Its never too late my friend. Infact this forum has been a refreshing change from the normal bashing that happens almost on all the other forums. I find people here genuinely interested in solving the mysteries that life has presented.-"There was something in your post here that struck a chord with me. First the quote "Atman is Brahman" is very resonate with the much later catch phrase of popular science fiction writer Robert Heinlein, "Thou art God", and represents I think one of the key pieces missing from the Abrahamic religions, namely the oneness of everything."-Well honestly if you look back at the history of India and if you do research on the Sanskrit language and Hindi language there isn't any word in Sanskrit or Hindi that actually describe the word religion. People often use the word "Dharma" for religion but Dharma in it's true form actually means righteousness or one's duty and it has nothing to do with explaining religion as it is defined in the English language.-I often wonder at times that what we know as Hinduism the religion was it really a religion or it became a religion in the process when we were invaded first by Mughals(Muslims) and than by the British because before that it was just us eastern philosophies namely Hinduism( Sanatana Dharma which means eternal law is the true name) along with Jainism and Buddhism. I almost feel at times when we got attacked by the Muslims, the origin of Hinduism as a religion seems to be a response of a identity threat posed to our civilization. because we were called Hindus by them because we lived by the Indus river and the people who we thought were visitors but actually they wanted to kick our asses and rule us couldn't call us sindhus hence they called us Hindus. so if u think like that, actually it never really was a religion. it was a culmination of many people sitting down and just jotting down philosophies in the Vedas followed by the Upanishads/puranas/geeta/mahabharata.-I think the abrahamic religions have a very different thought process because they were presented to mankind as a word of god but eastern philosophies were not actually written to be a word of god but just words of wise men who thought they could contribute to the society at large. hence i feel at times they aren't really religions if you go by the actual English definition of religions.-"The other thing that caught my attention, is the word Maya. The obvious connection would be to the Mayan population of the central/south Americas. Normally I would dismiss such a thing as coincidence of language. However, based on my admittedly limited study of the Vedas, there was some mention of odd flying contraptions in their text. What is strange about that is that there were necklaces found in Mayan/Aztec ruins that seem to depict such flying contraptions, right down to having the symbols for rise and descend engraved on them. One thing might be coincidence, but two? Makes me wonder if there is any link between ancient Mayans and the Ancient Indians."-well Maya in sanskrit and hindi means something that could be broadly included in the things that come under dream or illusion. i dont know the mayan connection. i have to research that.-Last but not the least thank you for welcoming me to the forum. it is indeed a great pleasure talking to you. as far as rationality goes. i know being rational isn't the most important thing. but i guess at that point of time i felt like writing that post so i mentioned that point in the post.

"Who prescribes what is right or wrong in Hinduism, and according to what criteria? And does morality change from one form of Hinduism to another?"

Well there are explanations in the vedas which can be derived but honestly this is what is the basic theory:
Philosophy Of Right And Wrong-Everybody speaks: "This is right, that is wrong; you are right, he is wrong;" but he cannot tell you exactly what he means by 'right' and 'wrong'.
What is the criterion by which we judge an action to be right or wrong, and good or bad? "Right and wrong" and "good and bad" are relative terms. Right and wrong refer to the moral standard, as law. Good and bad refer to it, as end. You will have to adjust your conduct according to this moral standard. That which is in accordance with a rule is right. That which is worthy of achievement is good. Religion gives us the ultimate data upon which ethical science may be built.-Relative Nature Of Right And Wrong-Right and wrong—Dharma and Adharma—are relative terms. It is very difficult to define these terms precisely. Even sages are bewildered sometimes in finding out what is right and what is wrong in some special circumstances. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says in the Gita: "What is action? What is inaction? Even the wise are herein perplexed. Therefore I will declare to thee the action by knowing which thou shalt be liberated from evil. It is needful to discriminate action, to discriminate unlawful action, and to discriminate inaction; mysterious is the path of action. He who seeth inaction in action and action in inaction, he is wise among men; he is harmonious, even while performing all actions" (Ch. IV-16, 17, 18).

"1) You say the Bhagavad Gita tells us that "personal devotion to deity is endorsed as a way of salvation for all classes of people." What form does this devotion take? Prayer, obeying instructions, renouncing the world? And what form does "salvation" take? Release from the cycle of death and rebirth, some kind of paradise, conscious/ unconscious merging with the oneness of things?"

