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THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION
can give evidence from the  Vedas , then it is understood that his position is factual.
The  avatāra  for this age, Lord Caitanya, is described in Vedic literature. We cannot accept anyone as an  avatāra  unless he has the symptoms described in the scriptures. We do not whimsically accept Lord Caitanya as an  avatāra  on the basis of votes. Nowadays it has become a fashion that any man can come and say that he is God or an incarnation of God, and some fools and rascals will accept it: “Oh, he is God.” We do not accept an  avatāra  like that. We take evidence from the  Vedas . An  avatāra  must conform to descriptions in the  Vedas . Then we accept him; otherwise no. For each  avatāra  there is a description in the  Vedas : He will appear at such and such a place, in such and such a form, and He will act like this. That is the nature of Vedic evidence.
In the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  there is a list of the  avatāras , and there is mention of Lord Buddha’s name. This  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  was written five thousand years ago, and it mentions different names for future times. It says that in the future the Lord would appear as Lord Buddha, his mother’s name would be Añjana, and he would appear in Gayā. So Buddha appeared twenty-six hundred years ago, and the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , which was written five thousand years ago, mentioned that in the future he would appear. Similarly, there is mention of Lord Caitanya, and similarly the last  avatāra  of this Kali-yuga is also mentioned in the  Bhāgavatam . It is mentioned that the last incarnation in this age is Kalki. He will appear as the son of a  brāhmaṇa  whose name is Viṣṇu-yaśā, in a place called Śambhala. There is a place in India with that name, so perhaps it is there that the Lord will appear.
So an  avatāra  must conform to the descriptions in the  Upaniṣads ,  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ,  Mahābhārata , and other Vedic literatures. And on the authority of Vedic literature and the commentary of great, stalwart goswamis like Jīva Goswami, who was the greatest scholar and philosopher in the world, we can accept Lord Caitanya as an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa.
Why did Lord Caitanya appear? In the  Bhagavad-gītā  Lord Kṛṣṇa says, “Give up all other engagements and simply engage in My service. I will give you protection from all results of sinful actions.” In this material world, in conditional life, we are simply creating sinful reactions. That’s all. And because of sinful reactions, we have received this body. If our sinful reactions stopped we would not have to take a material body; we should get a spiritual body.
What is a spiritual body? A spiritual body is a body which is free from