Story : Devta Bhakt System: The Rise of the Protector
Chapter 5 : The Debt of Salt: Lessons Beyond the Classroom
"Now tell me, who became the most powerful?"
The children began to look at each other's faces.
Someone slowly said, "Maybe the Judge?"
Suraj shook his head slowly.
"No. The most powerful is 'You'. The general public."
"Because the first line of the Constitution says— 'We, the People of India'."
"The Minister is a minister only as long as you vote for him."
"If they don't work, after 5 years you will remove them from the seat."
"The real owner is the public of this country."
A silence fell in the class.
For the first time, it settled in the small minds of the children that they were not just kids, but the biggest owners of this country.
There was no longer any confusion on Arjun's face, but a sense of pride.
Ding! [Teaching continuity stable. Conceptual clarity of students: 90%]
Ding! [Reward: Civics Mastery Unlocked!]
Suraj saw that the cranky Principal Sharma and the Manager were listening to all this from outside the window.
The hatred that was always on Sharma Ji's face had now turned into a faint surprise.
Suraj did not even look at them.
He picked up his book and asked the children to turn the pages of the lesson.
The bell rang. The sixth period ended.
As soon as Suraj came out of the class, he felt a cold wave running down his spine.
He was tired, but he felt that he had not just taught today, but had lit a spark in some lives.
A faint and satisfied smile floated on Suraj's face.
He himself could not believe that the fifth and sixth periods passed so easily.
Earlier, when he used to come to these classes, he used to find passing time as hard as climbing a mountain.
Children didn't listen to him, they made noise, and Suraj's mind also used to wander.
He used to feel bored because where there is no dialogue, teaching becomes just manual labor.
But today? Today, time had flown away as if it had wings.
The bell for the seventh period rang and Suraj went back to his Class 5.
Being the Class Teacher, the children had a different attachment to him, but today 'respect' was also added to that attachment.
As soon as he stepped into the class, he saw that there was confusion on the faces of some children.
Today was the Maths period, and usually, Principal Sharma used to teach Maths.
The Principal's method was not to give 'knowledge', but to create 'terror'.
For him, Maths meant—solve the question or get the stick.
If any child dared to ask a second time, they were beaten instead of being explained.
Suraj knew that the Principal used to teach those children very affectionately who took tuition from him.
Even the questions of the upcoming exams were told to them in advance through hints.
But the rest of the children? They lived only in the shadow of fear.
"Sir... this question is not being understood," a child moved his notebook forward in fear.
Suraj saw that this was the same question for which the Principal had scolded the child yesterday.
Suraj smiled and took his notebook.
"What is there to be afraid of in this? Look, let's understand it like this..."
Suraj picked up the chalk and explained those complex mathematical formulas on the board with such simplicity that a spark of understanding appeared in the eyes of the children.
Suraj was also enjoying himself today.
He had no hesitation in answering those questions which the children were asking again and again.
The system's 'Aura' and his new understanding had turned mathematics into a game.
After Maths, he took out the Hindi book in the same class.
He did not just teach the lesson, but delivered the feelings hidden behind the words to the hearts of the children.
Ding! [Teaching Mode: Maths and Language coordination complete. Student confidence: +20%]
The bell for the eighth period rang. Suraj went back to the combined class of 3rd and 4th grade.
Here some children were quite weak in studies, who even had trouble recognizing letters.
Suraj went and sat near them.
He did not scold them, but like a friend, he held their hands and taught them to improve the letters of the alphabet.
He taught them to read and write Hindi, because he knew that if the foundation is not strong, the building can never stand.
Finally, the long final bell of the school rang.
The noise of children and the sound of them running echoed throughout the school.
According to the rules, all teachers had to sit in the staff room for 10 minutes after the children left so that there was no stampede on the ground.
Suraj went to the staff room.
Other teachers were discussing among themselves, some were looking at Suraj with strange eyes, but Suraj was in his own world.
10 minutes had passed, and the school was now almost completely quiet.
Suraj rose from his place and picked up his empty tiffin and water bottle kept on the table.
Seeing the empty tiffin, he again remembered his mother—those rotis with ghee that had given him the energy to fight throughout the day.
He kept all the items in the bag and walked out of the staff room with heavy but satisfied steps.
As soon as he crossed the threshold of the heavy iron school gate, he felt the echo of the final bell still floating in his ears.
The ground was empty now, only the dust raised by the running children was settling in the air.
Suraj looked into the distance; the groups of children had moved quite far ahead and were looking blurry.
Just then, the same familiar cold and mechanical voice echoed within his brain—
[Ding! Teaching Mode is being deactivated.]
[Tasks for the day completed successfully. Student satisfaction and safety ensured.]
[Reward: 1 Lottery Ticket received. Remaining points: 1009]
Suraj looked at that blue 'digital ticket' glowing before his eyes.
In the midst of today's fatigue, this was like a cold spray of water.
He looked toward the sky—the 2:00 PM sun was shining in all its glory, and the lukewarm winter sunlight had filled the entire path with a golden, velvety aura
Just then, his gaze fell upon two small children walking a little ahead—Rohan and Preeti.
Their heavy bags were hanging from their small backs.
They were engrossed in their own talk, sometimes skipping, sometimes stopping to show each other something.
Although the 'Teacher' within Suraj had become inactive, the 'Protector' within him had awakened.
He deliberately slowed his pace and began to walk behind them like a shadow.
