Eknath Easwaran's Commentary
The saints and mystics are the world’s greatest authorities on love. When Saint Teresa says, “Love begets love,” she is giving us the precious secret. One of the most beautiful things about love is that even today it cannot be purchased. It cannot be stolen; it cannot be ransomed; it cannot be cajoled; it cannot be seduced. Amor saca amor: only genuine love begets love.
All of us have been conditioned, even though we may not put it in such crass terms, to believe that if you love me six units, I should love you at most six units in return. I can feel secure in loving you six units because you have already committed yourself that far. But if you get annoyed with me and stomp out, slamming the door, I should pull back, at least temporarily, my six units of love.
Everyone can learn to love and urgently needs to learn to love. After all, even if you don’t learn Esperanto, your life is not necessarily going to be dull and drab. But if you do not learn how to love, everywhere you go you are going to suffer.