SYMBOL -- (Greek: syn + ballow, "to throw together." ) Anything that stands for something more than it is. Symbols are best thought of as pointers, indicating the way toward the things they represent. Hindus do not believe their gods and goddesses reside in their images. The images merely show us the way.
MYTH-- (Greek: mythos, "story." ) A myth is a story with an ambiguous sense of time and space ("A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...") that recounts extraordinary deeds done by extraordinary beings for the purpose of telling why things are as they are. Perhaps few capture the spirit of myth making better than Chief Bromden in Ken Kesey's novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Before he begins telling us his tale, the Chief states, "What I am about to tell you is true even if it didn't happen." (See Fisher, 35-36: "Myths are stories based on symbols...A primary function of religious myth is to establish models for human behavior.")
RITUAL -- (Latin: ritualis, ritus ) A prescribed set of actions often intended as a reenactment of a myth or a set of myths, as in worship (Old English: "to honor"), magic, sacrifice.
RELIGION -- (Latin: religio, ligo, "to bind together") A way of seeing, thinking, and acting inspired by questions about what things mean: i.e. Where did we come from?, What is our destiny?, What is true?, What is false?, What is my duty or obligation?, What is the meaning of suffering?, What is the meaning of death?, How shall we live? (Ezekiel 33:10)
THEOPHANY -- (Greek: theos + phaneia, "god-showing") An appearance of a goddess or god to a human being. Examples: The Hindu god-man (avatar) Krishna appearing to Arjuna in Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita; the Hebrew god appearing to Moses at Mount Sinai in the burning bush (Exodus 3) and again at Sinai with the giving of the Law (Exodus 19).