There were uneven stones and fast-moving bicycles passing by on the way.
Suraj's eyes were fixed on them like those of a hawk.
Whenever a fast vehicle passed, Suraj would unconsciously move slightly closer to them so that he could act as a shield if needed.
He had to ensure that these little souls reached their home without a single scratch.
When the turn to their alley came, Rohan suddenly stopped and looked back at Suraj.
There was a wide and genuine smile on his face.
"Sir! Our home is here! Namaste Sir!" Rohan waved his hand enthusiastically.
Preeti also shyly waved her tiny fingers and took her leave.
Suraj nodded with a smile and watched them disappear into their alley.
Only when they had safely entered through their front door did Suraj take a long and peaceful breath.
He was tired, every single part of his body was demanding rest, but his mind today was as light as a bird.
He realized that he hadn't just spent time today, but had made those children feel that someone was standing behind them.
He reached his home.
The same old silence was in the house, but Suraj no longer cared about it.
He kept his empty tiffin and bag on the kitchen slab.
He inwardly thanked his mother for the energy the ghee-laden rotis had provided him today.
He washed his face and hands with cold water, picked up his water bottle, and headed straight upstairs.
The roof... Suraj's own world.
Gusts of cold wind were waiting for him up there.
He sat down at his favorite spot near the parapet.
The 2:00 PM winter sun was now glowing in the middle of the sky, casting a golden, warm light over everything.
He tilted his face up and felt the cold wind on his skin.
"Perhaps I have already received today's lottery," Suraj whispered with a smile.
But he knew that the system's 'Lottery Ticket' was not just a piece of paper, but a key to a door behind which a truth larger than his imagination was hidden.
Suraj tilted his neck back and looked at the sky, taking a deep breath.
School had let out at 2:00 PM, so the sun was positioned right in the middle of the sky in all its glory.
In the winters of North India, this lukewarm afternoon sunlight was nothing less than a velvety sensation.
Suraj could feel this warmth deep within his soul.
"There is a unique joy in this winter sunlight," Suraj whispered very softly.
Suddenly, he felt a slight itch on his nose.
He absentmindedly scratched his nose and stood up, stretching his limbs.
His mind was calm now, but the hunger in his stomach was starting to demand its due.
He descended from the roof and headed straight toward the kitchen.
Fatigue dominated his body, but his consciousness was wide awake.
Upon reaching the kitchen, the fresh aroma of rotis welcomed him.
He saw that Mother had already prepared the rotis.
Suraj reached out and began arranging dry, unbuttered, and lifeless rotis on his plate.
Along with them, there was only a bowl of simple vegetables.
He never liked that excessive ghee, and today he wanted to eat according to his own will.
Standing nearby, Mother's eyebrows shot up in annoyance.
"Oh, what is this hypocrisy? No one dies from eating ghee. What are you losing by smearing it on?"
"Tomorrow people will say that he gets dry food at home. The sky won't fall down if you eat two drops of ghee," Mother taunted irritably.
Suraj gave no reply.
He simply picked up his plate.
He knew that the hands wanting to feed him 'ghee' with so much love today would not hesitate to lash him with the whips of taunts tomorrow.
He could clearly see the future emotional attacks hidden behind this 'maternal love'.
His mind drifted toward a very old and powerful legend—the saga of Baba Gorakhnath.
The scene flashed in Suraj's mind... Gorakhnath Ji, who had been adopted by a woman, was brilliant and extraordinarily wise since childhood.
He knew that in the future, any worldly debt could hinder his spiritual practice.
When his foster mother would bring him rotis and buttermilk, Gorakhnath would drop the rotis into the hole of an old hollow tree and offer the buttermilk to the roots of that tree.
He knew that if he consumed the salt of that house, he would never be able to free himself from worldly bonds.
Whenever he felt hungry or thirsty, he would simply go to a cow, and the cow's udder would automatically provide milk near his mouth.
Years later, when the mother expressed her favor upon him, Gorakhnath settled the 'debt of food'.
He showed her that hollow tree and the roots, proving that he had not consumed a single grain of that house; therefore, he was not indebted to anyone.
Looking at the rotis, Suraj thought, "If I too get buried under their taunts and the debt of ghee today, I will never find my own sky."
He completely ignored Mother's nonsense.
While leaving the kitchen, his gaze fell on the clock hanging on the wall—it was 2:30 in the afternoon.
He didn't even realize how half an hour had passed between coming from school and these arguments.
He headed back up to the roof with calm steps.
Upon reaching the roof, the lukewarm winter sunlight welcomed him again.
Suraj sat down on his favorite parapet, letting his legs dangle.
He took another look at the sky.
His 'Divine Vision' was now able to see right through the bright afternoon light.
Despite the scorching sunlight, he could clearly see those stars twinkling in the blue void above, which ordinary humans see only in the silence of the night.
He was sensing every movement of the universe minutely.
He broke the first morsel of his dry rotis.
A light breeze was touching his face, and the warmth of the sun was tempting him to relax.
He began to focus on his food peacefully.
He knew that as soon as this simple meal was over, he had to open that 'Lottery Ticket'.
He was ready—to transcend his limits and step into a new universe.
"System..." Suraj called out mentally,
his heart beating with a strange anticipation.
"Open the Lottery Ticket."
Ding! [Lottery Ticket is being processed...]
[Scanning Host's current resonance...]
Suddenly, a blinding white light erupted from the blue screen, swallowing the roof, the sun, and Suraj himself.