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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Grew up observant Vaishnava Hindu (a Hindu branch that primarily worships Vishnu, but also the other Gods as well), went atheist from high school through college. Started having mystical experiences in dreams, meditation and really eerie, unexplainable happenings in my life, all concerning Vishnu in his various avatars.

Started reading Hindu philosophy, reading about the teachings of major spiritual teachers like Vivekananda, etc. It helped me understand myself and my world better, and made sense to me. I'm still growing and learning but I am a quiet and serious devotee of Vishnu now, like my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents.
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Does dreaming about Vishnu and his avatars mean that God exists and it is Vishnu, or does this only apply to people with Hindu ancestors?  What about people who see visions of other Gods?  [/quote]

I'm the PP quoted here. Well, first of all I'm not going to try and convince anyone of my beliefs, which is where this discussion might go if I respond to your questions, but anyway. In Hinduism, there's no contradiction between "other Gods" and "this God." They're all God - a part of that Divinity [i]and[/i] the entirety of that Divinity. So the contradiction you brought up isn't really a contradiction in Hinduism. Vishnu is my "ishta devata", my patron deity, and I practice bhakti yoga with him. I love him tenderly and he is like a part of our family, but that doesn't mean my family doesn't love the other Hindu Gods, or that we can't recognize other non-Hindu forms of the Divine.

Vishnu and the other Hindu Gods aren't limited to only helping those who have a Hindu bloodline, no. [/quote]

Thank you.  Do hindu's have an afterlife and if so, do you have to believe in a certain God (hindu or otherwise) to get in?[/quote]

No problem. We believe in liberation from the wheel of rebirth, and how that liberation happens is complicated. Just as how different Christian churches have their own idea about how salvation happens (is it solely by God's grace? is it a combination of good works and grace? etc), different branches of Hinduism may have slightly different ideas about how one becomes liberated from the cycle of reincarnation. However, these different branches are not necessarily in conflict with each other; you are not going to see a big war between a Vishnu devotee who believes bhakti yoga to Vishnu is the way to liberation from the wheel of rebirth, and a devotee of the Mother Goddess (Durga or Shakti or Devi, She has many names) who believes awakening the kundalini energy and surrendering to the Goddess is the way to liberation. Most Hindus will tell you that any God will liberate you from the cycle of reincarnation, there is no conflict between the Gods. It's just which God you choose. And the reason you choose a God is because each one has a certain personality, role, and distinct "flavor" of Divinity, which for whichever reason may match your particular soul's journey. [/quote]

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