Let's Talk Religion

In this episode we explore one of the most fascinating texts in the history of Western esotericism: Porphyry's Commentary on the Cave of the Nymphs. Written in the 3rd century, this short but remarkable work interprets a mysterious passage from Homer's Odyssey as a profound allegory for the soul's descent into matter and its eventual return to the divine. We explore how Porphyry reads the cave, its nymphs, its looms and its two gates as a complete symbolic map of the cosmos, drawing on Platonic metaphysics, ancient astrology, and even the Cult of Mithras.

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Translations of the commentary:

Lamberton, Robert (translated by) (1983). "Porphyry: On the Cave of the Nymphs". Station Hill Press.

Thomas Taylor's translation (from the 1800's) is a classic. It is available through Lamp of Trismegistus.

John M. Duffy, Philip F. Sheridan, Leendert G. Westerink, and Jeffrey A. White (ed.) (1969). "Porphyry: The Cave of the Nymphs in the Odyssey". State University of New York.

Secondary sources:

Akçay, Nilüfer (2019). "Porphyrys On the Cave of the Nymphs in its Intellectual Context". Brill.

Beck, Roger (2006). "The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire: Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun". OUP Oxford.

Cooper, John M. (ed.) (1997). "Plato: Complete Works". Hackett Publishing Company.

Dillon, John (1996). "The Middle Platonists". Bristol Classical Press.

Gerson, Loyd P. (ed.) (2019). "Plotinus: The Enneads". Cambridge University Press. (This is the translation of the Enneads I have been using in this episode).

Gerson, Loyd P (2008). "Cambridge Companion to Plotinus". Cambridge University Press.

Gregory, John (ed.) (1998). "The Neoplatonists: a reader". Routledge.

Iamblichus "On the Mysteries". Tranlsated by Emma C. Clarke, John M. Dillon & Jackson P. Hershell. Writings from the Graeco-Roman World. Society of Biblical Literature.

Proclus "The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary". Translated by E.R. Dodds. Second Edition. Oxford University Press.

O'Meara, Dominic J. (1999). "Plotinus: An Introduction to the Enneads". Oxford University Press.

Shaw, Gregory (2014). "Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus". Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis.

Wallis, R.T. (1998). "Neoplatonism". Second Edition. Bristol Classical Paperbacks. Hackett Publishing Company.
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The Hare Krishna movement didn't start with chanting monks in airports, it began over 500 years ago with a Bengali mystic named Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This video traces the full history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, from its roots in 16th-century devotional Hinduism to its transformation into the global ISKCON movement, brought to the West by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1965. We cover the theology of Krishna Consciousness, the bhakti tradition, and how an obscure regional sect became one of the most visible spiritual movements in modern history.

Written by Anmol Kohli
Co-written by Filip Holm

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Sources/Recommended Reading:

Swami Tapasyananda, Bhakti Schools of Vedanta (Sri Ramakrishna Math Chennai,
1990).
o Chapter on ‘Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Life’, pages 323-407.
o Chapter on ‘Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu: Philosophy’, pages 408-451.

Bryant, Edwin (2004). "The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant". Columbia University Press.

Bryant, Edwin (translated by) (2017). "Bhakti Yoga: Tales and Teachings from the Bhagavata Purana". North Point Press.

Bryant, Edwin. Bhakti Yoga: Tales and Teachings from the Bhagavata Purana (Pan Macmillan India, 2018).

Dwyer, Graham & Richard J. Cole (ed.) (2007). "The Hare Krishna Movement: Forty Years of Chant and Change". I.B. Tauris.

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Who was Rabi'a al-Adawiyya? Explore the life, teachings, and spiritual legacy of one of history’s most influential mystics. From divine love to radical devotion, this video examines how Rabi'a transformed Islamic spirituality and continues to inspire people centuries later.

Sources/Recommended Reading:

Cornell, Rkia Elaroui (translated by) (1999). "Early Sufi Women: Dhikr an-niswa al-muta 'abbidat as sufiyyat". Fons Vitae.

Cornell, Rkia Elaroui (2019). "Rabi'a From Narrative to Myth: The Many Faces of Islam's Most Famous Woman Saint, Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya". Oneworld Academic.

