Hmm.....well I never thought so deep abt Hinduism or any religion or wehther I want to be an atheist. God is one and all , as the popular saying goes ; be it Shiva , Allaha, Jesus, Buddha . Whoever they are/if they are , they all preach peace and good etc and don't really affect us directly . If you believe in yourself, you needn't try to find answers to sum rather confusing questions which almost always sparks up sum kind of controversy, leading to enmity and discord between us; very much existiing humans. But, I guess you are right abt lots of ppl wasting money over the name of dakshina, puja etc. Just recently , read in nepalnews.com abt the mixup in Pashupatinath treasury. We could really use our money to other much more needed causes. But ke garney, Nepali haru ko bani ; mandir ma gayera bhagwan lai abir le rattai nabanye samma, mukh ma peda na kochey samma chitta nabujhney.But then if our mothers and grandmothers feel good abt it, who are we to stop them or make them change their whole perspective abt God.And then, they really aren't against giving for charity. But how can you say that the relgion we are born into or the other religions, does not teach us anything ? What other religion did you find , that teaches sum extraordinary stuff? Would you kindly enlighten us with the results of your extensive research? I am neither a strict follower of God nor an atheist. I just make it a point to say " Thanks " sumtimes, when miracles do happen ! Au revior. :)