'mukta-madhye kon jÄ«va mukta kari' mÄni?'
'kṛṣṇa-prema yÄá¹…ra, sei mukta-Å›iromaṇi'
mukta-madhye - among the liberated; kon - what; jÄ«va - living entity; mukta - liberated; kari' - considering as; mÄni - We accept; kṛṣṇa-prema - one who loves Kṛṣṇa; yÄá¹…ra - of whom; sei - such a person; mukta-Å›iromaṇi - the topmost of all liberated souls.
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu then inquired, “Out of all liberated persons, who should be accepted as the greatest?â€
RÄmÄnanda RÄya replied, “He who has love for Kṛṣṇa has attained the topmost liberation.â€
In ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (6.14.5), it is said:
muktÄnÄm api siddhÄnÄá¹ nÄrÄyaṇa-parÄyaṇaḥ
su-durlabhaḥ praÅ›ÄntÄtmÄ kotiá¹£v api mahÄ-mune
“O great sage, of the many millions of liberated persons and of the millions who have attained perfection, he who is a devotee of Lord NÄrÄyaṇa is very, very rare. Indeed, he is the most perfect and peaceful person.â€
