EVERYONE SUPPORTS THE TRUTH — UNTIL IT COSTS THEM THEIR COMFORT
- Madhukar Dama
- May 23
- 4 min read
---
I. INTRODUCTION: THE LIE BENEATH THE TRUTH
Truth is worshipped everywhere.
Temples are built for it.
Quotes are framed in schools.
Philosophers are celebrated.
Revolutionaries are remembered.
Religions claim to be founded on it.
Parents demand it.
And everyone claims to want it.
But that’s the surface.
Scratch it—and the lie bleeds.
Because the truth that people support is not real truth.
It is safe, selective, convenient, and controllable.
The real truth—unfiltered, raw, and alive—
is welcomed until it threatens someone's comfort.
After that, it is exiled.
---
II. THE TWO TYPES OF TRUTH
1. Decorative Truth
Sounds nice.
Looks noble.
Makes you feel smart or moral.
Doesn’t challenge anything in your actual life.
Examples:
“We are all one.”
“Love is the answer.”
“Honesty is the best policy.”
Spoken at seminars, posted online, discussed in cafes.
This truth is like a candle in daylight.
It gives no fire.
2. Disruptive Truth
Forces you to change.
Offends your family.
Exposes your hypocrisy.
Asks you to lose something: money, power, relationships, comfort.
Examples:
“Your job is killing your spirit.”
“Your caste pride is hurting your children.”
“Your religion has become an escape.”
“You don’t love your partner. You fear loneliness.”
This truth is radioactive.
Most people run from it.
Some destroy it.
Few accept it—and burn.
---
III. WHY TRUTH FEELS DANGEROUS
Because truth destroys illusion.
And most of modern life is built on illusion.
People don’t fear truth because it is wrong.
They fear it because it is too right—
And they are not ready.
The child who questions the teacher is punished—not because he’s wrong—but because he threatens the lie that obedience is education.
The daughter who refuses marriage is isolated—not because she’s confused—but because she threatens the illusion of family pride.
The employee who points out injustice is fired—not because she’s rude—but because she reveals the company’s rot.
Truth is not punished for being false.
It is punished for being too accurate.
---
IV. TRUTH IS A MIRROR—AND MIRRORS ARE HATED
Everyone claims to love reflection
until it shows the wrinkles they denied,
the fat they ignored,
the violence they masked as culture.
When truth reflects the flaws of others,
people clap.
When it reflects their own,
people clap back.
That’s why truth-tellers are often:
Outsiders.
Hermits.
Artists.
Whistleblowers.
Or corpses.
Because society only loves them when they are dead.
Alive, they are dangerous.
---
V. CASE STUDIES OF TRUTH BETRAYED
1. Family
A child tells the truth:
“Uncle touched me.”
The mother silences her: “Don’t ruin the family’s name.”
A son admits he doesn’t want to be an engineer.
He is mocked, manipulated, emotionally blackmailed.
Families don't want truth.
They want obedience with a smile.
2. Religion
A seeker asks: “Why does God need money and rituals?”
He’s called arrogant, misled, atheist.
A monk refuses donations and gurus.
He is forgotten.
Religions don’t want seekers.
They want followers who repeat, not question.
3. Education
A student says, “This curriculum is meaningless.”
He’s told to shut up and focus on exams.
A teacher breaks the rules to teach life skills.
She is sidelined.
Education doesn’t want awakened minds.
It wants controlled outputs.
4. Politics
A journalist reveals corruption.
He is labeled anti-national.
A citizen protests peacefully.
She is arrested.
Democracies don’t want truth.
They want performance and submission.
---
VI. THE COMFORT THAT TRUTH THREATENS
Relationships built on power imbalance.
Jobs built on soulless productivity.
Identities built on caste, gender, nation, religion.
Success built on image, not honesty.
Respect earned by lying better than others.
When truth arrives, it doesn’t just speak.
It burns down everything built on lies.
And people would rather protect a rotting house
than face the effort of building a real one.
---
VII. WHAT TRUTH DEMANDS
1. Loss — of people, positions, and pretense.
2. Silence — because you won’t be invited anymore.
3. Loneliness — because most prefer illusion.
4. Inner Strength — because no one claps for your pain.
5. Integrity — because shortcuts don’t lead to truth.
Truth is not a path.
It is a firewalk.
Barefoot. Alone. No garlands.
---
VIII. WHO STILL LOVES THE TRUTH?
The artist who is okay with poverty.
The lover who lets go without drama.
The parent who lets the child be free.
The monk who sleeps under trees.
The worker who walks away from the job that kills his joy.
The friend who calls you out, even when it hurts.
They are rare.
Because truth is lonely, and liars are loved.
---
IX. CONCLUSION: TRUTH ISN’T A WORD — IT’S A COST
Next time someone says,
“I believe in truth,”
ask them:
"What did you lose for it?"
Because unless it cost you
money, comfort, status, safety, family, or illusion —
you haven’t touched the real thing yet.
And unless you’re ready to lose everything,
you’re not ready for truth.
You’re only ready for a version of it that leaves your comforts intact.
But the real thing?
It burns.
It ruins.
And only then—
it liberates.
---
