Deepak Chopra
|
Grow Younger, Live Longer, 2001 |
Deepak Chopra,
M.D., (born
1947 in
New Delhi, India) is a medical doctor and popular contemporary writer in the
United States on
spirituality,
synchronicity,
integrative medicine and
Ayurveda. He claims
Hinduism as his main influence, specifically the teachings of
Vedanta and the
Bhagavad Gita.
Chopra is a trained
physician and was board-certified in
internal medicine and
endocrinology. He graduated from the
All India Institute of Medical Sciences in
1968, and after interning at a
New Jersey hospital, trained for several more years at the
Lahey Clinic in
Burlington, Massachusetts and at the
University of Virginia Hospital. He taught at
Tufts University and
Boston University Schools of Medicine, became the chief of staff at the New England Memorial Hospital and established a large private practice. He became a leader in the
transcendental meditation movement, but later branched off on his own, Primordial Sound Meditation.
Dr. Chopra is Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of The Chopra Center at
La Costa Resort & Spa in
Carlsbad,
California.
Dr. Chopra completed his primary education at the prestigious
St. Columba's School in New Delhi. The same school where
Shahrukh Khan and
Rahul Gandhi did most of their primary education.
In
2004, Chopra was recruited to provide script advice to
Indian film director
Shekhar Kapur on a
proposed film to be made about the life of
Siddhartha Gautama, the
Buddha.
In June,
2005, Chopra and Kapur launched a discussion
blog [Chopra and Kapur's discussion blog www.intentblog.com] with a select group of their friends and family. The stated purpose of the blog is to present original voices from
South Asia (particularly India) and discuss a variety of topics.
In
2006, Chopra launched
Virgin Comics LLC alongside
Richard Branson, famed entrepreneur and thrill-seeker. They claim the company will seek to promote and examine Southeast Asian themes and culture through the use of the traditional comic book medium. [
1]
Chopra writes about holistically treating the body and promotes
Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine. He has also recorded and published some of his writings and lectures as
audiobooks.
Many criticize his frequent references to the relationship of
quantum mechanics to
healing processes, which they consider part of a pattern of general confusion in the popular press regarding
quantum measurement,
decoherence and the
Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
[Quantum quackery Article discussing quantum mechanics and new age medicine by Stenger in Skeptical Inquirer magazine.]Deepak Chopra is also criticized for overly mystifying
Hinduism and
Ayurveda (a system of medicine). His qualifications in Ayurveda are questioned and by shrouding it in elusive language, he is accused of alienating it from the mainstream and de-legitimizing it.
In its May 22/29, 1991 issue, the
Journal of the American Medical Association (
JAMA) published a controversial article by Sharma, Triguna and Chopra:
Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Modern Insights Into Ancient Medicine.
[Sharma, Triguna and Chopra. Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Modern Insights Into Ancient Medicine. JAMA. 1991 May 22-29;265(20):2633-4, 2637] This article was represented as discussing the traditional healing system practiced in India known as Ayurveda. The co-authors represented themselves as disinterested authors, and signed a statement that they were not affiliated with any organization that could profit from publication of their article. At the time the article was accepted for publication, the JAMA editors apparently did not realize that Maharishi Ayur-Veda is a trademarked line of "alternative health" products and services, which had been marketed since 1985. Upon investigation, JAMA editors discovered that the co-authors had financial interests in the complex web of interlocking organizations that promoted and marketed Maharishi Ayur-Veda products and services. In the August 14, 1991 edition of JAMA, the editors published a financial disclosure correction
[JAMA: Erratum in: JAMA 1991 Aug 14;266(6):798] and followed up in October 2, 1991 with a six-page Medical News and Perspectives exposé.
[JAMA. 1991 Oct 2;266(13):1769-74.] In response, two Transendental Meditation groups and Chopra sued the author, Andrew Skolnick, JAMA's editor Dr. George Lundberg, and the AMA for $194 million in July 1992. Although Chopra's lawyer later claimed that the suit was settled for an undisclosed amount (Newsweek, October 20, 1997, p. 57), the court in fact dismissed the suit without prejudice in March 1993, and no part of Skolnick's article was retracted. The series of events was later reviewed by Skolnick in the Newsletter of the National Association of Science Writers.
[Andrew Skolnick. The Maharhish Caper: Or How to Hoodwink Top Medical Journals'' ScienceWriters, Fall 1991]In a lawsuit filed on January 23, 1997,
Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology at
Stanford University, charged Chopra with plagiarising some of Sapolsky's writings in Chopra's book, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind. The suit was settled out-of-court, with Chopra agreeing to provide proper attributions to Sapolsky in future printings[
2]. Chopra was also accused of lifting portions of his book from Dan Georgakas's book "The Methuselah Factor." Chopra has blamed editing errors and says correct attribution to material from Georgakas' book will appear in future editions[
3].
Many critics point out that Chopra's writings and lectures are often dishonest and hypocritical. For example, Chopra frequently admonishes
materialism while living in a $2.5 million home and driving a
Jaguar. The
Skeptic's Dictionary, whose article about Chopra is particularly critical, states:"Not using a current photo on your web site or on the jacket of your latest book, which would show how you are aging, is deceptive, especially since you claim to know how to overcome aging."
[The Skeptic's Dictionary: Deepak Chopra]In March
2003, shortly before the US-led
Invasion of Iraq, Chopra, upon being asked for creative ideas, gave ten suggestions. These suggestions included that Iraq could be disarmed without force; that religious leaders meet in Baghdad; increasing UN forces by ten-fold; sponsoring 25,000 Iraq exchange students to the West; etc. He also suggested that a new
Disney World theme park in the Middle East would help to reduce fear and anger in children and that residents of
Iraq should be provided free access to
CNN,
MTV and
Nickelodeon [
4] to expose them to the rest of the world.
In August
2005, Chopra posted a series of articles on the blog
The Huffington Post (to which he is a frequent contributor) in which he offers his solution to the
creation-evolution controversy. In doing so he expressed support for
Intelligent Design, and offered a series of questions about
evolution he believed could not be answered by science alone (thereby requiring an "intelligent designer").
[Chopra D, Intelligent Design Without the Bible Huffington Post August 23, 2005.] Science writer
Michael Shermer, founder of
The Skeptics Society and long-time critic of Chopra, posted a response. [
5]
*
1989 Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine ISBN 0553348698
*
1991 Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide ISBN 0517584212
*
1993 Ageless Body, Timeless Mind : The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old ISBN 0517592576
*
1993 Creating Affluence: Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilities*
1995 The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams*
1995 The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want*
1995 The Path to Love: Spiritual Strategies for Healing*
1999 Everyday Immortality: A Concise Course in Spiritual Transformation ISBN 0609604848
*
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 0609600796
*
2000 How to Know God : The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries*
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 0609600427
*
2003 Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles ISBN 1844132218
*
2004 The Book of Secrets: Unlocking the Hidden Dimensions of Your Life ISBN 0517706245
*
2005 Peace Is the Way : Bringing War and Violence to an End ISBN 0307236072
*
1998 A Give of Love: Love poems inspired by Rumi *
2001 Soul of Healing Meditations - A Simple Approach to Growing Younger *
2002 A Give of Love II: A Musical Valentine to Tagore *
2004 Chakra Balancing: Body, Mind, and Soul*
2004 Soul of Healing - Body, Mind, and Soul Vol. 1"The living body is the best pharmacy ever devised. It produces
diuretics,
painkillers,
tranquilizers, sleeping pills and
antibiotics. It applies the right dosages with minimal or no side effects, and the directions are inbuilt."
* Chopra, Deepak (2001).
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams (paperback ed.). Crown Publishing. ISBN 0609802194.
* Chopra, D., Skolnick, A.A., et. al. (1992).
Letters to the Editor. JAMA. 1992 Mar 11;267(10):1337-1340.
* Skolnick, A. A. (1991).
Maharishi Ayur-Veda: Guru's marketing scheme promises the world eternal "perfect health". JAMA. 1991 Oct 2;266(13):1741-2, 1744-5.
* Skolnick, A. A. (1991).
The Maharishi Caper: Or How to Hoodwink Top Medical Journals. Skeptical Inquirer, 1992 16(3)254-259
* Stenger, V. J. (1995).
The Unconscious Quantum: Metaphysics in Modern Physics and Cosmology. Prometheus Books.
*
The Chopra Center Official website.
*
Deepak Chopra's Events & summary biography by Global Leaders*
Deepak Chopra's blog*
Big Picture TV Free video clips of Deepak Chopra
*
Rasa Music Record label responsible for producing Deepak's musical endeavors.
*
Deepak Chopra and the Chopra Center entry from ReligionFacts
*
SkepDic The Skeptic's Dictionary entry for Deepak Chopra
*
A critical essay by
Stephen Barrett.
*
Article discussing quantum mechanics and new age medicine by Stenger in
Skeptical Inquirer magazine.
*
Deepak Chopra Audio Books The Higher Self, Magical Mind/Magical Body, Journey to the Boundless & other audio books by Dr. Chopra.
*[
6]"The Maharishi Caper: Or How to Hoodwink Top Medical Journals," published in ScienceWriters.
*
The Great Debate:Deepak Chopra v. Michael Shermer Chopra and
Shermer debate the philosophy of scientific skepticism, with emphasis on
intelligent design.
