If anyone confers greatness on you and begins to worship you and garland you, you know yourself that you do not deserve it. At the outset, you are tempted to accept this greatness which makes you feel happy. But your conscience will be consciously pricking you, and you will be always in a state of anxiety about future developments. You will be frequently in a fix either to accept or reject the greatness which is thrust on you.
Once you accept this conferred greatness, it becomes very difficult for you to get out of the situation. After a time, the pricks of conscience even cease troubling you, for you get used to them. Then it becomes an addiction and you cannot do without it. You then pose as a real saint. This posing will cause you to take additional innumerable births. So why pose as a saint, without the inner experience?
As for myself, I say I am the Highest of the High. Had I not been the Ancient One, I would have encouraged you to visit the so-called saints. I would have even praised them, and they also would have praised me in return. Thus a clique would get formed that would promote mutual praise to dupe the public.
If anyone of you meets an imitation saint or an imitation Avatar, what would he say to you? He would say the same thing as I do. If you tell him that Baba is the Avatar, he may even say: "I am the real one and Baba is a fraud!" When anyone approaches an imitation saint and is attracted by the outward atmosphere which he creates about him and, if owing to his faith in the imitation saint, he gets experiences, he is likely to attribute them to that imitation saint. This creates confusion.
Baba continued to explain:
Now I will tell you about an incident. During my last visit to America, a gentleman who has been staying in America for a long time remained by my side during some of my programs, and particularly when the films and photographs were taken. This gentleman has studied and intellectually grasped what I have said, but has misused it. From one of the letters from the U.S.A., I hear that this gentleman has started telling people that he is Baba's representative!