“Rupa Gosvami next describes the characteristics of a person who has actually developed his ecstatic love for Krishna. The characteristics are as follows:
(1) He is always anxious to utilize his time in the devotional service of the Lord. He does not like to be idle. He wants service always, twenty-four hours a day, without deviation.
(2) He is always reserved and perseverant.
(3) He is always detached from all material attraction.
(4) He does not long for any material respect in return for his activities.
(5) He is always certain that Krishna will bestow His mercy upon him.
(6) He is always very eager to serve the Lord faithfully.
(7) He is very much attached to the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.
(8) He is always eager to describe the transcendental qualities of the Lord.
(9) He is very pleased to live in a place where the Lord’s pastimes are performed, e.g., Mathura, Vrindavana or Dvaraka.
Utilization of Time
An unalloyed devotee who has developed ecstatic love for Krishna is always engaging his words in reciting prayers to the Lord. Within the mind he is always thinking of Krishna, and with his body he either offers obeisances by bowing down before the Deity or engages in some other service. During these ecstatic activities he sometimes sheds tears. In this way his whole life is engaged in the service of the Lord, with not a moment wasted on any other engagement.
Perseverance
When a person is undisturbed even in the presence of various causes of disturbance, he is called reserved and perseverant. An example of this perseverance and reservation is found in the behavior of King Pariksit, as described in the First Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, verse 15, of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The King says there to all the sages present before him at the time of his death, “My dear brahmanas, you should always accept me as your surrendered servant. I have come to the bank of the Ganges just to devote my heart and soul unto the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. So please bless me, that mother Ganges may also be pleased with me. Let the curse of the brahmana’s son fall upon me—I do not mind. I only request that at the last moment of my life all of you will kindly chant the holy name of Vishnu, so that I may realize His transcendental qualities.”
This example of Maharaja Pariksit’s behavior, his remaining patient even at the last point of his life, his undisturbed condition of mind, is an example of reservation. This is one of the characteristics of a devotee who has developed ecstatic love for Krishna.”
Nectar of Devotion – Bhakti-Rasamrta-Sindhu, Ch 18, Character of One in Ecstatic Love
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