Just like Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He never said that "I am avatāra." But from His symptoms, from His characteristics, later on great sages, great philosophers, they decided that He's avatāra. Just like here, Sanātana Gosvāmī is stresting, testing, and he's trying to confirm it by Lord Caitanya.
Because Lord Caitanya described here that in this Kali-yuga the avatāra, His symptoms are like this:
- kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
- sāṅgopāṅgāstra pārṣadam
- (SB 11.5.32)
He is in the category of Kṛṣṇa; by His complexion, He's non-black. Akṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam. And He's always followed by confidential associates. And people who are intelligent, they worship Him by the process of saṅkīrtana. Saṅkīrtanair yajñaiḥ kalau yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ. Su-medhasaḥ means those persons who are . . . who have got good brain substance. Not foolish persons. Su-medhasaḥ, a man of great brain substance, they can understand, "Oh, here is . . ." That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in Mahābhārata, in Upaniṣad, in Purāṇas about Lord Caitanya's appearance. There are many symptomatic explanation. But still there are many fools, they do not accept.
So accept or no accept, His work, His activities, His characterize . . . characteristics will be known because God will be known. Just like Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha is accepted as incarnation in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And during the time of Emperor Aśoka, he was patronized, Lord Buddha was patronized . . . not Buddha, or Buddhism was patronized by Aśoka. So practically the whole of Far East, including India, all over, the Buddhism was broadcast and everyone become Buddhist. Whole of India, practically, became Buddhist during his time.
But later on, after Śaṅkarācārya's drive against Buddhism, Buddha-ism . . . Śaṅkarācārya wanted to establish the difference of Buddha-ism and Hinduism is that Buddha-ism, Lord Buddha did not accept Vedic authority. He did not accept Vedic authority. But according to Hindu culture, if somebody does not accept the Vedic authority, then he's not a authority.
Vedānta philosophy, there are different parties in India. The Māyā . . . generally, two parties: the Māyāvāda philosophers and the Vaiṣṇava philosophers, or the impersonalist and the personalist. Otherwise, there is no difference. Ultimately, the Māyāvādī philosophers, they say that God, the Supreme Absolute Truth, is impersonal, and the Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they say in the ultimate, Absolute Truth is Person and He is, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). This is little difference, and they stick to their position and they fight. Fight means by philosophical arguments. That is going on since a very long time.