The reason why love and compassion bring the greatest happiness is simply because our nature cherishes them above all else.

The need for love lies at the very foundation of human existence. It results from the profound interdependence we all share with one another. However capable and skilful an individual may be, left alone, he or she will not survive. However vigorous and independent one may feel during the most prosperous periods of life, when one is sick or very young or very old, one must depend on the support of others.
Interdependence, of course, is a fundamental law of nature. Not only higher forms of life but also many of the smallest insects are social beings which, without any religion, law or education, survive by mutual cooperation based on an innate recognition of their inter-connectedness. The most subtle level of material phenomena is also governed by interdependence. All phenomena, from the planet we inhabit to the oceans, clouds, forests and flowers that surround us, arise in dependence upon subtle patterns of energy. Without proper interaction, they dissolve and decay.
We have to consider what we human beings really are. We are not like machine-made objects. If we were merely mechanical entities, then machines themselves could alleviate all of our sufferings and fulfill our needs.
However, since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. Instead, we should consider our origins and nature to discover what we require.
Leaving aside the complex question of the creation and evolution of our universe, we can, at least, agree that each of us is the product of our own parents. In general, our conception took place not just in the context of sexual desire but from our parents’ decision to have a child.
Such decisions are founded on parents’ compassionate commitment to care for their child until he or she is able to take care of him/herself. Thus, from the very moment of our conception, our parents’ love is directly involved in our creation.

(Contd...)