WHO SAID TO WHOM

An elderly priest was simply loved by all, for his religious understandings, his loving caring conduct with rich and the poor devotees, his spiritual talks, personal and patient hearings with disturbed minds.

A local Halwai was a regular to the temple in his days of struggle. His growing business slowly occupied more of his time, and unknowingly his regular visits reduced. Today the visiting Halwai wanted the priest to conduct a small ritual in gratification of his growing business. On completion the priest asked the Halwai to keep sitting, while the priest eyes were wandering looking for someone.

After a while the priest eyes widened and smilingly asked the Halwai to observe the middle-aged person in white shirt walking up for darshan. The middle-aged person walked up to the deity picked a paper slip from the bunch and inserted it in a box labelled ‘Ardass Benti’. He then closed his eyes and with folded hands stood in prayer. Between his hands was a kachori. After a few minutes he bows down and then goes sits in a corner to eat the kachori.   

The priest now looks at the Halwai you may think it is your prayer alone that brings Divine grace. But perhaps someone else’s prayer, unknown to you, has also become a part of your blessing. That middle-aged person has been doing this for over a year. The kachori is from your place, he then walks up here, prays that your place is crowded with customers so that he can slip one kachori without payment and have a decent meal a day.

It was over a year back I noticed his consistent behavior, I spoke to him and got to know what he was saying and to whom and in what context.  

Many who come here can’t contribute money as offerings, but in their prayer, they ask not for themselves but for someone else. I initiated the Ardass Benti box where one inserts a slip of paper signifying his offering of Ardas Benti (prayer plea) for someone else. Earlier it would take over a month for the box to fill up, nowadays it fills in a week.

For a spiritual person, the phrase "who said to whom" is an invitation to explore the source, context, and intent of sacred wisdom- treating every spiritual quote as a reflection of the eternal dialogue between the Divine and the seeker. It signifies a universal truth spoken directly to the heart of the individual in their current moment of need.

In traditional schooling, "who said to whom?" was a standard question format used in literature and history exams to test reading comprehension and context retention. The key elements were the Speaker: who uttered the specific quote. The Listener: who the speaker was talking to. The Context: the specific situation, chapter, or event in which the conversation occurred. Formats changed and modern education has almost phased it out.

Curriculums may have stopped questioning but social behavior and social media have adopted it. The phrase ‘who said to whom’ in political and journalism circles moves many steps ahead. They dig to analyze why something was said and interpret a version of advantage to influence and create social commotion. Gossips earlier was a word-of-mouth activity, today digitally it gets a larger audience. Many rumors are born from incomplete understanding, carried forward without examination, and accepted without inner enquiry.

The real “who said to whom”? is not only about identifying the speaker and listener outside. It is about recognizing the conversation happening within- between the restless mind and the awakened conscience, between the seeker and the Divine presence.

More than pursuing “who said to whom” about the world, ask the same question within in knowing- Who is speaking through me, and whom is my heart serving?”