re: Religious scholars, etc.

quote:

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You dumbass. Do you honestly expect the OT Bible thumpers not to hijack this thread? What you are asking for is impossible.

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This thread is more of a philosophical question of parallels vs a religious thread that proselytizes / preaches. It may seem like a big ask for civility here, but nobody should be really offended by this query as it doesn't challenge the correctness of any one view. The OP just wants to know if a certain thread of thought exists.

To the OP: Though I'm not well versed on the topic, and am a Christian, I have dabbled in Eastern thought. And about 5-10 years ago, I did read the Bhagavad Gita, which is a Hindu scriptural story. As I remember it, it's basically a dialog between Arjun (a guy on the edge of a battlefield) and Krishna (a sort of divine / semi-divine figure, which has parallels to being Arjun's higher soul as well as a form of higher, archetypal man-- somewhat akin to Christ). The battlefield is arguably a metaphor for life on earth.

To your point, I remember a part where the book explicitly says there is one true god above all. My memory is a bit foggy on the details and I may get this next part wrong (if so, I welcome anyone with better familiarity with the text to correct me), but think I remember Krishna speaking to the point that people who devote themselves to other specific/lower deities may advance in some ways to what might be described as a lower level of heaven. But those who are devoted to the highest God ascend higher.

If I am remembering this correctly, this is a direct acknowledgement of one God over all in the Hindu faith. As to why Hindus then appear to pray mostly to lower Gods, I guess (and I stress the word guess) that it is somewhat of a parallel to how many Christians might pray to the Holy Mother (or to saints in specific capacities) to intercede for them and amplify their intent to God. Christians can always pray to Jesus/God for anything, but if one has money problems or needs a specific type of protection, specific saints-- or perhaps Archangel Michael-- can (for some flavors of Christianity) be considered to resonate with the solution to that problem in a way that Hindus might look to Ganesh for help with money, or whatever other deity for another issue. It's a way of focusing prayer for day to day issues. But it is implied that aiming higher (to the One God above all) is better-- just more abstract.

As to the idea of levels of heaven that I alluded to in the Bhagavad Gita, I'm not sure, but both in Judaism and Christianity, there is said to be a hierarchy of angels:
Wikipedia
This brings up interesting questions in a Christian context. If there are levels of being to angels (and even Jesus obliquely alludes to this when he suggests that John the Baptist is greatest among men, but not so much in heaven), and there are other brief allusions to certain angels being specifically in the presence of God, then there is an implication of level of being / station being an indicator of how proximate an angel, saint, or soul of a regular person/Christian might ever be to the fullness of God's presence. Whether this implies place or state of mind, it-- as well as the notion of a hierarchy of angels-- does imply levels.

Again, I'm a Christian. Personally, I find comfort in seeing parallels in other religions, and it doesn't diminish my own faith; I believe it strengthens it. This, though, should not be read as support for nor condemnation of Hinduism as a practice. I'm too much of an outsider to judge where I think it may be specifically lead towards or away from virtue, so will refrain from summary judgment lest I be judged.