Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 25.78

prabhu kahe, — 'viṣṇu' 'viṣṇu', āmi kṣudra jīva hīna

jīve 'viṣṇu' māni — ei aparādha-cihna

SYNONYMS

prabhu kahe — Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said; viṣṇu viṣṇu — the holy name of Viṣṇu; āmi — I; kṣudra — infinitesimal; jīva — a living entity; hīna — bereft of all good qualities; jīve — such a low-grade living entity; viṣṇu māni — accepting as Lord Viṣṇu or the Personality of Godhead; ei aparādha-cihna — this is a great offense.

TRANSLATION

When Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī supported himself by quoting the verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately protested by uttering the holy name of Lord Viṣṇu. The Lord then presented Himself as a most fallen living entity, and He said, "If someone accepts a fallen conditioned soul as Viṣṇu, Bhagavān, or an incarnation, he commits a great offense."

PURPORT

Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to teach us a lesson He nonetheless denied belonging to the Viṣṇu category. Unfortunately, there are many so-called Viṣṇu incarnations in this Age of Kali. People do not know that posing oneself as an incarnation is most offensive. People should not accept an ordinary man as an incarnation of God, for this also is a very great offense.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness