Deepak Chopra & Andrew Cohen - Mythic Life and Times

In this audio interview from the May-July 2008 issue of EnlightenNext, editor in chief Andrew Cohen sits down with Deepak Chopra and takes an in-depth look at the remarkable life of this world-renowned spiritual teacher. As Cohen writes in his introduction from the magazine:

“Over the last couple of years I’ve developed considerable respect for Deepak’s sheer creative capacity and seemingly boundless energy. I’m a bit awestruck by the pace with which he lives his relentless globe-trotting life while writing bestseller after bestseller, giving lectures, teaching workshops, leading retreats, making movies. . . . And in this interview, I hoped to be able to portray a side of him that most people never get to see.”

In this candid discussion between two spiritual teachers, Chopra and Cohen explore the lesser-known stories of Deepak’s young life, from his not-so-humble beginnings as the son of a well-known Indian doctor to his career as a Nobel Prize–seeking endocrinologist—and finally, to the spiritual transformation that set the course for the rest of his life.  Deepak tells the story of his own spiritual journey, from his days as a student of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to the flowering of his career as a teacher. Chopra talks about his struggles with the ambition that drove him in his early years, and how he has evolved to a place where he no longer has a “personal stake” in anything he does. Finally, in this fascinating dialogue with Cohen, he describes the inner state of awareness that supports his creative energy and inspires him to share his understanding of consciousness with as many people as possible around the world.

BIOs

Deepak Chopra, MD, is one of the best known and widely respected leaders in the field of mind/body medicine in the world today. Integrating the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda with traditional Western medicine and recent discoveries in the field of quantum physics, he forged a holistic approach to healing that has had enormous popular appeal as well as widespread professional acceptance.

Chopra's accomplishments extend far beyond the halls of the medical schools of Tufts and Boston Universities, where he once taught, or the Boston Regional Medical Center where he was formerly chief of staff. He has authored 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. In 1995, he established The Chopra Center for Well Being in California, and is among the founding directors of the Alliance for the New Humanity. Chopra is the recipient of the Einstein Award through Albert Einstein College of Medicine in collaboration with the American Journal of Psychotherapy.

Time magazine hailed Chopra one of the top one hundred heroes and icons of the twentieth century, and credits him as “the poet-prophet of alternative medicine.”

Andrew Cohen, founder of EnlightenNext magazine, is a spiritual teacher and acclaimed author widely recognized as a defining voice in the emerging field of evolutionary spirituality. A life-changing awakening in 1986 brought Cohen to the end of his own search for liberation while simultaneously starting him on an exploration of the meaning and significance of enlightenment for our time. This has led him to a profound investigation of the human predicament and into dialogue with sages, saints, and spiritual luminaries from nearly every tradition and beyond.

In 1992, Cohen released the first issue of EnlightenNext (formerly What Is Enlightenment), expanding his own inquiry through the public forum of a magazine and pioneering an innovative form of spiritual journalism reminiscent of classical Socratic dialogue. Over the last decade on the pages of EnlightenNext, Cohen has brought together leading thinkers—mystics and materialists, philosophers and psychologists—to call for a higher and wholly contemporary synthesis of the spiritual truths found in the East and the empirical rigor of the West. Through the magazine and his writings, Cohen is creating a new context for understanding enlightenment as a human evolutionary imperative. Together with a growing network of integral visionaries, including Ken Wilber and Don Beck, he is helping to define a culture of thought that places spiritual transformation at the center of any vision of transforming the world.