Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 8.248

'duḥkha-madhye kona duḥkha haya gurutara?'

'kṛṣṇa-bhakta-viraha vinā duḥkha nāhi dekhi para'

SYNONYMS

duḥkha-madhye — among the miserable conditions of life; kona — what; duḥkha — misery; haya — is; gurutara — more painful; kṛṣṇa-bhakta-viraha — separation from the devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vinā — besides; duḥkha — unhappiness; nāhi — there is not; dekhi — I see; para — other.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, "Of all kinds of distress, what is the most painful?"

Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya replied, "Apart from separation from the devotee of Kṛṣṇa, I know of no unbearable unhappiness."

PURPORT

Concerning this, the Lord states in the Vedic literature:

mām anārādhya duḥkhārtaḥ kuṭumbāsakta-mānasaḥ

sat-sańga-rahito martyo vṛddha-sevā-paricyutaḥ

"A person who does not worship Me, who is unduly attached to family and who does not stick to devotional service must be considered a most unhappy person. Similarly, one who does not associate with Vaiṣṇavas, or who does not render service to his superior, is also a most unhappy person."

There is also the following statement in the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.44):

sva-jīvanādhikaḿ prārthyaḿ śrī-viṣṇu-jana-sańgataḥ

vicchedena kṣaṇaḿ cātra na sukhāḿśaḿ labhāmahe

"Out of all kinds of desirable things experienced in the life of a living entity, association with the devotees of the Lord is the greatest. When we are separated from a devotee even for a moment, we cannot enjoy happiness."

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