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The Nectar of Devotion
both of these categories one has to follow the particular  gopī  who is engaged in such service in Goloka Vṛndāvana. To be directly attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in conjugal love is technically called  keli . This  keli  performance means to directly join with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are other devotees who do not wish direct contact with the Supreme Person, but who relish the conjugal love affairs of the Lord with the  gopīs . Such devotees enjoy simply by hearing of the activities of the Lord with the  gopīs .
This development of conjugal love can only be possible only with those who are already engaged in following the regulative principles of devotional service, specifically in the worship of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in the temple. Such devotees gradually develop a spontaneous love for the Deity, and by hearing of the Lord’s exchange of loving affairs with the  gopīs , they gradually become attracted to these pastimes. After this spontaneous attraction becomes highly developed, the devotee is placed in either of the above-mentioned categories.
This development of conjugal love for Krṣṇa is not manifested in women only. The material body has nothing to do with spiritual loving affairs. A woman may develop an attitude for becoming a friend of Krṣṇa, and, similarly, a man may develop the feature of becoming a  gopī  in Vrṇdāvana. How a devotee in the form of a man can desire to become a  gopī  is stated in the  Padma Purāṇa  as follows: “In days gone by there were many sages in Daṇḍakāraṇya. Daṇḍakāraṇya is the name of the forest where Lord Rāmacandra lived after being banished by his father for fourteen years. At that time there were many advanced sages who were captivated by the beauty of Lord Rāmacandra and who desired to become women in order to embrace the Lord. Later on these sages appeared in Goloka Vrṇdāvana when Krṣṇa advented Himself there, and they were born as  gopīs  or girl friends of Krṣṇa. In this way they attained the perfection of spiritual life.”
The story of the sages of Daṇḍakāraṇya can be explained as follows: When Lord Rāmacandra was residing in Daṇḍakāraṇya, the sages who were engaged in devotional service there became attracted by His beauty and immediately thought of the  gopīs  at Vṛndāvana who enjoyed conjugal loving affection with Kṛṣṇa. In this instance it