Naan & Dosa – Albuquerque, New Mexico

There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” ~Mark Twain >Ever since Eve succumbed to the wiles of a serpent who moonlighted as a used car salesman, humankind has been easily led into temptation.  As playwright Oscar Wilde once jokingly remarked, “I can resist anything except temptation.” We can all relate. We all face temptations of one sort or the other.  Like the forbidden fruit of Eden, temptation can be very attractive and very difficult to resist.  Though technically sin–actions or offenses that are offensive to God–is a concept to which only Christianity and Judaism subscribe, most of the world’s religions do believe in the concept of right or wrong–as defined by the laws and rules set forth by their respective gods and as interpreted by religious leaders within the respective faith. Sometimes (or quite often as has recently been revealed) those religious leaders are also led astray.  One of the more benign examples involves a Brahmin, a member of the priestly class in Hindu society’s caste system.  Since alcohol was forbidden to Brahmins, one tried to ferment his own with rice.  When his efforts failed, he poured out the contents onto a pan and made…