what matters in Hinduism is to attain the final stage of Moksha. Maybe this will help somewhat.
The four grand objects of human aspiration—Purusharthas—viz., Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, Dharma is given the foremost rank in the scriptures. Dharma alone is the gateway to Moksha, to immortality, infinite bliss, supreme peace and highest knowledge. Dharma alone is the primary Purushartha. Dharma is the first and foremost Purushartha. Through the practice of Dharma alone can you ever hope to achieve the crowning glory of all human endeavours, viz., Moksha which is the best and the highest of all desirable things.-Practice of Dharma leads to the perfect realisation of essential unity or the final end, the highest good, namely, Moksha. Dharma is generally defined as 'righteousness' or 'duty.' Dharma is the principle of righteousness. It is the principle of holiness. It is also the principle of unity. The practitioner experiences peace, joy, strength and tranquillity within himself. His life becomes thoroughly disciplined. His powers and capacities are exceedingly intensified. He realises that there is one underlying homogeneous essence, a living truth, behind these names and forms. He is transmuted into divinity. His whole nature gets transformed. He becomes one with the Eternal. He beholds Brahman above, Brahman below, Brahman to the right, Brahman to the left, Brahman in front, Brahman at the back, Brahman within, Brahman without and Brahman pervading the whole world. -But then again Hinduism contradicts itself when it also says that you can attain Moksha through Dharma but it may not necessarily mean praying to the eternal almighty but just my merely living a righteous life. thats where the whole karma theory comes. I will give a brief explanation of the Karma theory. I dont agree with this theory though but that doesn't mean I am right. I have a detailed web explanation which i will paste in another reply.

The Law Of Karma-What Is Karma?-Karma means not only action, but also the result of an action. The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the action, and cannot be divided from it. Breathing, thinking, talking, seeing, hearing, eating, etc., are Karmas. Thinking is mental Karma. Karma is the sum total of our acts both in the present life and in the preceding births.-Any deed, any thought that causes an effect, is called a Karma. The Law of Karma means the law of causation. Wherever there is a cause, there an effect must be produced. A seed is a cause for the tree which is the effect. The tree produces seeds and becomes the cause for the seeds.-How Karma Is Fashioned-Man is threefold in his nature. He consists of Ichha (desire, feeling), Jnana (knowing) and Kriya (willing). These three fashion his Karma. He knows objects like chair, tree, etc. He feels joy and sorrow. He wills to do this, or not to do that.-Behind the action, there are desire and thought. A desire for an object arises in the mind. Then you think how to get it. Then you exert to possess it. Desire, thought and action always go together. They are the three threads, as it were, that are twisted into the cord of Karma.-Desire produces Karma. You work and exert to acquire the objects of your desire. Karma produces its fruits as pain or pleasure. You will have to take births after births to reap the fruits of your Karmas. This is the Law of Karma.-The Working Of The Law-The Law of Karma is one of the fundamental doctrines not only in Hinduism, but also in Buddhism, and in Jainism. As a man sows, so he shall reap. This is the Law of Karma. If you do an evil action, you must suffer for it. If you do a good action, you must get happiness. There is no power on this earth which can stop the actions from yielding their fruits. Every thought, every word, every deed is, as it were, weighed in the scales of eternal, divine Justice. The Law of Karma is inexorable.-Things do not happen in this universe by accident or chance in a disorderly manner. They happen in regular succession. They follow one another in a regular order. There is a certain definite connection between what is being done now by you, and what will happen in the future.-Every action produces a threefold effect. It gives you an appropriate reward or fruit. It also affects your character. It leaves behind an impression in your mind. This impression will urge you to repeat the act again. The impression will assume the form of a thought-wave in the mind on account of a stimulus, either external or internal. An action produces an effect in the world also.-As You Sow, So You Reap-If you put a seed in the earth, it sends up a little stem. Then leaves come out of the stem. Then come flowers and fruits. There are seeds again in the fruits. Mango seed only produces mango tree. If you sow rice, you cannot expect a crop of wheat. The same sort of seed produces the same kind of plant. A human being alone is born from the womb of a woman, a horse from a horse and a dog from a dog. Similarly, if you sow the seed of an evil action, you will reap a harvest of pain and suffering. If you sow the seed of a virtuous action, you will reap a harvest of pleasure. This is the Law of Karma.-Whatever you sow by your actions come back to you. If you make others happy through service, charity and kind acts, you sow happiness like a seed; and it will give you the fruit of happiness. If you make others unhappy through harsh words, insult, ill-treatment, cruel acts, oppression, etc., you sow unhappiness like a seed; and it will give you the fruit of pain, suffering, misery and unhappiness. This is the immutable Law of Karma.-Your actions in the past are responsible for your present condition. Your present actions will shape or mould your future. There is nothing chaotic or capricious in this world. You become good by your good actions, and bad by your evil actions.-If you entertain evil thoughts, you must suffer the consequences. You will be in difficulties. You will be surrounded by unfavourable circumstances. You will blame your surroundings and circumstances. Understand the law and live wisely. Entertain noble thoughts. You will be happy always.

2) "There is more emphasis on being a good human being and not necessarily on being a believer in God." This appeals enormously to the humanist in me, but again the question arises: who decides what constitutes "good", and according to what criteria?-Well I think I have explained this question in the previous answers but I have own version for this one. Right or wrong according to me is just a majority opinion.-Say if the world was a sample size of 100 and the majority that practice one particular thought would be perceived right and others might be considered from being relatively right to completely wrong depending on their numbers.-I am true fan of Hinduism but along with that i also am a fan of the Darwin Theory of evolution by natural selection.