The characteristics of sthayi-bhava (permanent ecstasy) are described as follows in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu:
ksantir avyartha-kalatvam
viraktir mana-sunyata
asa-bandhah samutkantha
nama-gane sada rucih
asaktis tad-gunakhyane
pritis tad-vasati-sthale
ity adayo ‘nubhavah syur
jata-bhavankure jane
When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krishna bears fruit, the following nine symptoms manifest in one’s behavior: tolerance, awareness that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, desire, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, an attachment to glorifying the qualities of the Lord and affection for the places where the Lord resides – that is, a temple or a sacred place like Vrndavana. All these qualities are called anubhava, subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion. These are visible in the person who begins to see in his heart the fruits of the seed of love for God.
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