devotee of the Supreme Lord need not satisfy any other demigods, however great, even to the level of Brahmā, or Śiva. Thus this incident definitely proved without a doubt that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Personality of Godhead and that He was so in all circumstances, as a child on the lap of His mother, as a boy 7 years old, and as an old man of 125 years of age. In either case He was never on the level of the ordinary man, and even in His advanced age He appeared a young boy 16 years old.

SB 2.7.53, Purport:

Lord Śrī Caitanya never indulged in hearing the rāsa-līla with ordinary men.

SB 2.10.9, Purport:

The propaganda of the identity of cosmic consciousness with the consciousness of the individual living entities is completely misleading because even such a person or individual soul as Arjuna could not remember his past deeds, although he is always with the Lord. And what can the tiny ordinary man, falsely claiming to be one with the cosmic consciousness, know about his past, present and future?

SB Canto 3

SB 3.1.44, Purport:

The activities of the Lord are to be accepted and relished by all living entities. His activities are to attract the ordinary man towards the Lord.

SB 3.1.44, Purport:

The Lord always acts in favor of the devotees, and therefore ordinary men who are fruitive actors or seekers of salvation may be attracted to the Lord when He acts as protector of the devotees.

SB 3.2.10, Purport:

The Yādavas and other devotees of the Lord are different from those who wrongly calculated Him to be an ordinary human personality. Such persons are certainly bewildered by the illusory energy. They are hellish and are envious of the Supreme Lord. The illusory energy acts very powerfully on them because in spite of their elevated mundane education, such persons are faithless and are infected by the mentality of atheism. They are always very eager to establish that Lord Kṛṣṇa was an ordinary man who was killed by a hunter due to His many impious acts in plotting to kill the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Jarāsandha, the demoniac kings of the earth.

SB 3.4.22, Purport:

Badarikāśrama in the Himalayas, the abode of the Nara-Nārāyaṇa sages, is a great place of pilgrimage for the Hindus. Even up to the present, hundreds and thousands of pious Hindus go to pay respects to the incarnation of Godhead Nara-Nārāyaṇa. It appears that even five thousand years ago this holy place was being visited by such a holy being as Uddhava, and even at that time the place was known to be very, very old. This particular pilgrimage site is very difficult to visit for ordinary men because of its difficult situation in the Himalayas in a place which is covered by ice almost all year.

SB 3.9.6, Purport:

A pure devotee may be attracted to accumulating wealth just like an ordinary man, but the difference is that a devotee acquires money for the service of the Lord, whereas the ordinary man acquires money for his sense enjoyment.

SB 3.9.6, Purport:

A pure devotee is never entangled in material worldly affairs even though he may remain in the world like an ordinary man.

SB 3.12.26, Purport:

When one is frustrated in lust and low desires, anger is generated from the mind and expressed from between the eyebrows. Ordinary men are therefore advised to concentrate the mind by focusing on the place between the eyebrows, whereas the devotees of the Lord are already practiced to place the Supreme Personality of Godhead on the seat of their minds.

SB 3.13.10, Purport:

Manu's obedience to his father on material grounds was certainly free from envy, and in the material world it is imperative for ordinary men to follow the example of Manu.

SB 3.15.26, Purport:

The airplanes in the spiritual sky are self-illuminated and are piloted by great devotees of the Lord. In other words, in the Vaikuṇṭha planets there is no scarcity of the things which are available in the material world; they are available, but they are more valuable because they are spiritual and therefore eternal and blissful. The sages felt an unprecedented happiness because Vaikuṇṭha was not predominated by an ordinary man.

SB 3.19.32, Purport:

A child breaks so many dolls without real endeavor. Similarly, although a demon may be very powerful and extraordinary in the eyes of an ordinary man in the material world, to the Lord, killing such a demon is no difficulty.

SB 3.25.1, Purport:

When one is situated in the mode of goodness he is able to understand knowledge of the self, or transcendental knowledge. This knowledge cannot be appreciated by any ordinary man.

SB 3.25.20, Purport:

A sādhu is not just an ordinary man with a saffron robe or long beard.

SB 3.27.8, Purport:

A devotee should select a place of residence where everyone is interested in devotional service. Generally, therefore, a devotee goes to a sacred place of pilgrimage where devotees live. It is recommended that he live in a place where there is no large number of ordinary men.

