CC Madhya 8.249

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

CC Madhya 8.248

CC Madhya 8.250

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT 249

‘mukta-madhye kon jīva mukta kari’ māni?’
‘kṛṣṇa-prema yāṅra, sei mukta-śiromaṇi’

SYNONYMS

mukta-madhye—among the liberated; kon—what; jīva—living entity; mukta—liberated; kari’—considering as; māni—We accept; kṛṣṇa-prema—one who loves Kṛṣṇa; yāṅra—of whom; sei—such a person; mukta-śiromaṇi—the topmost of all liberated souls.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then inquired, “Out of all liberated persons, who should be accepted as the greatest?” Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “He who has love for Kṛṣṇa has attained the topmost liberation.”

PURPORT

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (SB 6.14.5), it is said:

muktānām api siddhānāṁ nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇaḥ

su-durlabhaḥ praśāntātmā koṭiṣv api mahā-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 Nārāyaṇa is very, very rare. Indeed, he is the most perfect and peaceful person.”