The ultimate goal of devotional service is that which must be pursued by anyone who aspires to perfection.
When attachment to Kṛiṣhṇa becomes very deep, one reaches what is called the love of God, held to be the permanent condition of the devotee of God.
God’s love can be compared to a radiance that never ceases to expand and develop to the point of reaching the heart of the devotee forever established in transcendence, even beyond material virtue. It is the affective or ecstatic state in the love of God through which the heart is increasingly purified under the effect of divine love.
This state of ecstasy in the love of God is held to be the permanent asset of the distinct individual soul of God, and the crucial point of the evolution towards this state is that which is described as marginal love for God. It is when this state becomes deeper and deeper that devotees, wise scholars servants of Krishna give it the name of God’s love.
It is when one is firmly convinced that Visnu or Krishna is the only object of love and worship, and that no other, even a celestial being, is worthy of devotion, that one experiences a feeling of intimate love for God.
If, because of some pious activities capable of arousing devotional service one becomes desirous of serving the Lord and seeking the company of his pure devotees, one will not delay in developing an attachment for the chanting of the Holy Names of God «Hare Krishna», and listening to his glories.
By continuing to sing and listen in this spirit, we will progress ever more in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord according to the rules. The ties and apprehensions related to the material sphere will gradually fade away.
The devotee who thus progresses in singing and listening sees his initial faith strengthened at each step, until he conceives a real attraction for devotional service, which will gradually turn into attachment. When this attachment is purified and grows, it takes the name of God’s love, the ultimate goal of human life.
Faith is the first requirement.
It is this that prompts us to seek the company of pure devotees, through whom devotional service develops, so that we may dispel all our doubts. Acquiring a firm conviction, we develop an attraction, then an attachment to devotional service that makes us adhere to the principles that govern it. Beyond that, one ends up accessing love for God, and the eternal condition that was ours at the beginning of all things. This love for God then increases and deepens until it reaches its peak.
This ultimate level is defined as the love of God free from all expectations. It corresponds to the highest form of love, because it is characterized by the manifestation of different symptoms of ecstasy such as laughter, tears or dance, without taking into account his entourage, and the phase of spiritual ecstasy following the transcendental affection that precedes the pure love of God.
And the human being who reaches these two levels is undoubtedly the most perfect of all.