Reverential Devotion of Sons and Other Subordinates 323
premature stage it is sometimes found that a lusty, conditioned person will artificially try to establish some relationship with Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love. The result of this is that one becomes  prakṛta-sahajiyā , or one who takes everything very cheaply. Although such persons may be very anxious to establish a relationship with Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love, their conditioned life in the material world is still most abominable. A person who has actually established his relationship with Kṛṣṇa can no longer act on the material plane, and his personal character cannot be criticized.
When Cupid came on one occasion to visit Lord Krṣna, some devotee addressed him thus: “My dear Cupid, because you have been so fortunate as to have placed your eyesight on the lotus feet of Krṣna, the drops of perspiration on your body have become frozen, and they resemble  kaṇṭaki  fruits [a kind of a small fruit found in thorny bushes].” These are signs of ecstasy and veneration unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the princes of the Yadu dynasty heard the vibration of Krṣna’s Pāñcajanya conchshell, the hairs on their bodies immediately stood up in ecstatic jubilation. It seemed at that time that all the hairs on the bodies of the princes were dancing in ecstasy.
In addition to jubilation, there are sometimes symptoms of disappointment. Pradyumna once addressed Sāmba with these words: “My dear Sāmba, you are such a glorified personality! I have seen that once when you were playing on the ground, your body became covered with dust; yet, our father, Lord Kṛṣṇa, still took you up on His lap. But I am so unfortunate that I could never get such love from our father!” This statement is an example of disappointment in love.
To regard Krṣṇa as one’s superior is called reverential feeling, and when, in addition to this, a devotee feels that Krṣṇa is his protector, his transcendental love for Krṣṇa is increased, and his combined feelings are called reverential devotion. When this steady reverential devotion increases further, it is called love of Godhead in reverential devotion. Attraction and affection are two prominent symptoms of this stage. In this reverential devotional attitude, Pradyumna never talked to his father in a loud voice. In fact, he never so much as unlocked