Feeling separation from Kṛṣṇa.

 

It is stated in Śrīnivāsācārya’s prayer to the Six Gosvāmīs that they left the material opulences of government service and the princely status of life and went to Vṛndāvana, where they lived just like ordinary mendicants, begging from door to door. But they were so much enriched with the gopīs’ feelings of separation that they enjoyed transcendental pleasure at every moment. Similarly, when Lord Caitanya was at Jagannātha Purī, He was in the role of Rādhārāṇī, feeling separation from Kṛṣṇa. Those who are in the disciplic succession of the Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya should always feel separation from Kṛṣṇa, worship His transcendental form and discuss His transcendental teachings, His pastimes, His qualities, His entourage and His association. That will enrich the devotees to the highest devotional perfection. Feeling constant separation while engaged in the service of the Lord is the perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, chapter 35, The Gopīs’ Feelings of Separation

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There are two conceptions of presence—the physical conception and the vibrational conception. The physical conception is temporary, whereas the vibrational conception is eternal. When we enjoy or relish the vibration of Kṛṣṇa's teachings in Bhagavad-gītā, or when we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we should know that by those vibrations He is immediately present. He is absolute, and because of this His vibration is just as important as His physical presence. When we feel separation from Kṛṣṇa or the spiritual master, we should just try to remember their words of instructions, and we will no longer feel that separation. Such association with Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master should be association by vibration, not physical presence. That is real association. We put so much stress on seeing, but when Kṛṣṇa was present on this earth, so many people saw Him and did not realize that He is God; so what is the advantage of seeing? By seeing Kṛṣṇa, we will not understand Him, but by listening carefully to His teachings, we can come to the platform of understanding. We can touch Kṛṣṇa immediately by sound vibration; therefore we should give more stress to the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa and of the spiritual master—then we'll feel happy and won't feel separation.

Elevation to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, Chapter 4: Knowing Kṛṣṇa as He Is

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Prabhupāda: Love of God is an emotion. One may cry in the perfectional stage of devotional service. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu threw Himself into the ocean, that was an emotional act, but that was also a perfect act. According to his emotions, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was considering one moment to be like a yuga, like forty-three million years. This was because He was feeling separation from Kṛṣṇa. When we feel separation from Govinda, Kṛṣṇa, our emotions are in perfect order. That is the perfection of life. However, when the emotions are misused, that is māyā.

Dialectic Spiritualism, Chapter 5, Benedict Spinoza [1632-1677]