SB 3.28.38, Purport:

Even after being switched off, an electric fan moves for some time. That movement is not due to the electric current, but is a continuation of the last movement; similarly, although a liberated soul appears to be acting just like an ordinary man, his actions are to be accepted as the continuation of past activities.

SB 3.29.17, Purport:

To think of the Vaiṣṇavas, the devotees, as belonging to a particular caste or community, to think of the ācāryas as ordinary men or to think of the Deity in the temple as being made of stone, wood or metal, is condemned.

SB 3.31.12, Purport:

The word calac-caraṇāravindam refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who actually walks or travels upon the surface of the world. For example, Lord Rāmacandra actually walked on the surface of the world, and Lord Kṛṣṇa also walked just like an ordinary man.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.4.12, Purport:

Twice-born refers to the higher classes of men, namely the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. In other words, a dvija is not an ordinary man but one who has studied the Vedic literature from a spiritual master and can discriminate between good and bad.

SB 4.4.15, Purport:

Lord Śiva, being very quickly satisfied, satisfies the material desires of the common man very quickly; therefore it is seen that ordinary men are very much apt to worship him.

SB 4.4.15, Purport:

People generally practice religion for economic development, to get some money, for by getting money they can satisfy their senses. But when they are frustrated they want spiritual brahmānanda, or merging into the Supreme. These four principles of material life—religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation—exist, and Lord Śiva is the friend of both the ordinary man and the man who is elevated in spiritual knowledge.

SB 4.4.19, Translation:

It is better to execute one's own occupational duty than to criticize others'. Elevated transcendentalists may sometimes forgo the rules and regulations of the Vedas, since they do not need to follow them, just as the demigods travel in space whereas ordinary men travel on the surface of the earth.

SB 4.7.32, Purport:

The Lord's uncommon features, uncommon activities and uncommon beauty can be perceived even by an ordinary man.

SB 4.8.30, Translation:

Now you have decided to undertake the mystic process of meditation under the instruction of your mother, just to achieve the mercy of the Lord, but in my opinion such austerities are not possible for any ordinary man. It is very difficult to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 4.10.14, Purport:

The denizens of the planet Siddhaloka, where the residents can fly in the sky without airplanes, were anxious over Dhruva Mahārāja's welfare in the battlefield. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says, therefore, that not only is a devotee well protected by the Supreme Lord, but all the demigods, and even ordinary men, are anxious for his security and safety.

SB 4.20.2, Purport:

It is a custom among yogīs and jñānīs to address one another (or even an ordinary man) as one's self, for a transcendentalist never accepts a living being to be the body.

SB 4.20.4, Purport:

No one can be perfect in knowledge without being trained by the paramparā system. Pṛthu Mahārāja was completely trained in that line; therefore he did not deserve to be considered an ordinary man.

SB 4.20.4, Purport:

An ordinary man, who has only a conception of bodily existence, is always bewildered by the modes of material nature.

SB 4.21.11, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11). This means that sometimes people misunderstand an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be an ordinary man.

SB 4.21.11, Purport:

The Supreme Godhead, His incarnations or His devotees may pose themselves as ordinary men, but they are never to be considered as such. Nor should an ordinary man not supported by authorized statements of the śāstras and ācāryas be accepted as an incarnation or devotee.

SB 4.21.12, Purport:

"One who thinks the Deity in the temple to be made of wood or stone, who thinks of the spiritual master in the disciplic succession as an ordinary man, who thinks the Vaiṣṇava in the Acyuta-gotra to belong to a certain caste or creed or who thinks of caraṇāmṛta or Ganges water as ordinary water is taken to be a resident of hell." (Padma Purāṇa)

SB 4.23.26, Purport:

Pṛthu Mahārāja was a pure devotee, and his wife, Queen Arci, simply followed her husband. Thus they can both be considered pure devotees, and thus they are capable of performing inconceivable activities. Such activities are not possible for ordinary men. Indeed, ordinary men cannot even take to the devotional service of the Lord, nor can ordinary women maintain such vows of chastity and follow their husbands in all respects.

SB 4.27.21, Purport:

The invalidity of old age can overcome an ordinary man, but Nārada Muni was different.

