Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is an influential American physician and author, originally from New Delhi, India, born on October 22, 1946. He is best known for his work in mind/body medicine, spirituality, and alternative healing practices, particularly Ayurveda, which is a traditional Indian system of medicine. After completing his medical education and initially practicing as an endocrinologist, Chopra shifted his focus toward alternative medicine, earning widespread recognition in these fields. He was mentored by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, and later became the founding president of the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine.
Chopra has authored over ninety books, many of which have achieved best-seller status, and he has been a prominent public speaker advocating for holistic health and wellness. Through the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, which he co-founded, he offered courses in Ayurveda and various alternative health practices. Despite his acclaim, Chopra has faced criticism from some medical professionals who argue that his approaches may mislead patients away from conventional medical treatment. Nevertheless, he remains an active figure in the wellness community, focusing on mental health advocacy, the integration of technology in wellness, and promoting a holistic lifestyle.
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Deepak Chopra
- Born: October 22, 1946; New Delhi, India
Overview
Deepak Chopra, an American physician born in India, is a best-selling writer and popular public speaker whose work centers on mind/body medicine and health, spirituality, quantum mechanics, and Ayurveda, a traditional medicine system native to India. In the West, Ayurveda is largely classified as alternative medicine.
As a youth, Chopra yearned to become a journalist or actor, but a character in the Sinclair Lewis novel Arrowsmith (1925) later inspired him to become a physician. Chopra completed his medical education at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He began his medical career as an endocrinologist, obtaining certification in internal medicine with a specialty in endocrinology. However, Chopra later shifted to a career focused on alternative medicine. Before embarking on his own productive medical career, Chopra studied for several years with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who developed Transcendental Meditation and is regarded as the guru of the movement associated with the technique.
Chopra moved to the United States in 1968 and completed his medical internship and residency in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Virginia. He obtained his medical license in Massachusetts in 1973 and another in California in 2004. During his early career, Chopra also served as a professor at Tufts University and Boston University. Additionally, he was Chief of Staff at Boston Regional Medical Center. He later went on to establish a private practice. He is a longtime member of many respected societies, including the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
In 1985, Chopra met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The well-known alternative practitioner offered to mentor Chopra in the study of Ayurveda. Soon after studying with the Maharishi, Chopra was appointed founding president of the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine. He later was named the medical director of the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Center for Stress Management and Behavioral Medicine.
Chopra was later appointed executive director of the Sharp Institute for Human Potential and Mind-Body Medicine. Around 1993, he moved with his family to Southern California. The following year, Chopra formally left the Transcendental Meditation movement, reportedly making this decision after his former mentor accused him of trying to compete with his position and obtain the qualification of “guru.”
Chopra resigned from the Sharp Institute in 1996. With David Simon, a medical doctor and an authority in mind/body medicine, he founded the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in La Jolla, California. The center offered courses in Ayurveda and other alternative medicine techniques. Some notable institutions (such as the AMA and the University of California) have granted education credits for physicians studying at the center. It has since been rebranded Center for Holistic Wellbeing and is no longer associated with Chopra, though it caters to the same principles.
Chopra has written more than ninety books that have been translated into dozens of languages. His books are concerned with New Age spirituality, alternative medicine, and peace, among other topics. Twenty-one became New York Times bestsellers, and he sold more than twenty million copies worldwide. Chopra also has hosted a weekly radio show in which he interviewed scientists and others working in alternative medicine. He voiced his opposition to the over-prescribing of drugs and drug dependency, especially after the death of his friend, singer-songwriter Michael Jackson.
Chopra received various awards for his work in alternative medicine. Esquire magazine named him one of the “top ten motivational speakers” in the United States. He served as an adviser to the National Ayurveda Medical Association for many years and was appointed senior scientist at the Gallup Organization. In addition, he served as an adjunct professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Like other alternative and complementary medicine practitioners, Chopra has many critics. Some opponents argue that his work misleads and exploits the ill by creating false hope in the weak, deterring them from seeking traditional, possibly more effective, medical care. Furthermore, some critics argue that much of Chopra’s popularity comes from his public speaking abilities, not from his teachings. Chopra said that “perfect health is a matter of choice,” and Business Week indicated that one of Chopra’s main teachings is that health can be improved by ridding oneself of negative emotions and developing intuitive communication with one’s body. These views trouble several traditional clinicians and scientists.
In the mid-2020s, even in his seventies, Chopra remains a key figure in the field of complementary and alternative medicine. He continues to speak and write, and he serves as a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Central Florida and a Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Diego. Chopra founded The Chopra Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on wellness and humanitarianism. He also founded Chopra Global, a wellness company that produces digital content for various platforms and focuses on offering personalized solutions for individuals seeking to improve their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Chopra has embraced technology in his wellness work in other ways as well. He has spoken frequently about Artificial Intelligence and its implications for human consciousness. Chopra was also vocal about the need to take care of mental health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, Chopra continues to advocate for his original assertion that integrative medicine is integral in connecting the mind and body, and that living a holistic lifestyle will promote all-around well-being.
Bibliography
"A Conversation With Deepak Chopra." Mount Sinai, reports.mountsinai.org/article/uro2022-13-a-conversation-with-deepak-chopra. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.
"About." Deepak Chopra, www.deepakchopra.com/about. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.
Chopra, Deepak. "Medicine’s Great Divide: The View from the Alternative Side." American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, vol. 13, no. 6, 2011, pp. 394–398.
Chopra, Deepak. Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You. Three Rivers, 2010.
Mykytka, Haley. "8 Things I Learned from Dr. Deepak Chopra." Syracuse University News, 28 Oct. 2020, news.syr.edu/the-peel/2020/10/28/8-things-i-learned-from-dr-deepak-chopra. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.
Ninivaggi, Frank John. Ayurveda: A Comprehensive Guide to Traditional Indian Medicine for the West. Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.