The Avatar...

"God incarnates Himself in a human form. It is true that He dwells everywhere,
in all living creatures, but the desires of the human soul cannot be fulfilled
except by an Avatara or Divine Incarnation. The human being longs to see Him,
touch Him, be with Him and enjoy His Divine company. In order to fulfill such
desires, the Incarnation of God is necessary. When an Avatara or Divine
Incarnation descends, however, the people at large do not know it. It is known
only to a few chosen disciples. Can everyone comprehend the indivisible Absolute
Brahman, Existence-Intelligence-Bliss Absolute?

"When the Supreme Lord incarnated Himself as Rama, only twelve sages knew it.
The other saints and sages knew Him as the prince [son] of the Raja Dasaratha.
But those twelve sages prayed to Him, saying: 'O Rama, Thou art the indivisible
Existence-Intelligence-Bliss Absolute. Thou hast incarnated in this human form.
By Thine own power of Maya Thou appearest as a human being, but in reality Thou
art the Lord of the universe.'"

Sri Ramakrishna
in _The Gospel of Ramakrishna_
Ed. by Swami Abhedananda, [1907], Ch. XIII, p. 409-410