Gaudiya Vaishnavism portrays the bond between Krishna and the individual soul as an eternal, personal relationship of pure love, articulated through the language of bhakti, or devotional service. The intrinsic nature of the jīva is described as that of Krishna’s eternal servant, distinct from Him yet inseparably related as His energy and meant for loving service. This relationship is not grounded in fear or mere obligation, but in intimate, affectionate exchange, where Krishna is recognized as the Supreme Godhead who nonetheless chooses to relate to devotees in deeply personal ways. Devotional life is thus oriented toward cultivating a heart-based connection that transcends material motivations and is sustained by Krishna’s grace and the devotee’s surrender.

To describe the variety and depth of this love, Gaudiya Vaishnavism speaks of five primary rasas, or relational moods. In śānta-rasa, the devotee regards Krishna with peaceful, reverential adoration. In dāsya-rasa, the devotee embraces the role of servant, finding identity and joy in loyal service to the Lord. Sakhya-rasa expresses itself as intimate friendship, marked by trust, equality, and playful exchanges with Krishna. Vātsalya-rasa is the parental mood, in which devotees love and care for Krishna as their child, with protective and nurturing affection. Mādhurya-rasa, the conjugal mood exemplified by Rādhā and the gopīs, is regarded as the highest and most intimate form of love, characterized by profound longing, intimacy, and complete self-surrender.

Within this theology, Śrī Rādhā stands as the supreme exemplar of devotion, embodying the pinnacle of prema, pure selfless love for Krishna. Devotees often understand their own spiritual aspiration as participation in her mood of service, seeing themselves as servants of Rādhā in her service to Krishna. The ultimate aim is prema-bhakti, a spontaneous, selfless love that leads to eternal association with Krishna in the spiritual realm, where these rasas are fully and eternally realized. In all of this, Krishna is understood to reciprocate with each devotee according to the specific mood of love they cultivate, even allowing Himself to become, in a sense, “controlled” by the depth and purity of their devotion.