Hinduism

[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

[close] Discussion forum for Hari Gopinath Das on Books Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Bhagavad Gita

[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] For readers of the Traditional School including such authors as Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, Martin Lings, Marco Pallis, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, William Chittick, James Cutsinger, and Reza Shah-Kazemi. Topics for discussion include science, art, religion, tradition, philosophy, metaphysics, esoterism, mysticism, and modernism.