Do you believe that gods and goddesses are atmas (souls of dead people)?
Of course they are atmas. While the Kurukshetra war of the Mahabharat was going on, these gods and goddesses (who were humans earlier) left their physical body and went to witness their war. The battle continued for 12 years. When they returned after 12 years, their bodies had perished. Then all the souls went to Lord Krishna and told him that they wanted their bodies back since their bodies had died. Lord Krishna told them that he could not do that and suggested that all of them should go to Uttarakhand where they would be worshipped by the innocent people and their idols would be made. So all of them selected separate places to dwell in and people started worshipping them and made chariots for them also. [It is traditional for the statues to be taken in procession on chariots]. I believe that these gods and goddesses can’t be reborn till the great day of total destruction (pralaya in Sanskrit). The gods and goddesses feel that their life is worse than the life of human beings. Men ca
