The power of pleasure, the personal manifestation of the bliss of the Supreme Lord, the power of transcendental bliss, and the source of his pleasure exists eternally in Him.

When the latter is manifested by the grace of the Supreme Lord in the person of a servant of Krishna, it takes the name of love of God or love of God. This love of God is another attribute of the blissful power of the Lord. However, the devotional service exchanged between Lord Krishna and his devotee is a manifestation of this power of transcendental bliss. The power that constantly adorns Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, with pure bliss is not material, as the followers of the impersonalist doctrine claim (of those who believe that God is only a formless Supreme Spiritual Being), in ignorance of the real identity of the Sovereign Lord and his power of pleasure. These ignorant cannot understand what distinguishes impersonal spiritual bliss from the variety that characterizes the energy of spiritual pleasure.

The Lord obtains all his transcendental pleasure through this power of pleasure, and bestows it upon His pure devotee.

Krishna’s body is all of knowledge, bliss and eternity. His unique spiritual power has three aspects: the aspect of bliss, the aspect of eternal existence, and the aspect of perception, or knowledge.

The transcendental power by which Krishna, God, the Supreme Person maintains his existence is called sandhini. The one by which He has knowledge of Himself and by which He still allows others to know Him is called samvit. Finally, the one by which He possesses and bestows transcendental bliss upon His devotee is called hladini. The total manifestation of these powers is called visuddha-sattva.

This level of spiritual variety is revealed even in the material universe when the Lord appears there. Thus, his entertainment and manifestations have absolutely nothing material, for they are spiritual and remain so forever. They are at the pure transcendental level.

Whoever knows the transcendental nature of the Lord’s advent, deeds, and disappearance, qualifies to be freed from material bondage after leaving his body. He can then enter the spiritual realm, and there, enjoy to the utmost the company of the Supreme Lord through exchanges governed by the power of pleasure or power of bliss.

Material virtue, soiled by passion and ignorance, is called mixed virtue. On the other hand, no material trait comes to defile the transcendental diversity of pure virtue. The latter thus offers the atmosphere required to apprehend the Lord and his absolute entertainment. The spiritual variety is eternally independent of any material condition and is identical to God, since both are absolute.

The Lord and his devotees simultaneously perceive the power of pleasure through the power of perception. The three attributes of material nature; virtue, passion and ignorance, exert their control over the incarnate soul conditioned by matter, but never the Lord undergoes their influences.