Misplaced Pages

Deepak Chopra: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 01:32, 10 October 2009 editLittleolive oil (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers25,080 edits →Principal themes and philosophy: remove per BLP← Previous edit Revision as of 01:33, 10 October 2009 edit undoLittleolive oil (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers25,080 edits →Principal themes and philosophy: unsourced per BLPNext edit →
Line 66: Line 66:
In his book ''Life After Death: The Burden of Proof'' (2006), he extends personal consciousness beyond the "artificial boundary that separates the living from the departed." Assessing the seven varieties of the ] described by various world religious traditions, In his book ''Life After Death: The Burden of Proof'' (2006), he extends personal consciousness beyond the "artificial boundary that separates the living from the departed." Assessing the seven varieties of the ] described by various world religious traditions,


Chopra says that he has been profoundly influenced by ].<ref>{{ cite book | title=Krishnamurti: 100 Years | last=Blau | first=Evelyne | page=233 | publisher=Stewart, Tabori, & Chang | year=1995 | month=May | isbn=978-1556704079 }}</ref> Chopra says that he has been profoundly influenced by ].<ref>{{ cite book | title=Krishnamurti: 100 Years | last=Blau | first=Evelyne | page=233 | publisher=Stewart, Tabori, & Chang | year=1995 | month=May | isbn=978-1556704079 }}</ref>

Chopra's teachings are rooted in the Indian spiritual tradition of ]. In essence, Chopra claims that if one moves one's to a deeper reference point within, through meditation, prayer or other methods, one raises one's consciousness and opens to a more universal (i.e. non-local) realm of existence, where one experiences greater knowledge, heightened creativity, synchronicity, divine love, and pure joy. In comparison, the conditioned life of limited awareness is oriented towards locality, ignorance, division, and suffering. {{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} These and similar themes are explored in his books ''Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire'', ''7 Laws of Spiritual Success'', and others.


== Intelligent design and religion == == Intelligent design and religion ==

Revision as of 01:33, 10 October 2009

Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra in 2006
BornPunjab, British India
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Physician, Public speaker, Writer, Philosopher
SpouseRita Chopra
ChildrenMallika Chopra and Gotham Chopra
Parent(s)Dr. (Col) K. L. Chopra, Pushpa Chopra

Deepak Chopra (Template:Lang-hi; ) is a physician, lecturer, celebrity and author of books on spirituality and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as a medical doctor and later became a mind-body medicine and ayurvedic expert.

Early years

Born in 1946, Chopra's grandfather was a Sergeant in the British Army and was interested in Ayurveda.

Chopra completed his primary education at St. Columba's School in New Delhi and graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). After graduating from AIIMS in 1969, Chopra emigrated to the US in 1970 with his wife, Rita, for his clinical internship and residency training at a New Jersey hospital. Chopra then spent several years working at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, the Boston VA Hospital, and the University of Virginia Hospital.

Dr. Chopra has been licensed to practice medicine in the state of Massachusetts since 1973 and in California since 2004. Chopra is board-certified in internal medicine. He specialized in endocrinology. He is also a member of the American Medical Association (AMA), and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Career

This section may require cleanup to meet Misplaced Pages's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this section if you can. (October 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Chopra taught classes at the Tufts University and Boston University Schools of Medicine, and became the Chief of Staff at the New England Memorial Hospital (later called the Boston Regional Medical Center) in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Chopra also maintained a private practice. Chopra teaches an annual update in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, where his younger brother, Sanjiv, is Professor of Medicine and Faculty Dean for Continuing Medical Education.

Chopra was also the director of a hospital in the south of France.

Inspired by a meeting with New Delhi, Ayurvedic physician Dr. Vaidya Brihaspati Dev Triguna, Chopra learned the Transcendental Meditation technique and later met its founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who invited him to join in a study and revival of Ayurveda termed Maharishi Ayurveda. In 1981, Chopra became a spokesperson for Maharishi Ayurveda.

In 1993, Chopra became executive director of the Sharp Institute for Human Potential and Mind–Body Medicine, which was affiliated with Sharp Healthcare, in San Diego.

Chopra is the co-founder of the Chopra Center, which he founded in 1996 in La Jolla, California with Dr. David Simon. In 2002, the Chopra Center moved its official headquarters to La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California with a branch in New York City.

In 2004, Chopra was invited to co-write a script with Indian director Shekhar Kapur for a film about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.

