Day 312
Deepak Chopra was born on October 22, 1946 in New Delhi, India. His father, Krishan, was a cardiologist. As a young man, Chopra wanted to become an actor or journalist, but he reports that he was inspired by a character in a book called Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis and, following his father's footsteps, he finally decided to become a physician. A few years after graduating in India, he immigrated to the United States and began his clinical internship and residency training at Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1973 Chopra gained his licence to practice medicine in the state of Massachusetts.
Although seemingly successful on the outside, Deepak Chopra became increasingly frustrated by his role as a traditional physician. He felt he had become a legal 'drug pusher', always prescribing medication to his patients. All this doubt and frustration led him to become increasingly interested in Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, which he and his wife went on to learn in 1981. In 1985, Deepak Chopra met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who invited him to study Ayurveda (an ancient Indian holistic approach to medicine).
In January 1994, Chopra left the Transcendental Meditation movement after a disagreement with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and, a few years later, went on to found the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California.
To go along with his clinical practice, Chopra soon began to write books. Though his first several books met with a mixed critical and popular reception, his 1993 book, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, was an instant success. Since then, Chopra has published over forty-two books and one hundred audio, video, and CD-ROM titles, which have been translated into thirty-five languages and have sold over twenty million copies worldwide. He is a highly sought-after workshop presenter and inspirational speaker, and has achieved nearly guru status with many of his admirers.
Deepak Chopra is one of the best known and widely respected leaders in the field of mind/body medicine in the world today. He has a way of integrating the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda with traditional Western medicine and recent discoveries in the field of quantum physics. His has forged a holistic approach to healing that is inspiring and thorough.
If you have never read any of his books, I highly recommend you do. Well-written, intelligent and accessible, they suggest an approach to well-being that I personally find fascinating.
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