former Christian searching for understanding of God, unsure where to begin Options

[Rawlinson]

Im not completely sure if I am posting on the right forum, but for starters I was a christian for a period of time and became confused on how the Bible should be interpreted this lead me to believe that I may be wrong. I then went onto this website and learnt of the Indian folk-tale of the elephant and the three blind men. The point of that story was that there are many interpretations (religions) but they are all of the same thing and only through understanding this can one totally understand God. After reading this I felt that I understood. I started looking into Hindu philosophy and the concept of reincarnation which I now feel is right. However, I am still confused as to where I should begin, I have contemplated reading the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu literature so as to understand because as far as I know (or think I know) already, in Hinduism, no belief should be considered wrong as they all stem from Brahman who is within everything. This is why I have considered Hinduism.

Is it possible that I can understand God through Hinduism, or should I look to other scripture and consider Hinduism as part of it all? Basically, I am searching for total understanding of God, and I don't know where to begin. I would like it if your answers would not dictate what I should do as I would like to understand myself but I feel I need a 'sign-post at the crossroads' as it were to point down the right direction without forcing me along the way.

Thanks

[Rick]

... I started looking into Hindu philosophy and the concept of reincarnation which I now feel is right. ...

There are by far more people on earth now than ever before. It doesn't seem logical (perhaps fair is a better word) to me that some of us should have past lives and some of us should not. And if some of us have past lives, that raises the question of the mechanism for past life information storage and transfer. How does that work?

[Joesus]

... I started looking into Hindu philosophy and the concept of reincarnation which I now feel is right. ...

There are by far more people on earth now than ever before. It doesn't seem logical (perhaps fair is a better word) to me that some of us should have past lives and some of us should not. And if some of us have past lives, that raises the question of the mechanism for past life information storage and transfer. How does that work?

You are still assuming this particular planet hosts all of the intellectual life in the universe.
It's like living in the United states and thinking primarily that all life that is important only lives on one continent. Without actual experience of the other cultures and beliefs the projections of what is relevant is limited to a single experience.
Hinduism does not stress reincarnation as does say Buddhism but it does not leave out the relevance of the soul being timeless and with many faces. The relevance to timelessness or the now is much more prominent in the Hindu philosophy as it was originally taught than any relevance to the many separated manifestations.
Hinduism stresses the reality of ONE consciousness with everything relative being THAT!!
The symbolism of the Gods that exist within the Hindu culture are representations of manifest consciousness that exists in the relative world. Creation, destruction and the underlying presence that keeps things moving is symbolized by Brahma as the Creator, Siva as the Destroyer and Vishnu as the Maintainer. They are also called the 3 Gunas responsible for everything in creation. The Gunas playing upon the Gunas is creativity in action.

In the relative world of the ego most identify themselves as one being. Born to live and die.
Consciousness itself does not die with the body because it is the underlying nature that supports the individual life of the relative world and also engages in the experience at the same time.
Time being relative but not a boundary that contain consciousness itself, all souls being projections of the One consciousness live in potential and experience at the same time.
Time and space as we know it unfolds step by step like a frame by frame sequence on a film reel but we can pick up the reel and call it a movie. And we can stack many movies within a room, and if we wish.. view them at the same time or individually. Each movie could be likened to the individual experience of a life compressed between birth and death or a beginning and an end. This would be closer to the actual reality of consciousness in manifestation as we experience it in the world around us.
This place in time and space is more like a bus station where we get off to take care of business, and at this particular stop in time and space is a projected event which can effect an evolutionary change within the individual soul. That advent is one reason so many are here on this planet at this time.

If you assume all life began here in this world called earth, that would be presumptuous and based on information solely gathered within the confines of relative experience of this earth and all time and space as it is understood from the level of scientific understanding and popular democratic interface.
The Science of Yoga however is not based on these relative rules and boundaries but the greater experience of consciousness itself without the boundaries of egoic reference.

Also there are many translations of the Gita. Not all of which are translated from greater consciousness just as not all scripture in the bible is translated from literal meaning and understanding of the actual experience of God or of Jesus.

[Rick]

You are still assuming this particular planet hosts all of the intellectual life in the universe. ... If you assume all life began here in this world called earth, that would be presumptuous and based on information solely gathered within the confines of relative experience of this earth and all time and space as it is understood from the level of scientific understanding and popular democratic interface.

If there are multiple civilizations in the universe, one of them had to be the first one to evolve. Maybe we are that first one.

[Joesus]

You are still assuming this particular planet hosts all of the intellectual life in the universe. ... If you assume all life began here in this world called earth, that would be presumptuous and based on information solely gathered within the confines of relative experience of this earth and all time and space as it is understood from the level of scientific understanding and popular democratic interface.

If there are multiple civilizations in the universe, one of them had to be the first one to evolve. Maybe we are that first one.

I don't think this particular civilization on this planet is the first to come to this level of technology, let alone fancy the idea that we as a civilization are the first to develop within the Universe.

[Rick]

I don't think this particular civilization on this planet is the first to come to this level of technology, let alone fancy the idea that we as a civilization are the first to develop within the Universe.

Perhaps, but in that case, one of the other existing civilizations had to be the first one. Then, they would have been alone in the universe for a time (until the second one evolved), and during that time, it raises the question of how it is decided that some people would have past lives and some would not (assuming the population increases, at least for a time).

[Joesus]

I don't think this particular civilization on this planet is the first to come to this level of technology, let alone fancy the idea that we as a civilization are the first to develop within the Universe.

Perhaps, but in that case, one of the other existing civilizations had to be the first one. Then, they would have been alone in the universe for a time (until the second one evolved), and during that time, it raises the question of how it is decided that some people would have past lives and some would not (assuming the population increases, at least for a time).

That would be linear thinking and it would make linear sense if you made the assumption past lives are limited to the same location in the universe.
But then what if a heavily populated planet explodes due to the sun going supernova or are killed off because of a man made bomb that destroys the planet? If the soul is not limited to being chained to time why would it be anchored or chained to space? Why couldn't the soul migrate within the universes and galaxies?
Perhaps earth is the ghetto of the Galaxy rather than being uptown.... or the galactic motel 6 for transient soul lovers traveling between home worlds... Third rate romance low rent rendezvous.....

[Rick]

Third rate romance low rent rendezvous.....

Any port in a storm.