In 2006, Chopra launched Virgin Comics LLC with his son, Gotham Chopra and entrepreneur Richard Branson. Chopra made creative contributions to the India Authentic line of comic books from Virgin Comics, including Deepak Chopra's Buddha. The aim of the project was to utilize South Asian themes and culture in a comic book format.

Deepak co-authored 'Ask the Kabala' with Mike 'Zappy' Zapolin and Alys Yablon in 2006, which is a set of 22 cards, each one representing a story or character from the Old Testament and a life lesson based on that story from a Kabalistic perspective.

Chopra participated in the 2006 documentary film ONE: The Movie and made a cameo appearance in the 2008 comedy film The Love Guru and in 2008 appeared in a series of Microsoft Windows advertisements entitled "I'm a PC".

Chopra is represented in the United States by the literary agency, Trident Media Group.

On 14 December 2008 Chopra's memorial to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was published in the magazine section of The Observer.

On June 26 2009, Chopra gave an interview on CNN to Campbell Brown and Larry King saying that he was a close friend of pop star Michael Jackson. Chopra said that Jackson had attended his Center for a week to learn guided meditation and to help ease his severe chronic back pain. Chopra reported that during that time Jackson had asked for a prescription for painkillers, saying that his pain was not sufficiently relieved by meditation and the self-help program at the clinic. Chopra criticized the "cult of drug-pushing doctors, with their co-dependent relationships with addicted celebrities", saying he hoped Jackson's death, attributed to an overdose of a prescription drug, would serve as a call to action against this kind of activity.

Principal themes and philosophy

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Many of Chopra's themes and beliefs are stated in his first book Creating Health, in 1986. He launched himself as a staunch advocate of the connection between mind and body, advocating meditation and self-awareness as primary factors in both illness and healing. He deepened these themes in Quantum Healing (1989), where he examined the mysterious phenomenon of spontaneous healing of cancer.

Chopra in his 2001 book Grow Younger, Live Longer makes reference to a "friend of ours who was diagnosed with AIDS fifteen years ago" made a miraculous turn around and now has undetectable level of the HIV antibodies in his blood. Here he introduced quantum physics as a means of understanding the mind-body connection, arguing—as he would in many other books—that consciousness is the basic foundation of nature and the universe.

In How to Know God (2000) and The Book of Secrets (2004), an argument is made for an all-pervasive intelligence that unites every living thing, rather than the traditional Western concept of God as a person, "a venerable white male sitting on a throne in the sky."

In 2005, Chopra became an advocate for disarmament and international peace in Peace Is the Way, where he argues that a "critical mass" of people of like mind can defeat the global "addiction to war." He became president of an organization called Alliance of a New Humanity, that sought to form "peace cells" around the world and to foster environmental healing and sustainable economies in developing nations.

In his book Life After Death: The Burden of Proof (2006), he extends personal consciousness beyond the "artificial boundary that separates the living from the departed." Assessing the seven varieties of the afterlife described by various world religious traditions,

Chopra says that he has been profoundly influenced by Jiddu Krishnamurti.

Intelligent design and religion

In August 2005, Chopra posted a series of articles in the blog The Huffington Post, to which he is a frequent contributor, offering his solution to the creation-evolution controversy. In doing so he expressed support for Intelligent design without the Bible, or the politics of religion. According to Chopra, Nature itself displays intelligence.

In the article, Chopra states:

"To say that Nature displays intelligence doesn't make you a Christian fundamentalist. Einstein said as much, and a fascinating theory called the anthropic principle has been seriously considered by Stephen Hawking, among others."
"It’s time to rescue 'intelligent design' from the politics of religion. There are too many riddles not yet answered by either biology or the Bible, and by asking them honestly, without foregone conclusions, science could take a huge leap forward."

Chopra also offers a series of questions about evolution that he believes cannot be answered by science alone. Science writer Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society and long-time critic of Chopra, posted a response.

Chopra also believes Jesus was a fully enlightened teacher who possessed esoteric wisdom and may have studied Kabbalah. In March 2008, Deepak and his daughter Mallika Chopra, did their first Christian radio interview with host Drew Marshall in which they discussed his book The Third Jesus.

In April 2009, Chopra was involved in a debate with Pastor Mark Driscoll on an ABC special entitled, "Does Satan Exist?.

