It is nothing personal to you. What you said is partially valid; but one can always make the case about almost anything.

If human have spent money only to feed fellow men, we wouldn't have had literature, drama, inventions, science, and so on. People must contribute to several fields. Life is not only about eating and feeding. I always thought a life without religious, adhyatmik awareness [either Hindu or Buddhist ] is incomplete. As a Nepali, that's how I always thought, and I never really differentiated between these two great religions. And I definitely hope that our kids know (whereever they live/are) about our cultural heritage back home, know about Dhawalagiri, Annapurna, Langtang and Everest, and listen to folk songs. That's how I feel and I think that's one of the most important things.

Also note that one can also make a case on why one should send a dead man's corpse back home, spending 12000K; afterall, a dead man can't come back. Plus, a kid's father who has a house in KTM is certainly capable of paying that much money himself. Why not we put that money to a charity in Kathmandu that helps old women? One can make certainly make these cases arbitrarily. ( I personally support sending these corpse back home, and helping these middle class family of deceased, so that they get dignified traditional send off at Aryaghat, but I was also providing an example of how some people might validly think.)

Most of the temples in the states do feed people for free. At the place where I live, lots of Americans go to a local Punjabi temple to eat free Langhar.

Last edited: 03-Sep-10 11:02 PM