In reality there is only one God, but there are millions of deities and angels, and with due respect, seekers address all the deities and angels in the form of God or Goddess.

The meaning of deities and angels means someone who is always giving us everything and in return has no expectations. That authority or entity is considered as a deity or an angel. Hence in Hinduism, people worship earth, rivers, trees, sun, moon, air, fire, water, food, parents, teachers, mentors, Gurus, etc.

People worship all the above deities and angels because they cannot return them anything. The exchange is not possible. Hence, they show gratitude through prayer. Otherwise, as far as God is considered, there is only one God, the Creator of the entire universe, who is taking care of every entity and object in the universe.

Consider the sun. There is only one sun in our solar system. But that one sun reflects in every lake, every river, every puddle, every window, every mirror. Each reflection is real — you can see it, you can feel its warmth. But no one looks at a reflection in a lake and says "that is a different sun." There is one sun. The reflections are many. The reflections are real, but they are not the source.

This is the relationship between God and deities. God is the sun. The deities and angels are the reflections. Every deity, every angel reflects the light of God in a different form, through a different medium, for a different purpose. But the source is one.

Now consider electricity. There is one power station that generates electricity for an entire city. But that one electricity powers millions of things — the light in your room, the fan that cools you, the fridge that preserves your food, the phone that connects you, the hospital that saves lives. Each appliance serves a different purpose, gives you something different, and you value each one. You are grateful for the light. You are grateful for the fan. You are grateful for the fridge. But you never confuse the light bulb with the power station. The light bulb gives you light, but it is not the source of the electricity.

This is exactly how deities function. The earth gives you ground to stand on. The river gives you water. The tree gives you oxygen. The sun gives you warmth. Your parents give you life. Your teacher gives you knowledge. Your Guru gives you direction. Every one of these is giving you something, expecting nothing in return. Every one of these is a deity or an angel. And you show them gratitude in the form of prayer, because you cannot repay what they have given you. The exchange is impossible.

But none of these deities is God, just as no appliance is the power station.

There is one power station. There is one sun. There is one God — the Creator of the entire universe, who is taking care of every entity and object in the universe.

People worship deities not because deities are God, but because gratitude is the only currency that can be offered when repayment is impossible. And that gratitude itself is a form of prayer that brings us closer to the one source from which all giving flows.