Text 76
prabhu kahe, — “eho uttama, āge kaha āra”
rāya kahe, “vātsalya-prema — sarva-sādhya-sāra”
prabhu kahe — the Lord said; eho uttama — it is very good; āge — still further; kaha — speak; āra — more; rāya kahe — Rāya replied; vātsalya-prema — loving service to the Lord in the stage of parental love; sarva-sādhya-sāra — the highest perfectional stage.
The Lord said, “This statement is very good, but please proceed even further.”
Rāmānanda Rāya then replied, “Loving service to the Lord in the parental relationship is the highest perfectional stage.”
The stage of loving service to the Lord in parental affection is an advanced stage of love in fraternity. In the fraternal relationship there is a sense of equality, but when that sense of equality is advanced in affection, one attains the platform of parental love. In this connection, the following verse is cited from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.8.46), wherein Mahārāja Parīkṣit voices his appreciation of Nanda Mahārāja’s and mother Yaśodā’s intense love for Kṛṣṇa.