Deepak Chopra Biography Quotes 17 Report mistakes
Attr: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
| 17 Quotes | |
| Occup. | Philosopher |
| From | USA |
| Born | October 22, 1946 New Delhi, India |
| Age | 79 years |
Deepak Chopra was born on October 22, 1946, in New Delhi, India, into a family closely tied to medicine. His father, Krishan Chopra, was a prominent cardiologist and served in the Indian Army, a role that exposed Deepak early to the discipline and science of clinical care. As a student he showed an interest in both literature and biology, a duality that would later characterize his career as a physician and a public author. He attended St. Columba's School in New Delhi and earned his medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, one of India's most prestigious medical schools. The training gave him a rigorous grounding in Western biomedicine while he kept an eye on the broader questions about mind, body, and human potential raised in the literature and philosophy he read outside the clinic.
Medical Training and Early Career
Chopra moved to the United States in 1970 to pursue postgraduate medical training. He completed residencies in internal medicine and began practicing in the greater Boston area. His clinical work was recognized by peers, and he advanced into hospital leadership, ultimately serving as chief of staff at New England Memorial Hospital near Boston. The role put him at the center of patient care and the administrative challenges of a modern hospital, and he taught and supervised younger physicians while developing a practice attentive to the stress and lifestyle factors that contribute to disease. The influence of his family remained strong; his younger brother, Sanjiv Chopra, would become a respected hepatologist and professor of medicine, and their professional dialogues linked clinical rigor with wide-ranging curiosity.
Turn Toward Meditation and Ayurveda
In the 1980s, Chopra encountered Transcendental Meditation and met its founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The practices of meditation and the traditional medical system of Ayurveda piqued his interest in how consciousness, behavior, and physiology interact. He began speaking publicly about preventive health, stress reduction, and the potential for self-care to complement standard medical treatments. His book Quantum Healing (1989) used metaphors from physics to describe mind-body connections and helped establish his public profile. Although he served for a period as a high-profile voice within the Maharishi organization, philosophical and organizational disagreements led him to part ways in the early 1990s, after which he continued to pursue an independent path focused on integrative medicine.
Authorship and Public Influence
Chopra became one of the most widely read writers on spirituality and health. Ageless Body, Timeless Mind (1993) and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (1994) reached international bestseller lists and introduced mainstream audiences to meditation, Ayurveda, and the possibility of cultivating well-being through daily practice. Over the decades he has written dozens of books spanning health, spirituality, and even narrative works about historical figures, aiming to make complex ideas accessible to general readers. He also wrote with scientific collaborators to explore brain health and genetics; with neuroscientist Rudolph E. Tanzi he coauthored Super Brain (2012), Super Genes (2015), and The Healing Self (2018), translating research on neuroplasticity, stress, and lifestyle into practical recommendations.
Institutions, Collaborations, and Media
Seeking a platform to deliver programs that combined meditation, nutrition, movement, and emotional well-being, Chopra co-founded the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in 1996 with neurologist David Simon. The center, based in California, became a destination for retreats and trainings, blending Ayurvedic modalities with contemporary health education. Simon was a central partner in shaping the center's curriculum and tone until his death in 2012, after which Chopra and colleagues evolved the work into a mix of live programs and digital offerings.
Chopra also established The Chopra Foundation, a nonprofit that supports research and public initiatives in mind-body health and youth education. He collaborated frequently with media figures who helped bring meditation to large audiences. Oprah Winfrey hosted him for television appearances and co-led global meditation challenges that drew millions of participants, highlighting his ability to communicate complex ideas to a broad public. He befriended pop icons such as Michael Jackson in the 1990s and occasionally advised artists and executives. In a different register, he entered into dialogue with physicist Leonard Mlodinow in War of the Worldviews (2011), a book-length exchange that juxtaposed scientific and spiritual perspectives.
Family collaborations have also been significant. His daughter, Mallika Chopra, an author and entrepreneur, partners on projects that emphasize practical tools for well-being, while his son, Gotham Chopra, a filmmaker and media entrepreneur, has worked with him on digital content and storytelling. These collaborations reflect an ongoing effort to adapt his message to new formats and audiences.
Controversies and Debates
Chopra's influence has been matched by ongoing controversy. Skeptics and scientists have criticized his use of quantum terminology and claims about consciousness and healing as overreaching. He has been challenged in print and in public forums by figures such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Michael Shermer, and the late James Randi. Debates have often focused on what constitutes evidence in medicine, the limits of placebo effects, and the risk of blurring metaphor with mechanism. Chopra has responded that his aim is to expand an overly reductionist view of human health, arguing for a model that integrates subjective experience, lifestyle, and social connection with biological pathways. His partnerships with researchers like Rudolph Tanzi and exchanges with Leonard Mlodinow illustrate his willingness to engage across disciplines, even as disagreements persist.
Personal Life
Chopra married Rita Chopra early in his medical career, and their partnership has been a constant through the transitions from hospital medicine to public authorship and entrepreneurship. The family settled in the United States, becoming closely identified with American wellness culture while maintaining ties to India. His brother, Sanjiv Chopra, remains an important intellectual and familial counterpart whose career in academic medicine has anchored many discussions about how best to connect evidence-based practice with broader reflections on meaning and purpose. His children, Mallika and Gotham, have pursued their own careers while frequently intersecting with his work, contributing to an intergenerational approach to well-being and social impact.
Later Work and Legacy
In the 2010s, Chopra expanded his focus to digital health and global outreach. Books such as Metahuman (2019) explored consciousness and potential in the context of neuroscience and contemplative traditions, while his organizations developed online courses, meditation apps, and corporate well-being programs. He has spoken at universities, medical conferences, and cultural forums worldwide, advocating for daily practices that include meditation, sleep hygiene, nutrition, movement, emotional resilience, and community. The Chopra Center eventually transitioned away from a single retreat site toward partnerships and virtual platforms, reflecting changes in how people access health information.
Chopra's legacy is both catalytic and contested. He helped bring meditation, yoga, and Ayurveda into mainstream conversation in North America and beyond, and he provided language for people searching for links between inner life and physical health. At the same time, his career has prompted necessary debates about scientific standards, the responsibilities of public figures in health communication, and the boundaries between inspiration and empirical claim. The network of people around him has shaped that legacy: mentors like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, collaborators such as David Simon and Rudolph Tanzi, media partners including Oprah Winfrey, interlocutors like Leonard Mlodinow, and critics including Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Michael Shermer, and James Randi. Through this interplay of support and scrutiny, Deepak Chopra has remained a central figure in the global conversation about integrative health, consciousness, and the future of medicine.
Our collection contains 17 quotes who is written by Deepak, under the main topics: Love - Meaning of Life - Deep - Parenting - Free Will & Fate.
Other people realated to Deepak: Marianne Williamson (Author)
Deepak Chopra Famous Works
- 2000 How to Know God (Book)
- 1997 The Path to Love (Book)
- 1995 The Way of the Wizard (Book)
- 1995 The Return of Merlin (Novel)
- 1994 The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (Book)
- 1989 Quantum Healing (Book)
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