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The Yoga Party: Philosophical Writings
Philosophy
206 pages, Paperback
First published February 25, 2009
15 people want to read
About the author
Douglas E. Frame
1 book7 followersMy name is Doug Frame. I have a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and a Master of Arts in same. I was a college and university professor for almost 10 years.
I wrote a master’s thesis called “The Logical Nature of Aristotle’s Enthymeme.” I completed in February my book called “The Yoga Party: Philosophical Writings”.
This book now is available on both Amazon and Google Play.
I wrote a master’s thesis called “The Logical Nature of Aristotle’s Enthymeme.” I completed in February my book called “The Yoga Party: Philosophical Writings”.
This book now is available on both Amazon and Google Play.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 8, 2025
Overall my reviews are a big disappointment
Though thanks Alex
Though thanks Alex
September 27, 2009
The Yoga Party
By Douglas Frame
“Buddhism negates Hinduism the way Marx inverts the idealism of Hegel and makes it material.”
If the sentence above makes you tingle then The Yoga Party is the book for you. For me, it’s almost as good as sex (almost): Two religions and two philosophers joined in an analogy. Only connect,” wrote E. M. Forster. In The Yoga Party connections abound.
Douglas Frame has written a frequently accessible but generally demanding book that guides the reader through the Eastern and Western philosophy from which he has drawn to create his own philosophy. His objective is to build a foundation for a universal political/social program, which is quite concrete. The book is under 200 pages but has more than 60 chapters, each one a compact discussion of the philosophical and religious issues that inform his thought. Chapter titles include “Brahmin and the Transcendental and Cosmic Split,” “The American Caste System,” “The Logic of Being,” “Revolution and the Christian Death Cult,” “Why is a New Metaphysical Determinism Important in Western Thought?” and “Is the Infinite Conceivable?” Even those drawn to the book because of their knowledge of one of the schools of Yoga or perhaps of Hinduism or Buddhism, might find much of the book dense if they’re not at least acquainted with Descartes, Kant, Hegel and the big problems they addressed.
In the book’s introduction, Douglas notes that the stepping off point of his philosophy is the Indian political and spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo, and in The Yoga Party he returns to Aurobindo’s thought regularly. Aurobindo, whose life spanned the 19th and 20th Centuries, infused Hinduism with his concept of humankind’s evolution, a Darwinism of the spirit, "Man is a transitional being. He is not final. The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth's evolution. It is inevitable because it is at once the intention of the inner spirit and the logic of Nature's process." Aurobindo believed we were heading toward a “supermind.”
Douglas builds his philosophy and program on Aurobindo’s beliefs, but in the course of the book, he also addresses what he perceives as the flaws in Aurobindo’s system. The critique provides Douglas with the path to his Yoga Party program.
Each chapter provides a wealth of discussion.
To give the flavor of his book, Douglas notes that he’s had a hard time convincing students in the comparative religion courses that he taught that CR is not a religious course. One is not going to “find religion” is such a course. Similarly, The Yoga Party is not aimed at leading the reader to Catholicism or Hinduism. Surveying the world’s major religions, Douglas aims to show similarities and differences, and historical changes in religions. This isn’t to say that aspects of the various religions aren’t woven into his program. For example in “The Triads of Religion,” Douglas says that Raja Yoga is important because it produces a state of oneness, not unlike the trances of the saints, noting this is backed up by research into brainwaves.
Distinguishing between the different forms of Yoga, Douglas notes that Hatha Yoga has become popular in the West because it is used as a form of exercise, but for Douglas’s purposes, Hatha Yoga is more useful because it can lead to the forms of Yoga, such as Raja Yoga, that promote the spiritual evolution that The Yoga Party is aimed at bringing about.
Early in the book, Douglas defines The Yoga Party, which is envisioned as a real, universal political party, and the primary tactic that The Yoga Party should embrace in order to bring about change: the general strike. The Yoga Party is an ambitious, profound and provocative book.
By Douglas Frame
“Buddhism negates Hinduism the way Marx inverts the idealism of Hegel and makes it material.”
If the sentence above makes you tingle then The Yoga Party is the book for you. For me, it’s almost as good as sex (almost): Two religions and two philosophers joined in an analogy. Only connect,” wrote E. M. Forster. In The Yoga Party connections abound.
Douglas Frame has written a frequently accessible but generally demanding book that guides the reader through the Eastern and Western philosophy from which he has drawn to create his own philosophy. His objective is to build a foundation for a universal political/social program, which is quite concrete. The book is under 200 pages but has more than 60 chapters, each one a compact discussion of the philosophical and religious issues that inform his thought. Chapter titles include “Brahmin and the Transcendental and Cosmic Split,” “The American Caste System,” “The Logic of Being,” “Revolution and the Christian Death Cult,” “Why is a New Metaphysical Determinism Important in Western Thought?” and “Is the Infinite Conceivable?” Even those drawn to the book because of their knowledge of one of the schools of Yoga or perhaps of Hinduism or Buddhism, might find much of the book dense if they’re not at least acquainted with Descartes, Kant, Hegel and the big problems they addressed.
In the book’s introduction, Douglas notes that the stepping off point of his philosophy is the Indian political and spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo, and in The Yoga Party he returns to Aurobindo’s thought regularly. Aurobindo, whose life spanned the 19th and 20th Centuries, infused Hinduism with his concept of humankind’s evolution, a Darwinism of the spirit, "Man is a transitional being. He is not final. The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth's evolution. It is inevitable because it is at once the intention of the inner spirit and the logic of Nature's process." Aurobindo believed we were heading toward a “supermind.”
Douglas builds his philosophy and program on Aurobindo’s beliefs, but in the course of the book, he also addresses what he perceives as the flaws in Aurobindo’s system. The critique provides Douglas with the path to his Yoga Party program.
Each chapter provides a wealth of discussion.
To give the flavor of his book, Douglas notes that he’s had a hard time convincing students in the comparative religion courses that he taught that CR is not a religious course. One is not going to “find religion” is such a course. Similarly, The Yoga Party is not aimed at leading the reader to Catholicism or Hinduism. Surveying the world’s major religions, Douglas aims to show similarities and differences, and historical changes in religions. This isn’t to say that aspects of the various religions aren’t woven into his program. For example in “The Triads of Religion,” Douglas says that Raja Yoga is important because it produces a state of oneness, not unlike the trances of the saints, noting this is backed up by research into brainwaves.
Distinguishing between the different forms of Yoga, Douglas notes that Hatha Yoga has become popular in the West because it is used as a form of exercise, but for Douglas’s purposes, Hatha Yoga is more useful because it can lead to the forms of Yoga, such as Raja Yoga, that promote the spiritual evolution that The Yoga Party is aimed at bringing about.
Early in the book, Douglas defines The Yoga Party, which is envisioned as a real, universal political party, and the primary tactic that The Yoga Party should embrace in order to bring about change: the general strike. The Yoga Party is an ambitious, profound and provocative book.
June 4, 2009
I agree with most everything Frame has to say regarding organized religion, and the theory of this new "political party. " I would definitely recommend this book to my more enlightened and educated friends. This book is difficult for me to review. I haven't taken college courses, and a lot of what he writes goes over my head. And yet I can easily understand and identify with the spiritual aspect of this book. So... it's a little lofty on one hand and a little simple on the other. Ultimately, I feel this is more a statement on personal beliefs than politics.
June 1, 2009
While the content of the book was at times stimulating, I struggled mightily with the flow as it seemed to be hastily edited. I gained even more respect for proper use of punctuation after reading this book.
Want to read
May 31, 2010I will come back to this at a later date.
August 5, 2009
Not my cup of tea!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews