Even in Vrndavana there is anxiety. Radharani is in anxiety that “Krsna is not here. How Krsna will come?” The gopis are also in anxiety. Gopis are so in anxiety that about them it is said that when Krsna used to go to the forest for tending the cows, so gopis were thinking at home that “Krsna’s feet is so soft that we hesitate to take His feet on our breast, but He is now walking in the forest, and there were so many stones and pricks, and they are giving pain to the Krsna’s lotus feet.” And thinking like this, they fainted. This is gopi. Krsna is out of the village, and they are at home, and they are thinking of Krsna and they fainted. This is also anxiety, so much anxiety that fainted. But that is for Krsna. Therefore gopis are exalted. Ramya kecid upasana vraja-vadhu-varga virya kalpita. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He recommends, “There is no better type of worshiping Krsna than it was planned by the gopis.” So there is also anxiety. So anxiety is spiritual anxiety and material anxiety. Spiritual anxiety means you are advancing in spiritual life, and material anxiety means you are going downhill.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 16.11–12 — February 7,
1975, Honolulu