Santa-rati is described in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (2.5.16, 17, 18) as follows:

"When one is completely free from all doubts and material attachments, he attains the neutral position called santa."

The santa-rati realization of Krsna is in the neutral stage between the conception of impersonalism and personalism. This means that one is not very strongly attached to the personal feature of the Lord. An appreciation of the greatness of the Lord is called santa-rati. This is attachment not to the personal feature but to the impersonal feature. Generally, one in this stage is attached to the Paramatma feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy." (Bg. 18.61)

When the Supreme Lord in His localized aspect is appreciated and a great devotee understands his subordinate position, not only does he surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but, due to his subordinate position, he wishes to render some service and thus become favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A devotee in the santa-rati is not very much willing to render service to the Lord, but a devotee in the dasya-rati voluntarily wants to render service. Due to this attitude, the devotee in the dasya-rati realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead more fully than a devotee in the santa-rati. He considers the Lord to be a worshipable object, and this means that his attachment for the Lord increases. On the dasya-rati platform a devotee is attached to rendering service to the Lord, and he is detached from material activities. The santa-rati is neither material nor spiritual, but the dasya-rati is actually on the spiritual platform. There is no attachment for material things on the spiritual platform. A devotee in dasya-rati has no attachment for anything but Krsna's service.

According to the opinion of advanced devotees and learned scholars, a devotee in sakhya-rati feels equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is a relationship in friendship. Due to having a friendly relationship with the Lord, not only is one free from material attachment, but one believes in equal dealings with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called sakhya-rati. The sakhya-rati devotee is so advanced that he treats the Lord on an equal level and even exchanges joking words. Although one is never equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sakhya-rati devotee feels equal to the Lord, and he does not feel guilty because of this. Actually it is offensive to consider oneself equal to the Lord. The Mayavadis consider themselves equal to the Lord, but such feelings entail bereavement because they are material. The sakhya-rati, however, is a feeling experienced in the mind by a pure devotee, and he is eternally related with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in that feeling.

When a living entity is situated on the platform of vatsalya-rati, he thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His childhood feature. In this feature, the Lord has to be protected by the devotee, and at this time the devotee takes the position of being worshiped by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The feelings of paternal love are called vatsalya-rati. When the devotee is situated on this platform, he wants to maintain the Lord like a son, and he desires all good fortune for the Lord. He offers blessings to the Lord by touching His feet and head.

The conjugal relationship is experienced between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the young damsels of Vrajabhumi, and due to their conjugal love they continuously exist in eight kinds of remembrances called madhura-rati. This intimate relationship brought about by conjugal love produces movements of the eyebrows, glancing, sweet words and exchanges of joking words.