Hinduism

[close] The devas have fallen. Betrayed by Kroni, they were bound to samsara, and like humans, must suffer through the cycles of life, death, and rebirth to achieve moksha and once again become gods. But as demigods, they are vulnerable to their greatest foes, who seek to kill them once and for all, and to damn them to Naraka. Within the island village of Sineru, they must survive this final incarnation and ascend, or burn forever in a hellish plane of torture.

[close] Your one stop shop for debate. Whether you're looking for religious debates, political debates, sports, news, or anything else you can think of. We debate it here. All are welcome but only if they obey my rules.

[close] This group is for all lovers of good fiction, with an emphasis on gay fiction novels... is it not odd that in these days and times with so much change that more gay novels are not getting the public recognition they should receive? Is this not something that should be expressed more vividly in television shows and films on a varied basis? ... because frankly I believe we are lacking in that genre.

[close] Black Maven is discussion group dedicated to the discovery and exposition of occultist literature that would appeal to the late Aleister Crowley. Everyone is welcome, especially transhumanists, alchemists, astrologists, dowsers, egyptologists, freemasons, kabbalists, gnostics, magicians, metaphysicists, ninjas, numerologists and the like. So, you may first ask, what is a maven? A maven (also mavin) is a trusted expert, often self-proclaimed, in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from the Hebrew, via Yiddish, and means one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge.1 Moreover, maven knowledge is typically gained outside a culture's traditional educational apparatus. For example, college or university degrees in Alchemy just aren't to be pursued anywhere in the Occident. A Black Maven is a particular kind of expert of "occult" knowledge. More often than not, a cultural taboo is associated with occult knowledge, and sometimes quite perniciously. Well, you don't have to look far for examples of that kind of cultural phenomenon--simply reference the Spanish Inquisition as a prime example. Ironically, if we take stock of the hugely popular Harry Potter phenomenon, we surely must reach the prima facie conclusion that occultism has captivated the minds of young and old alike (the old are at least paying for all the Harry Potter media and spinoff merchandise their children are clamoring to purchase). Perhaps the polemic that naturally evolves from that realisation is something that can be pursued through this group. In summary, the purpose of this group is to entertain. If it does something other than that, such as enlighten, so be it. 1 Dictionary.com