Helminski, Camille Adams (2003). "Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure". Shambhala.

Knysh, Alexander (2000). "Islamic Mysticism: A Short History". Brill.

Safi, Omid (2019). "Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition". Yale University Press.
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Explore the fascinating world of religion in Ancient Greece, from the powerful Olympian gods like Zeus, Athena, and Apollo to sacred rituals, temples, myths, and festivals that shaped daily Greek life.

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Support Let's Talk Religion on Patreon:
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Sources/Recommended Reading:

Bowden, Hugh (2010). "Mystery cults in the Ancient World". Thames and Hudson Ltd.

Burkert, William (1987). "Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical". Wiley-Blackwell.

Burkert, Walter (1988). "Ancient Mystery Cults". Harvard University Press.

Chulp, Radek (2016). "Proclus: An Introduction". Cambridge University Press.

Cooper, John M. et. al (translated by) (1997). "Plato: Complete Works". Hackett Publishing.

Dodds, E.R. (2004). "The Greeks & The Irrational". University of California Press.

Eidinow, Esther & Julia Kindt (ed.) (2017). "The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion". Oxford University Press.

Gerson, Loyd P. (ed.) (2019). "Plotinus: The Enneads". Cambridge University Press. (This is the translation of the Enneads I have been using in this episode).

Gerson, Loyd P (2008). "Cambridge Companion to Plotinus". Cambridge University Press.

Gregory, John (ed.) (1998). "The Neoplatonists: a reader". Routledge.

Huffman, Carl A. (ed.) (2017). "A History of Pythagoreanism". Cambridge University Press.

Iamblichus "On the Mysteries". Tranlsated by Emma C. Clarke, John M. Dillon & Jackson P. Hershell. Writings from the Graeco-Roman World. Society of Biblical Literature.

Inwood, Brad (ed.) (2003). "The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics". Cambridge University Press.

Kirk, G.S., J.E. Raven & M. Schofield (1983). "The Presocratic Philosophers". Second Edition. Cambridge University Press.

Parker, Robert C.T. (2011). "On Greek Religion". Cornell University Press.

Proclus "The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary". Translated by E.R. Dodds. Second Edition. Oxford University Press.

Shaw, Gregory (2014). "Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus". Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis.

Ustinova, Yulia (2017). "Divine Mania: Alterations of Consciousness in Ancient Greece". Routledge.

Wallis, R.T. (1998). "Neoplatonism". Second Edition. Bristol Classical Paperbacks. Hackett Publishing Company.

Zhmud, Leonid (2012). "Pythagoras and the Early Pythagoreans". Translated by Kevin Windle & Rosh Ireland. OUP Oxford.
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Did the Quran once contain additional suras that are no longer part of the standard text? In this video, we explore reports about the codex of Ubayy ibn Ka'b and examine claims about “lost” or excluded suras during the Uthmanic recension.

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Sources/Recommended Reading:

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali. 2022. The Shi’is and the Qur’an: Between Apocalypse, Civil Wars, and Empire. Religions 13: 1.

Anthony, Sean W. (2019). "TWO ‘LOST’ SŪRAS OF THE QURʾĀN: SŪRAT AL-KHALʿ AND SŪRAT AL-ḤAFD BETWEEN TEXTUAL AND RITUAL CANON (1st-3rd/7th-9th CENTURIES)". JSAI 46 (2019).

Harvey, R., & College, E. (2017). "The Legal Epistemology of Qur'anic Variants: The Readings of Ibn Masʿūd in Kufan fiqh and the Ḥanafī madhhab".

Karimi-Nia, Morteza. (2019). A New Document in the Early History of the Qurʾān. Journal of Islamic Manuscripts. 10. 292-326. 10.1163/1878464X-01003002.

Sadeghi, Behnam & Bergmann, Uwe. (2010). The Codex of a Companion of the Prophet and the Qurān of the Prophet. Arabica. 57. 343-436. 10.1163/157005810X504518.

Sinai, Nicolai (2017). "The Qur'an: A Historical-Critical Introduction". Edinburgh University Press.
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