Chapter Six — Relationship as the Source of Love

Hanuman said:

Kumbhodbhava paraṃ śreyaḥ śṛṇu satyaṃ vadāmy aham,
Gopanīyaṃ gopanīyaṃ gopanīyaṃ ca sarvadā. (5)

O pot-born Agastya, listen to the highest good. I shall speak the truth, but this teaching must always be guarded—guarded, guarded, and guarded again.

Śrī-Rāme tu samprītiḥ sambandhenaiva jāyate,
Prīty-utpattikaraṃ Rāme nānyal lokeṣu vidyate. (6)

Deep love for Sri Rama arises only through a living relationship with him. Nothing else in all the worlds can generate that love.

Varṇito bhakti-sambandho Veda-tantrādi-śāstrake,
Guroḥ kṛpāṃ vinā tatra yathāvat sphuṭo na bhavet. (7)

The devotional relationship is described in Veda, Tantra, and the other sacred teachings, but without the grace of the guru its true nature does not become clearly manifest.

Yat sāraṃ sarva-śāstrāṇāṃ guhyaṃ atyanta-durlabham,
Vakṣye ’mṛtamayaṃ vipra tvaṃ bhāva-bhājanaṃ. (8, continues)

O brahmin, because you are a worthy vessel of sacred feeling, I shall tell you that nectar-filled essence of all scripture which is profoundly secret and exceedingly difficult to obtain.