Chopra, Spiritual Escapism & Fantasy-Charmed Myths & Feel-Good Prose Don't Lead to Enlightenment

Deepak Chopra’s original success stemmed from his nstrong talent for creative writing and bringing together
Eastern philosophy and healing methods with Western
Medicine. Chopra’s work tends to be more appealing nto those who like their spiritual concepts to read in a nmore obscure yet poetic fashion, including folk-tales nand fables.

We respect his early work and like that he has been ninstrumental in introducing Eastern spirituality to many
Westerners, but feel he’s gone off on a totally different npath. We miss the old Chopra.

Chopra’s current approach appears to be targeting nan audience with a thirst for “spiritual romance” and nescapism, a lack of understanding of or a refusal to nacknowledge the dynamics of karma and personal fate, nand a distaste for reason and critical thinking in favor nof feel-good prose. This is a group that is easily led nin circles and guided into hungrily devouring nunsupported assertions and who will gladly embrace nfantasy and self-delusion, expecting (yet will be nforever denied) significant life-changes from magical nepiphanies through poetry and charmed myths.

Regarding the promotional material for his latest book, nwe are disappointed with the way it reads and feel the nstatements made contribute to the bad image the New
Age and metaphysical field has earned (yes, earned).
The following are select quotes from the promotional nemail and our comments.

“In just one hour, you can learn what it takes to be nsuccessful in all areas of your life.”

This statement is misleading. He may outline what nhelps to be successful in all areas of life, but it would nbe impossible to give a formula for everyone to follow nin order to be successful. Based on our experience and nresearch, “what it takes,” in addition to initiating the nright action at the right time, and having the right nsupportive circumstances, is fate, and everyone’s npersonal fate is different.

“You can have material wealth, as well as good nhealth, energy and enthusiasm for life, and fulfilling nrelationships.”

This declaration is also misleading. It implies that neveryone is entitled to these things and they can have nthem if they read this book. No amount of mediation, npraying, manipulating, affirmations, seminars, readings, nor focus on strengthening and magnetizing beliefs will nlead to those things if it’s not someone’s fate to have nthem.

“This ‘One Hour of Wisdom’ edition of Chopra’s most npopular title offers powerful pearls of wisdom and a nlife-altering perspective on the attainment of success.”

We give Chopra credit for how he helps to inspire nothers through this book. This is what he’s good at.
However, whether or not the perspective offered is n“life-altering” is debatable.

“It shatters the myth that success is the result of hard nwork, exacting plans, or driving ambition.”

Also misleading. For some it may be, for others it may nnot be.

“Discover the natural laws that govern all of creation, nalign with these laws, and success comes easily and nnaturally. But first, these principles must become your nsecond nature, and repetition is the key to learning nthem!”

This statement implies that if you follow his nrecommendations, success will be yours, easily.
If this were true, anyone could have anything they nwanted, despite their personal fate and karma.
Through our extensive research, we’ve found this nbelief to be false, no matter if they are beginners or ngurus who already practice such concepts. The n“second nature” emphasis is cleverly outlined to nallow the author some breathing room when his nreaders don’t get what they want “easily and nnaturally.”

“The ancient sages described the most effortless way nto bond with the universe and fulfill our desires. Their nguiding motto turns out to be exquisitely simple:
Act in accord with the laws of nature.” -Deepak
Chopra

Chopra is saying that if you act in accordance with nthe “laws of nature,” you can have all you desire. He npeppers his books with spiritual principles to support nlofty promises, but what he fails to mention, or perhaps ndoesn’t fully comprehend, is that there are additional nlaws, some of which completely mitigate some of his nviews.

Also, he erroneously groups select “sages” together nwith the mystics and Gnostics (such as most respectable nancient astrologers who regularly predicted personal nfate) who constantly refuted, through stellar predictive nwork, the notion of anyone being able to “fulfill any ndesire.”

We asked a friend of ours, a Chopra fan, for his ninterpretation of a particular (cool-sounding, yet nerroneous) passage in the book: “The law of nintention and desire: Inherent in every intention and ndesire is the mechanics for its fulfillment.” He nreplied, “I don’t know what it means, man, it njust feels good!”

Truth be told, everyone has occasional (for some, nvery regular) desires that aren’t rooted in reality n(thus, are unachievable), such as wanting to end nstrife and war on Earth forever, or achieve major ncareer goals and become a multi-billionaire without neffort and the supportive good karma. Perhaps the nmultitudes new to Eastern philosophy and metaphysical nthought don’t really care about truth at this point,nuntil they realize the emptiness of these supposednfixes.

Thinking back to the early 1980’s when we first begannexploring non-traditional spiritual concepts, we hadnto weed through a lot of books to begin to be able tondetect truth. At first, the superficial, sometimesn“channeled,” “spiritual” writings, the far-out, emptynrhetoric and gross generalizations lacking substancendid have some appeal, but it’s like a destructive,nsensually gratifying habit; it offers an escape fromnreality, but ultimately leads you down the path ofnillusion and distances you from “enlightenment.” Ifnyou love inspirational poetry, fine, but it’s in your nbest interest to avoid confusing it with spiritualntruth.

It’s disconcerting, to say the least, to have a very ncommercially successful author imply that you can nhave the success he has enjoyed ($20 million + nea
ings in 2006, according to Forbes magazine) if nyou would just take the hazy, feel-good approach he npromotes, when that author refuses to acknowledge nthat everyone may not be fated for what he promises.
The laws of personal karma and fate dictate that you ncan’t have what you want unless it’s predestined as part nof your destiny and you’ve earned it through current life nand especially past life actions. Unfortunately, many nmay buy this book hoping to reach certain goals. If they ndon’t reach those goals, they may end up feeling worse nthan before.

We applaud Deepak Chopra for his intelligence and for nthe success he’s had in reaching people all over the world nwith inspiration and encouragement. We just would like nto see more plain truth and fewer false promises, even nthough it may result in fewer book sales.

Copyright © 2007 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo