In this way Lord Caitanya described to Sanātana Gosvāmī the symptoms of the bhāva stage of devotional service.
Lord Caitanya next described the symptoms of actual love for Kṛṣṇa. He said that no one can understand the words, activities or symptoms of a person who has developed love of Kṛṣṇa. Even if one is very learned, it is very difficult to understand a pure devotee in the stage of love of God. This is confirmed in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.
When a person engaged in devotional service in love of God sings the glories of the Supreme Lord, his heart melts. Because the Lord is very dear to him, when he glorifies the Lord's name, fame and so on, he becomes almost like an insane man, and in that condition he sometimes laughs, sometimes cries and sometimes dances. He continues in this way without even considering his situation. By gradually developing his love of Godhead, he increases his affection, his emotion and his ecstasy. The culmination of such attachment is mahābhāva, the highest stage of devotional love. It may be likened to rock candy, which is the most concentrated form of sugar. As it is concentrated, sugar cane juice goes through different stages—molasses, sugar, sugar candy—but the final and most palatable state is rock candy. Similarly, love of Godhead can gradually develop in such a way that transcendental pleasure is increased to the highest stage for the real devotee.