'duḥkha-madhye kona duḥkha haya gurutara?'
'kṛṣṇa-bhakta-viraha vinÄ duḥkha nÄhi dekhi para'
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; vinÄ - besides; duḥkha - unhappiness; nÄhi - there is not; dekhi - I see; para - other.
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu asked, “Of all kinds of distress, what is the most painful?â€
ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya replied, “Apart from separation from the devotee of Kṛṣṇa, I know of no unbearable unhappiness.â€
Concerning this, the Lord states in the Vedic literature:
mÄm anÄrÄdhya duḥkhÄrtaḥ kuá¹umbÄsakta-mÄnasaḥ
sat-saá¹…ga-rahito martyo vá¹›ddha-sevÄ-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.â€
There is also the following statement in the Bá¹›had-bhÄgavatÄmá¹›ta (1.5.54):
sva-jÄ«vanÄdhikaá¹ prÄrthyaá¹ Å›rÄ«-viṣṇu-jana-saá¹…gataḥ
vicchedena ká¹£aṇaá¹ cÄtra na sukhÄá¹Å›aá¹ labhÄmahe
“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.â€
