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Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn
LOL. I have decided to give up trying to understand some things.
I have thought for decades Krishna was the incarnation of Vishnu.
That Brahma or which is it, Brahman (?) was 'Top Dog'...the Creator of everything and everything.
Vishnu as Sustainer/Preserver...has a job, ha.
But, now I read Indra is the King of Heaven.
Now, you think Shiva is the highest Lord?
You have apparently exp'd Shiva personally and maybe others so should know.
When you have time ...could you comment?
Ha, should I just stop trying to understand it all? 
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Well yes, it is very complicated, particularly coming from a Monotheistic perspective. Hinduism is a Polytheistic religion and there are competing claims within it about which god is supreme. There is also a concept of a Hindu trinity (Trimurti), which in my view, complicates things even further. If you're truly interested and want to dive into it, Wikipedia would be a good resource to find out more.
But, just to give brief answers to your questions, here's the gist of it.
Krishna is indeed the incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu. Vishnu is from the planet Vaikuntha, which is not only physically removed from our planet but exists in something akin to a higher dimension or higher vibrational state, according to Bhagavata Purana anyways, which is the chief scripture for Vishnu-worshippers. According to the descriptions we have of this planet, all of the inhabitants in fact look like Vishnu, that is they are four-armed and blue-skinned. That would indicate that there isn't just one Vishnu, but they are an entire species to their own. Krishna was also blue-skinned, since he had a human mother, but his father was Vishnu.
Brahman is the supreme absolute, the source of everything, an unmanifest, intelligent force, that is nevertheless impersonal. Sages have been trying to describe Brahman for Millennia, but have usually failed. You really have to experience it to have any inkling of its true nature.
Brahma is the creator god of Hinduism, but his role after creation is minimal and he stays in the background. Most Hindus do not believe him to be the Supreme deity, though he is part of the Hindu trinity.
Vaishnavites believe Vishnu to be the supreme deity and Shaivites assign that role to Shiva, who is the destroyer, but also the recreator of the Universe ultimately, in his role as the creative male essence, symbolised by the Shivalingam. He is the oldest Hindu deity, going back to the Indus-valley civilisation and might be related to Enki in Sumer, as well as Poseidon and-or Hermes and Dionysos in ancient Greece.
Indra is the same deity as Zeus and possibly Yahweh, although the latter is a bit shaky.
In any case, it doesn't really matter, because the point of Hinduism and this is often missed by outside observers, is that there may be many gods, with different names, faces and appearances, but ultimately there is only One and He/She (ultimately they, in the Union of Shiva and Shakti, God and Goddess) has many different forms which are basically illusory. Behind the multitude of faces, bodies, forms, names, etc... there is only one ultimate reality and it is the solemn goal of every Hindu sage to find it and realise it as their ultimate truth.
Well, that's the gist of it, though I'm sure actual Hindus (I'm just an outside observer) can chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.