SB 4.27.21, Purport:

Taking Nārada Muni to be an ordinary man, the daughter of Time confronted him with her lusty desire.

SB 4.28.65, Purport:

There are many stories in the Purāṇas that are intended to interest ordinary men in transcendental subjects, but actually these refer to real facts.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.1.6, Purport:

Just as an ordinary man always engages his mind in material activities, a devotee always engages his mind in spiritual activities.

SB 5.1.29, Translation:

After Kavi, Mahāvīra and Savana were completely trained in the paramahaṁsa stage of life, Mahārāja Priyavrata ruled the universe for eleven arbudas of years. Whenever he was determined to fix his arrow upon his bowstring with his two powerful arms, all opponents of the regulative principles of religious life would flee from his presence in fear of the unparalleled prowess he displayed in ruling the universe. He greatly loved his wife Barhiṣmatī, and with the increase of days, their exchange of nuptial love also increased. By her feminine behavior as she dressed herself, walked, got up, smiled, laughed, and glanced about, Queen Barhiṣmatī increased his energy. Thus although he was a great soul, he appeared lost in the feminine conduct of his wife. He behaved with her just like an ordinary man, but actually he was a great soul.

SB 5.9.6, Purport:

When one is fully interested in the service of the Lord, he does not need to follow all the regulative principles enunciated in the Vedas. Of course, for an ordinary man, the Vedic principles are imperative.

SB 5.10.14, Translation:

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, when King Rahūgaṇa chastised the exalted devotee Jaḍa Bharata with harsh words, that peaceful, saintly person tolerated it all and replied properly. Nescience is due to the bodily conception, and Jaḍa Bharata was not affected by this false conception. Out of his natural humility, he never considered himself a great devotee, and he agreed to suffer the results of his past karma. Like an ordinary man, he thought that by carrying the palanquin, he was destroying the reactions of his past misdeeds. Thinking in this way, he began to carry the palanquin as before.

SB 5.11 Summary:

One can understand the Supreme Soul and one's position in relationship with Him when one is completely freed from the unwanted association of ordinary men.

SB 5.12.14, Purport:

If the spiritual master is considered an ordinary man, the disciple surely loses his chance to advance further.

SB 5.12.15, Translation:

My dear heroic King, due to my past sincere service to the Lord, I could remember everything of my past life even while in the body of a deer. Because I am aware of the falldown in my past life, I always keep myself separate from the association of ordinary men. Being afraid of their bad, materialistic association, I wander alone unnoticed by others.

SB 5.14.40, Purport:

Material advancement may be very pleasing to an ordinary man, but ultimately he is defeated because he identifies himself with the material body and considers everything related to it to be his property.

SB 5.19.28, Purport:

Even the demigods must return to earth to work like ordinary men when the results of their pious activities expire.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.4.34, Purport:

An ordinary man may be a great philosopher and may speculate upon what the Absolute Truth is, what His form is and where He is existing, but be cannot understand these truths.

SB 6.5.44, Purport:

Prajāpati Dakṣa was not an ordinary man; he had accumulated the results of many pious activities.

SB 6.17.7, Purport:

Citraketu appreciated the exalted position of Lord Śiva, and therefore he remarked at how wonderful it was that Lord Śiva was acting like an ordinary human being. He appreciated Lord Śiva's position, but when he saw Lord Śiva sitting in the midst of saintly persons and acting like a shameless, ordinary man, he was astonished.

SB 6.17.10, Purport:

The most powerful cannot be criticized by an ordinary man, or even by a great personality.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.2.10, Purport:

For ordinary men, at least five yajñas, known as pañca-mahāyajña, are necessary.

SB 7.5.4, Purport:

It is impossible, practically speaking, for ordinary men to challenge scientists or philosophers concerning genuine knowledge, but a devotee can challenge them because the best of everything is known to a devotee by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.

SB 7.13.23, Purport:

Unless one is prepared to take instructions, it is said that a saintly person should not address him, although sometimes, because of great kindness, a saintly person speaks to ordinary men. As for Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, since he was not a common, ordinary man, whatever questions he posed would have to be answered, even by a great and exalted personality.

SB 7.15.26, Purport:

One may argue by saying that since the spiritual master's relatives and the men of his neighborhood consider him an ordinary human being, what is the fault on the part of the disciple who considers the spiritual master an ordinary human being? This will be answered in the next verse, but the injunction is that the spiritual master should never be considered an ordinary man.

