Dr. Deepak Chopra is a renowned alternative medicine advocate, author, and public speaker who has made significant contributions to the field of mind-body healing. With a background in internal medicine and endocrinology, Dr. Chopra is known for blending Eastern philosophies with Western science to promote holistic well-being and self-healing practices. He has written over 90 books on topics such as meditation, spirituality, and personal transformation, many of which have become bestsellers.
Chopra founded the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, founded by renowned physician Deepak Chopra and his colleague David Simon in 1996. The center offers wellness retreats, workshops, and educational programs that blend the principles of Eastern philosophy with Western medicine. The center’s mission is to empower individuals to take control of their health and well-being through a holistic approach that encompasses physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects.
Chopra was born in New Delhi, British India to Krishan Lal Chopra and Pushpa Chopra. Dr. Chopra completed his primary education at St. Columba’s School in New Delhi and graduated from the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences in 1969. He began his medical career by serving in rural India, where he encountered unique challenges, such as working in a village where the lights would go out whenever it rained. It was during this formative period that Dr. Chopra developed a keen interest in endocrinology, with a focus on neuroendocrinology, to explore the biological underpinnings of the impact of thoughts and emotions on health.
The Indian government had prohibited its doctors from taking the necessary exam to practice medicine in the United States. As a result, Chopra was required to travel to Sri Lanka in order to complete the exam. Upon successfully passing, he made his way to the United States to begin a clinical internship at Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, New Jersey.
From 1971 to 1977, Chopra completed residencies in internal medicine at prestigious institutions such as the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, the VA Medical Center, St. Elizabeths Medical Center, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. In 1973, he obtained his medical license in the state of Massachusetts and became board certified in internal medicine, with a specialization in endocrinology.
He has taught at prestigious medical schools such as Tufts University, Boston University, and Harvard University. Additionally, he served as Chief of Staff at the New England Memorial Hospital (NEMH), which later became known as the Boston Regional Medical Center, located in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Following his time at NEMH, Dr. Chopra established a successful private practice in Boston specializing in endocrinology.
During his visit to New Delhi in 1981, he had the opportunity to meet with the esteemed Ayurvedic physician Brihaspati Dev Triguna, who was the head of the Indian Council for Ayurvedic Medicine. It was during this meeting that he received valuable advice that inspired him to delve deeper into the practices of Ayurveda. At the time, he was consuming copious amounts of black coffee and smoking a pack of cigarettes daily. In an effort to break these unhealthy habits, he turned to Transcendental Meditation for support. Since then, he has made meditation a daily practice, dedicating two hours every morning and thirty minutes every evening to this beneficial routine.
Dr. Chopra asserts that individuals have the potential to achieve optimal health, characterized by a state free from disease, pain, and the effects of aging. He views the human body as being supported by a quantum mechanical system made up of energy and information, rather than physical matter. According to Chopra, the process of aging is not fixed but rather fluid and malleable, capable of speeding up, slowing down, pausing, or even reversing based on one’s mental state. He maintains that his methods can effectively address chronic illnesses and promote overall well-being.
He was appointed as the inaugural president of the American Association of Ayurvedic Medicine, a co-founder of Maharishi Ayur-Veda Products International, and served as the medical director of the Maharishi Ayur-Veda Health Center in Lancaster, Massachusetts.
In June 1993, he relocated to California to assume the role of executive director at Sharp HealthCare’s Institute for Human Potential and Mind/Body Medicine. Additionally, he led the Center for Mind/Body Medicine, a prestigious clinic located within an exclusive resort in Del Mar, California. Dr. Deepak Chopra’s groundbreaking book “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old” was also published in 1993
In 2004, Dr. Chopra obtained his California medical license and currently holds an affiliation with Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California. He serves as the owner and supervisor of the Mind-Body Medical Group within the Chopra Center, where he provides personalized guidance on nutrition, sleep-wake cycles, and stress management, integrating principles from mainstream medicine and Ayurveda. Dr. Chopra is a distinguished fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
Dr. Chopra holds the position of adjunct professor in the marketing division at Columbia Business School and also serves as an adjunct professor of executive programs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Additionally, he is a featured lecturer at the annual Update in Internal Medicine event sponsored by Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Deepak Chopra and his wife have two adult children, Gotham Chopra and Mallika Chopra, as well as three grandchildren. As of 2019, Chopra has resided in a health-centric condominium in Manhattan. In July 2006, the Carnegie Corporation of New York honored him as a member of the inaugural class of the Great Immigrants Award.