Reception

At a state dinner in India in March 2000, US President Bill Clinton said, "My country has been enriched by the contributions of more than a million Indian Americans, which includes Dr. Deepak Chopra, the pioneer of alternative medicine". The June 1999 issue of Time magazine identified Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century and credited him as "the poet-prophet of alternative medicine." At the Citation of the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic awarded by the Pio Manzu International Scientific Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev referred to Chopra as "A renowned physician and author, Deepak Chopra is undoubtedly one of the most lucid and inspired philosophers of our time."

Chopra has been criticized for his frequent references to the relationship of quantum mechanics to healing processes, a connection that has drawn skepticism from physicists who say it can be considered as contributing to the general confusion in the popular press regarding quantum measurement, decoherence and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. In 1998, Chopra was awarded the satirical Ig Nobel Prize in physics for "his unique interpretation of quantum physics as it applies to life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic happiness".

In its May 22/29, 1991 issue, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article coauthored by Chopra: Letter from New Delhi: Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Modern Insights Into Ancient Medicine. This article was represented as discussing traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda). JAMA editors claimed that Chopra and his co-authors had financial interests in "Maharishi Vedic Medicine" products and services. In the 14 August 1991 edition of JAMA, the editors published a financial disclosure correction and followed up in October 2, 1991 with a six-page Medical News and Perspectives exposé. An article discussing this chain of events was authored by Skolnick in the Newsletter of the National Association of Science Writers.

In 2008, following the November attacks in Mumbai, Chopra commented on the Larry King Live show that there is a wider historic context of terrorism. He claimed that solving terrorism is not simply a matter of killing the terrorists involved. He spoke of how that larger context of terrorism included the role of the US military policies in Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past thirty years. These policies include the Bush Administration's War on Terror. Chopra also speculated that Muslim extremists were threatened by the election of US president Barack Obama. In danger of losing their primary ideological recruiting tool with the loss of a right leaning administration, the terrorists may have staged their attack now in order to elicit a response that would garner maximum sympathy from Muslims.

Books

Chopra has written more than 50 books:

  • 1987 Creating Health ISBN 0-395-75515-8
  • 1988 Return of the Rishi ISBN 0-395-57420-X
  • 1989 Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine ISBN 0-553-34869-8
  • 1991 Unconditional Life: Mastering the Forces That Shape Personal Reality
  • 1991 Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide ISBN 0-517-58421-2
  • 1993 Ageless Body, Timeless Mind : The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old ISBN 0-517-59257-6
  • 1993 Creating Affluence: Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilities
  • 1994 The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfilment of Your Dreams
  • 1995 The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want ISBN 0-517-70434-X
  • 1995 The Return of Merlin: A Novel ISBN 0-449-91074-1
  • 1995 The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing
  • 1997 The Path to Love: Renewing the Power of Spirit in Your Life ISBN 0-517-70622-9
  • 1997 The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents: Guiding Your Children to Success and Fulfillment
  • 1999 Everyday Immortality: A Concise Course in Spiritual Transformation ISBN 0-609-60484-8
  • 1999 Lords of Light: A Novel ISBN 0-312-96892-2
  • 2000 The Angel is Near: A Novel ISBN 0-312-97024-2
  • 2000 How to Know God : The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries ISBN 0-609-60078-8
  • 2001 The Deeper Wound: Recovering the Soul from Fear and Suffering, 100 Days of Healing
  • 2001 Grow Younger, Live Longer: 10 Steps to Reverse Aging ISBN 0-609-60079-6
  • 2002 Manifesting Good Luck Cards: Growth and Enlightenment
  • 2003 Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life
  • 2003 The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence ISBN 0-609-60042-7
  • 2003 Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles ISBN 1-84413-221-8
  • 2003 Manifesting Good Luck: Love and Relationships, 50 Card Deck
  • 2004 The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life ISBN 0-517-70624-5
  • 2004 Fire in the Heart: A Spiritual Guide for Teens ISBN 0-689-86216-4
  • 2005 Peace Is the Way : Bringing War and Violence to an End ISBN 0-307-23607-2
  • 2005 The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: A Practical Guide to Healing Body, Mind, and Spirit
  • 2006 Ask The Kabala: Oracle Cards/Kabala Guidebook ISBN 978-1401910396
  • 2006 Power Freedom and Grace: Living from the Source of Lasting Happiness ISBN 978-1-878424-81-5
  • 2006 Life After Death: The Burden of Proof ISBN 0-307-34578-5
  • 2006 Kama Sutra: Including the Seven Spiritual Laws of Love ISBN 978-1-852273-85-9
  • 2007 Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment ISBN 978-0-06-087880-1
  • 2008 The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore ISBN 978-0-307-33831-0
  • 2008 Why Is God Laughing? The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism
  • 2008 Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment ISBN 978-0061448737

Music CDs

  • 1998 A Gift of Love: Love poems inspired by Rumi
  • 2001 Soul of Healing Meditations - A Simple Approach to Growing Younger
  • 2002 A Gift of Love II: A Musical Valentine to Tagore
  • 2004 Chakra Balancing: Body, Mind, and Soul

Videos

  • 1995 Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
  • 1995 The Way of the Wizard
  • 2003 God and Buddha - a dialog
  • 2004 Soul of Healing - Body, Mind, and Soul Vol. 1

See also

References

  1. ^ "Deepak Chopra: Physician, Author, Philosopher".
  2. ^ Massachusetts Board of Registration Physician Profile
  5. Redwood, Daniel D.C. "Quantum Healing". HealthWorld Online. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  6. "Deepak Chopra". NNDB. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  7. "Sanjiv Chopra MD at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center". Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  8. "Aerosmith Steven Tyler: cancer rumor Hep C secret tv video interview". Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  9. Burton, Rosamund. "Peace Seeker". Nova Magazine. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  10. "Powell's Books - Return of the Rishi". Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  11. Singh, Arune (2006-01-12). "Eastern Philosophy: Deepak Chopra talks Virgin Comics". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  12. "Ask the Kabala, a new book". 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  14. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/26/jackson.drug.interaction.caution/index.html?iref=newssearch
  15. Posner, Gerald. Deepak Chopra: How Michael Jackson Could Have Been Saved, The Daily Beast, July 2, 2009, p. 4
  16. Blau, Evelyne (1995). Krishnamurti: 100 Years. Stewart, Tabori, & Chang. p. 233. ISBN 978-1556704079. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  17. ^ Chopra, Deepak (2005-08-23). "Intelligent Design Without the Bible". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  18. Chopra, Deepak (2005-08-24). "Rescuing Intelligent Design — But from Whom?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  19. Shermer, Michael. "Skyhooks and Cranes: Deepak Chopra, George W. Bush, and Intelligent Design". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  20. Ofek-Arnon, Dorit (2007-12-27). "Incoming: Guru seeks Jesus". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  21. http://www.drewmarshall.ca/listen2008.html#080322
  22. http://modernmarch.com/2009/04/02/abc-nightline-does-satan-exist/
  23. "Clinton's India connection". The Times of India. 2003-08-24. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  24. "Deepak Chopra M.D., Chopra Center". Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  25. Stenger, Victor J. (2007). "Quantum Quackery". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-12-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  26. "Winners of the Ig Nobel Prize". Improbable Research. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  27. Sharma HM, Triguna BD, Chopra D (1991). "Maharishi Ayur-Veda: modern insights into ancient medicine". JAMA. 265 (20): 2633–4, 2637. doi:10.1001/jama.265.20.2633. PMID 1817464.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. "Erratum in: JAMA 1991 Aug 14". JAMA. 266 (6): 798.
  29. , (1991). "Maharishi Ayur-Veda". JAMA. 266 (13): 1769–74. doi:10.1001/jama.266.13.1769. PMID 1653861. {{cite journal}}: |author= has numeric name (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  30. Skolnick, Andrew (1991). "The Maharhish Caper: Or How to Hoodwink Top Medical Journals". ScienceWriters. Retrieved 2008-12-01. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  31. A 1992 defamation lawsuit brought against the article's author and the editor of JAMA was voluntarily dismissed by the Plaintiffs in 1993. Media reports published four years later that there had been a monetary settlement of the case were later withdrawn as untrue."Correction", Newsweek (November 17, 1997)</
  32. Rabinowitz, Dorothy. "Deepak Blames America". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-12-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  33. "Mumbai attacks: India news organisations blame 'outside' terrorists". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-12-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Further reading

  • Deepak Chopra: World of Infinite Possibilities, by Leon Nacson. Published by Random House, 1998. ISBN 0091836735, 9780091836733.
  • "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" - A commentary by Tom Butler-Bowdon from 50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life (2003), London & Boston: Nicholas Brealey, ISBN 978-1-85788-323-7.

External links

New Age movement
Culture
Groups
Influences
Proponents
Themes

Template:Persondata

Categories: