(Lord Caitanya, Hawaii)
"So we have to accept one incarnation with reference to the description given in the śāstra. Not that any rascal comes and he becomes incarnation and we accept it. No. There are incarnation. That is a fact. As it is said: deva-tiryaṅ-narādiṣu, hundreds and thousands of incarnation. But if we are intelligent, if we are actually well versed in the śāstras, then we should corroborate. Not that anyone comes to become incarnation, we have to accept. No. That is not our business. Sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya. We have to test sādhu, whether sādhus are accepting.
Just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is accepted by all the sādhus as Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even Śaṅkarācārya, who's an impersonalist, he says, sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ devakī-nandanaḥ. He accepts. And what to speak of other Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya. They all accept. Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepts. Formerly, Vyāsadeva accepted. Nārada accepted. Everyone... Vedas. The other day, when we met Gaṅgeśvarānanda, he quoted so many Vedic passages Kṛṣṇa, about Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So in the Vedas, in the Purāṇas, in the Upaniṣads, and confirmed by great sages, saintly persons, everyone accepts Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then why these rascals cannot find out God? We are giving the name of God, the address of God, the father, God's father's name also, Nanda-nandana, Devakī-nandana. So where is the difficulty to find out? There is no difficulty. But the rascals will not accept. They will continue their rascaldom.
That is the difficulty. Otherwise, it is not at all difficulty to find out where is God. God is neither dead, nor God has become void or impersonal. He's person, dvi-bhuja-muralīdhara, Kṛṣṇa, playing on His flute and jāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī. He is existent always. Adyāpi kare līlāya gaura-rāya, kona kona bhāgyavān dekhibāre pāya... Kṛṣṇa is always existing. Kṛṣṇa's incarnations are always existing, before us. But if we are fortunate enough, we can see; otherwise not.
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko 'pi ciraṁ vicinvan
(SB 10.14.29)
You cannot manufacture the incarnation of God. You cannot see the incarnation of God provided if you are not blessed by God. Svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234).
So the fact is that there are innumerable incarnations of God. As it is said here: līlāvatārānurato deva-tiryaṅ-narādiṣu. And we have to accept Him as incarnation not by whims, not by public votes, but... Just like it has become a fashion, if a man is voted, without reference to the śāstra, if some rascals vote that 'Here is incarnation of God,' we accept. No, we have to accept with reference to the śāstra, symptoms given in the śāstra, and then we shall...
Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu we accept as incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. It is confirmed in the śāstra—in the Upaniṣads, in Mahābhārata, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Everywhere, there are... If you read Caitanya-caritāmṛta, there are so many quotations from the śāstras. Then we accept Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There are some men here in Vṛndāvana, they do not accept Caitanya Mahāprabhu as incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, but there are... They'll not see. They'll not see to the evidences in the śāstra. They'll blind. They'll make themselves blind.
So any incarnation... We should be very careful that, although there are many thousands and thousands of incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, still, when we have to accept somebody or something as incarnation, we must refer to the śāstra. Then it will be right. Otherwise, we shall be misled. That is being done. So many. In the street, in the lanes, there are so many gods. And especially the god, all the gods are going to Western countries. Especially.
Because the Western people are now inclined. Especially after this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they are, they are... They were prepared. They were hankering after this God consciousness, because they are fed up with this all nonsense civilization. These young boys and girls, they are fed up. They do not want to live like their fathers or grandfathers. They want something better.
So therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is becoming successful. They were looking after such cultural movement, but taking advantage, there are so many rascals are going and even posing himself as incarnation of God. People can be misled. Even in India, there are so many men misled with the incarnation of God. But incarnation of God is not so cheap.
Don't make..., don't accept cheap incarnation of God. Try to understand with reference to the śāstras, with reference to the authority. Then it will be all right. Otherwise, it will be misleading. Don't be misled. That is our request."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Vrindavan, November 13, 1972)
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