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1.0 Early years

2.0 Career

3.0 Principal themes

4.0 Underlying Philosophy

5.0 Intelligent design and religion

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Deepak Chopra Wiki Information

Deepak Chopra (Hindi: ???? ??????; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian physician and author. He has written extensively on spirituality and diverse topics in mind-body medicine. Chopra says that he has been profoundly influenced by Jiddu Krishnamurti. ^[1] He has also been influenced by the teachings of Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita . Chopra has influenced the New Thought Movement in the United States.

In July 2009, Chopra, who was a friend of Michael Jackson's for 20 years, 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 be a call to action. ^[2]

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Early years

Chopra completed his primary education at St. Columba's School in New Delhi and eventually graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Chopra's grandfather was a Sergeant in the British Army and was interested in Ayurveda. ^[3]

Having graduated from AIIMS in 1969, Chopra emigrated to the US in 1970 with his wife, Rita, to do his clinical internship at a New Jersey hospital, followed by residency training for several more years at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, Boston VA Hospital, and the University of Virginia Hospital. He specialized in internal medicine, in which he is board-certified in endocrinology.

Dr. Chopra is licenced to practice medicine in the states of Massachusetts (since 1973) ^[4] and California (since 2004), ^[5] is a member of the American Medical Association (AMA), ^[6] and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Career

Chopra taught at Tufts University and Boston University Schools of Medicine, and became the Chief of Staff at the New England Memorial Hospital (later the Boston Regional Medical Center) in Stoneham, Massachusetts. ^[7] Chopra also established a large private practice.

Inspired after meeting New Delhi Ayurvedic physician Dr. Vaidya Brihaspati Dev Triguna Chopra learned Transcendental Meditation and later met its founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who invited him to join in the study and revival of Ayurveda. ^[8] In 1981, Chopra became a spokesperson for Maharishi Ayurveda. Later, Chopra branched off on his own to pursue broader aims in mind-body treatment including, in 1993, the position of executive director of the Sharp Institute for Human Potential and Mind–Body Medicine, affiliated with Sharp Healthcare, in San Diego. ^[9]

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 Center moved its official headquarters to La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California with a branch in New York City. He has plans for other centers.

In 2004, Chopra was recruited to co-write a script with Indian film director Shekhar Kapur on a proposed film to be made about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, but the plans were later dropped for unstated reasons.

In 2006, Chopra launched Virgin Comics LLC with his son, Gotham Chopra and Richard Branson, famed entrepreneur and thrill seeker. The aim of the company is to promote and examine South Asian themes and culture through comic books. ^[10] 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. ^[11]

Principal themes

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. In addition to the 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 Perfect Health (1991), Chopra authored the first widely read book on Ayurveda, the traditional system of Indian medicine. Besides outlining the Ayurvedic concept of body types (Prakriti), Chopra emphasizes that the roots of Indian healing lie in changing the holistic balance of mind and body.

Subsequent books have turned toward larger spiritual questions. 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." Chopra sees God as a projection of human awareness, who becomes more expansive and universal as individual consciousness expands.

In 2005, Chopra became a staunch 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." In the same regard, he became president of a broad-based organization, Alliance of a New Humanity, that seeks to form "peace cells" around the world and to foster such related goals as 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 offered the proposal that a person's awareness in the present shapes existence after death; that is, the afterlife is created uniquely for each of us by our present level of consciousness.

Underlying Philosophy

Chopra's teachings are rooted in the Indian spiritual tradition of Vedanta. 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. These and similar themes are explored in his books Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire , 7 Laws of Spiritual Success , and others.

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. ^[12]

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. ^[13] Science writer Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society and long-time critic of Chopra, posted a response. ^[14]

Chopra also believes Jesus was a fully enlightened teacher who possessed esoteric wisdom and may have studied Kabbalah. ^[15] 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. ^[16]

In April 2009, Chopra was involved in a debate with Pastor Mark Driscoll on an ABC special entitled, "Does Satan Exist? . ^[17]

Reception

Through his over 50 books, his periodical PBS specials, his weekly Sirius-XM radio show, frequent appearances on Larry King Live, and extensive international speaking engagements, Dr. Chopra has become an increasingly recognizable face of alternative medicine and politics. 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". ^[18] 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." ^[19]

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. ^[20] 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". ^[21]

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 . ^[22] This article was represented as discussing traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda ). Upon investigation, JAMA editors found that the coauthors 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 ^[23] and followed up in October 2, 1991 with a six-page Medical News and Perspectives exposé. ^[24] The series of events was reviewed by Skolnick in the Newsletter of the National Association of Science Writers. ^[25] In response to the JAMA exposé, two Transcendental Meditation groups and Chopra sued the author, Andrew Skolnick, JAMA 's editor Dr. George Lundberg, and the AMA for $194 million in July 1992. Pursuant to a settlement agreement in 1993, the suit was dismissed by the judge at the request of the plaintiffs, with the option of reinstating pending completion of the settlement. ^[26]

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. ^[27] ^[28] 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.

Teaching

Chopra has cast himself as a critic but not an enemy of conventional medicine. He 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. ^[29] ^[30] ^[31]

Writings

Deepak Chopra has written more than 50 books. They range broadly across spiritual and health topics; including bestsellers on aging, the "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success," the existence of God, arguments for the afterlife and world peace. He has also written novels and edited collections of spiritual poetry from India and Persia.

Chopra is represented in the United States by Madison Avenue literary agent Robert Gottlieb of Trident Media Group. Gottlieb is best known as the agent that discovered Tom Clancy, and who now represents Dale Brown, James Wesley Rawles, Ralph Peters, Neale Donald Walsch and the estate of Isaac Asimov. ^[32]

Media

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

Other

Deepak Chopra also "presented" and had creative influence upon the India Authentic line of comic books from Virgin Comics, including Deepak Chopra's Buddha . These also feature forewords by Chopra and involvement from his son, Gotham Chopra. Gotham Chopra has also been quoted as saying that his father "Soul'd out so I may thrive."

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

On 14 December 2008, The Observer newspaper published an obituary of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi written by Deepak Chopra in its magazine supplement, The Observer Magazine .

On June 26 2009, Chopra gave an interview on CNN ^[33] to Campbell Brown and Larry King saying that he was a close friend of pop star Michael Jackson and has since been outspoken about the singer's death and his unhealthy addiction to prescription drugs. Chopra revealed that Jackson had attended his Center for a week to learn guided meditation to help ease his severe chronic back pain; and that during that time Jackson had asked Chopra to provide a prescription for painkillers, reporting that his pain was not sufficiently relieved by meditation and self help discovery at the clinic.