Can anyone guess what should be the appropriate antonym of love? I perceive it as ‘lust’, not hate! When I say I love someone, I silently make a decision within: “I should never be selfish about the outcomes of this love, instead I should be benevolent.” Now, this is just the way I perceive love. No offence; I am not on a way to criticize the ideas of other people. Most people may differ. Human love, perhaps, can never be devoid of expectations. This applies to all kinds of love.

That’s probably the sole reason why the Devi Mahatmyam narrates the story of king Suratha and the trader/ merchant Samadhi. This wonderful book (popularly known in Bengal as Shri Shri Chandi) explains how human love is linked with worldly attachments – it can never be unconditional in the real sense.

It is the instinct in human beings that destroys the meaning of love through its very innate selfish nature. Lust has nothing to do with love. It is a very cruel version of addiction and malevolence – when a person is struck by the enticing ‘wand of lust’, he/she forgets the priorities of other people; he just cannot think about anyone else’s right to freedom.

It is lust that takes a man to prostitute quarters. It is the lust of a man that makes him commit rape. There’s no love in any of these acts. And, finally, it is the lust of human beings that makes them flirt, ‘fall’ in love, and then, irresponsibly, end up in random break-ups!

Because is doesn’t go by the laws of nature – it doesn’t make human existence sustainable. It is just a psychological disorder – Yes, it is, not because I am saying that but because scientific research has proven it.

So, what if a person is homosexual? Should we throw him/ her out of the society? No, he should be treated just like other psychological disorders are being treated. What if a schizophreniac is set free to rule a country? The country will eventually get destroyed completely. Likewise, the lust in men for men and in women for women is not sustainable because it has nothing to do with love.

I have many male friends whom I love a lot but that doesn’t make me a homosexual. So, am I an exception? No; I know many other people around me who are absolutely like that but are sexually straight. So, should we regard homosexuals as perverts? All perverts are mentally ill but very few of them might be homosexuals and, so, not all homosexuals are perverts. But they all need psychological care and treatment.

For example, if Hitler was not revered by the stupid members of his Nazi party, and, instead, was put in a mental asylum, many Jews could have been saved. Our country seems to be unfortunate being a victim of a counter-scientific judgment that legalizes homosexuality as ‘normal’ and not as a psychiatric disorder. But, perhaps, most of us in the modern era perceive lust as love and love as foolishness – that’s definitely more unfortunate. Thanks to all commercial movies and TV-series that portray lust as love to such an extent that children grow-up believing the most unfortunate phrases, “Love Hurts” and “Love is blind” – What an irony!