"Tell us, Akash. What do you think?"
Maya said.
"A… aa… aaaa…"
Akash began stuttering, his voice trembling.
"Relax, speak slowly. There's no need to be nervous, Akash,"
Maya said softly.
All the students smiled.
Inside his mind, Akash spoke to himself:
Alright, fine. Fine, fine, fine. Calm down, Akash. Calm down. It's just love (prem).
Akash took a breath and then spoke in a firm yet calm voice:
"Well, alright then. In my opinion, love is a very important part of our life. Without it, life becomes difficult. But… love also makes a person weak. It hollows them out from within. Love carries many difficulties with it—difficulties that contribute to destroying one's life."
Every student turned and stared at Akash.
Dhruv whispered,
"Akash, what are you saying?"
"Hey, hey, stop! What are you talking about?" Maya said. "According to you, love is wrong?"
"Wrong? No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying love makes you weak,"
Akash said in a calm voice.
"So according to you, one should not love at all?" Maya asked in a low tone.
"Yes. According to me, you shouldn't. Why do something that weakens you?"
Akash replied.
The students began murmuring among themselves.
"What is he saying? Has he gone crazy or what?"
"Alright, fine. That is your belief," Maya said. "So tell me this—if love didn't exist, would any of us even be here? Would you be here?"
Akash answered,
"Yes, of course. We would definitely be here. Love is not required for us to exist. You don't need love to have children."
"So, you have never loved anyone? Will you never get married?" Maya asked.
"No. Isn't it interesting?" Akash said with a slight smile. "Whenever a human discovers the truth (satya), all their emotions rise up. They stop thinking clearly."
"Truth? Where did that come from now? Leave that—tell me this: you said the truth raises human emotions. Why do you think that?" Maya asked.
Akash smiled and said,
"Because truth gives humans a kind of pain they cannot bear. They become restless. They refuse to accept the truth, and their emotions begin to surface."
"Where do you read all this?" Maya asked.
"I think about it myself,"
Akash said.
The entire class burst into laughter.
"Akash! How many times have I told you to focus on your studies? These useless thoughts won't give you anything. If you keep thinking like this, you'll slowly distance yourself from everyone. Do you understand?"
Maya said, irritation rising in her voice.
Inside his mind, Akash replied:
Useless thoughts? These aren't useless. This is the truth. I don't know why people can't understand it. And wait—I didn't even bring up these topics. She did. And they flipped so quickly. And as for distancing myself… I don't care. If distancing myself from others brings me closer to the truth, then I'll walk away without hesitation.
"Akash… Akash… the teacher is looking at you,"
Dhruv whispered.
"AKASH!"
Maya shouted.
"Yes! Yes, yes!"
Akash blurted out loudly.
"What are you constantly thinking about, Akash? Did you understand what I said?"
Maya asked.
"Yes, I understood,"
Akash replied.
Just then, Akash noticed a girl looking directly at him—listening to him with deep focus.
The moment Akash looked back at her, she quickly turned away.
Akash wondered to himself:
Why did she turn away? Is my face that strange? Did I say something weird? I'll have to ask her.
Is there anything above the absolute truth? Below it? Should one even think about such things? Can we think about them? Or is there something beyond everything, something parallel something outside…?