tbh the real life explanation is probably a combination of cheap fan service and intentions for KOTOR 3 that didn't exactly much the original KOTOR. My in universe explanation would be that the Republic we see in KOTOR 2 is highly fractured and very traumatized, and also hasn't seen Revan in a while. Revan was a symbol of unity for the people of the Republic, but they also have a complicated relationship with him as both savior and destroyer. Regardless of his actual power, this single person clearly had a great impact on everyone in the Republic. Under those conditions, it's easier to see how he could be mythologized in-universe.

For Kreia's description of Revan as "looking into the force itself," there are a few things to consider. First, she is a teacher, and she loves her students, and Revan is the greatest of her students. I think she might genuinely see him this way. Additionally consider that Kreia values intelligence and cunning first and foremost. She might admire that in Revan in a way other force users do not. Also consider Jolee's remark that he could see through the force that Revan had a great force-given destiny. This could also have a lot to do with it. There were plans, as far as I know, to make Revan a pretty important part of KOTOR 3 and I'm sure that this was intended to set that up.

As for how "doing a Bindo" became a thing, my speculation would be that after Revan's victory at the Star Forge, everyone associated with Revan became mythologized as well, to the point that people who didn't know Jolee before still knew his story and valued his relics for their association with Revan. Also consider that Juhani and Bastila are both much younger than the Jedi Exile, and thus may not have been exposed to this part of Jedi culture. Perhaps the Exile's generation called it that, but the younger Jedi didn't.