SB 7.15.32-33, Purport:

For an ordinary man in the bodily concept of life, the practice of yoga may be helpful, but one who immediately takes to devotional service can immediately become a perfect yogī without difficulty.

SB 7.15.77, Purport:

Lord Kṛṣṇa is not properly understood even by such exalted personalities as Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā, what to speak of ordinary men, but by His causeless mercy He bestows the benediction of devotion upon His devotees, who can thus understand Kṛṣṇa as He is.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.2.5, Purport:

As ordinary men may play in the salty ocean, the inhabitants of the higher planetary systems go to the ocean of milk.

SB 8.3.2, Purport:

Atheists think that devotees foolishly worship a stone statue as God and an ordinary man as the guru.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.15.25, Translation and Purport:

Kārtavīryārjuna thought that Jamadagni was more powerful and wealthy than himself because of possessing a jewel in the form of the kāmadhenu. Therefore he and his own men, the Haihayas, were not very much appreciative of Jamadagni's reception. On the contrary, they wanted to possess that kāmadhenu, which was useful for the execution of the agnihotra sacrifice.

Jamadagni was more powerful than Kārtavīryārjuna because of performing the agnihotra-yajña with clarified butter received from the kāmadhenu. Not everyone can be expected to possess such a cow. Nonetheless, an ordinary man may possess an ordinary cow, give protection to this animal, take sufficient milk from it, and engage the milk to produce butter and clarified ghee, especially for performing the agnihotra-yajña.

SB 9.18.29, Purport:

In the history of Kṛṣṇa's household life we find that Kṛṣṇa married 16,108 wives. These were not maidservants but direct queens, and Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself into 16,108 forms to maintain different establishments for each and every wife. This is not possible for ordinary men. Therefore although the kings had to maintain many, many servants and wives, not all of them had different establishments.

SB 9.23.20-21, Purport:

Although the Lord maintains innumerable universes within the period of His breath, He is dressed with a form exactly like that of a human being. That does not mean, however, that He is a human being. This is His original form, but because He looks like a human being, those with a poor fund of knowledge consider Him an ordinary man.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.1.31-32, Purport:

Even an ordinary man, especially a high-class brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya, is supposed to give his daughter a liberal dowry.

SB 10.1.69, Purport:

The Lord's position is actually different from that of an ordinary person, for although He appears to act like an ordinary man, He is always transcendental.

SB 10.2.10, Purport:

After cheating Kaṁsa, Māyādevī dispersed herself to various places, especially in Vindhyācala, to accept regular worship from ordinary men.

SB 10.3.1-5, Purport:

The Lord's appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man, who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds.

SB 10.3.7-8, Purport:

I he asuras wrongly think that Kṛṣṇa took birth like an ordinary child and passed away from this world like an ordinary man.

SB 10.13.3, Translation:

O King, kindly hear me with great attention. Although the activities of the Supreme Lord are very confidential, no ordinary man being able to understand them, I shall speak about them to you, for spiritual masters explain to a submissive disciple even subject matters that are very confidential and difficult to understand.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.56.22, Translation:

Unaware of His true position and thinking Him an ordinary man, Jāmbavān angrily began fighting with the Supreme Lord, his master.

SB 10.75.27, Translation:

As they all glorified the wonderful Rājasūya-yajña performed by that great saintly King and servant of Lord Hari, they were not satiated, just as an ordinary man is never satiated when drinking nectar.

SB 10.82.20, Translation:

Śrī Vasudeva said: Dear sister, please do not be angry with us. We are only ordinary men, playthings of fate. Indeed, whether a person acts on his own or is forced by others, he is always under the Supreme Lord's control.

SB 11.17.27, Translation:

One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.

SB 11.23.11, Translation:

Some of the wealth of this so-called brāhmaṇa was taken away by his relatives, My dear Uddhava, some by thieves, some by the whims of providence, some by the effects of time, some by ordinary men and some by government authorities.

SB 11.31.9, Translation:

Just as ordinary men cannot ascertain the path of a lightning bolt as it leaves a cloud, the demigods could not trace out the movements of Lord Kṛṣṇa as He returned to His abode.