Deepak Chopra

Famous As Physician, Public Speaker, Writer
Born On 22 October 1946
Born In New Delhi, India
Nationality American

Deepak Chopra, the medical crackerjack, teacher, author, ayurvedic whiz, and New Age savant is a name to reckon with in the world of wellness and spiritual healing. Chopra was the first to introduce the concept of wellness of mind and body that included a holistic practice of medicine combined with a new age perception of spiritualism. An eminent physician, public speaker and writer, Deepak is often tagged as a new age cult figure in America in the field of contemporary spiritualism. He has been closely associated with many internationally renowned celebrities encouraging them to overcome their inter-reliant affiliation with drug addictions. His medication focuses on the spiritual health of a person that supports natural means of healing practice like "Ayurveda". In his lifetime, he has been bestowed with innumerable number of awards for his humungous contribution for human welfare and spiritual upliftment. Some of the popular awards are Humanitarian Starlite Award, GOI Peace Award, Golden Gavel Award, etc. The Chopra Foundation is an organization through which he supports his humanitarian causes of spreading awareness of mind-body wellness through various mediums.

Early Life
Deepak was born on October 22, 1946 in New Delhi. Born to Pushpa Chopra and Krishan Chopra, a cardiologist of national repute at Mool Chand Khairati Ram Hospital in Delhi and an ex-lieutenant in the British army, young Deepak harbored the dream of becoming an actor or a journalist when he grew up. However, fate had other plans for him. Inspired by the fictitious character of "Arrowsmith" created by Harry Sinclair Lewis, he took up medicine and went on to become a physician of extraordinary metier. He received his early education from St. Columba's School in Delhi and then took up the study of medicine in All India Institute of Medical Sciences. In 1968, he moved to America for his further medical studies. He did his internship from Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield, New Jersey and later went on to attain his residency training from Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts and University of Virginia Hospital. However, it was not until 1973 that Deepak was granted the license to practice medicine in the state of Massachusetts and in 2004, he received the license to practice in California. Deepak Chopra is a certified doctor of internal medicine with specialization in endocrinology.

Career
Chopra began his career by teaching in Tufts University and Boston University Schools of Medicine and later became the senior staff at the Boston Regional Medical Centre before he began his private practice. Highly intrigued by Transcendental Meditation technique, Deepak Chopra together with his wife Rita Chopra took up the study of this meditation technique. In 1985, he gave up his position in Boston Regional Medical Centre and joined hands with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In no time, Deepak was named the medical director of Maharishi's Ayurvedic Center for Stress Management and Behavioral Medicine. However, owing to strained relationships between Maharishi and himself, Deepak quit the ayurvedic center in 1994. In the following years, he established himself as a leading public speaker and received humungous recognition for it too. In 1996, Chopra together with David Simon co-founded the Chopra Center for Well Being in California that included studies of Ayurveda. In the year 2000, Deepak Chopra started spreading the concept of spiritual well being through the help of media. In 2005, he joined Kellogg School of Management as an adjunct professor and later went on to host his very own radio show known as Wellness Radio. In 2006, he collaborated with business tycoon Richard Branson to launch 'Virgin Comics', a comic book intended to spread the message of peace. He is a regular contributor for the Washington Post's, San Francisco chronicle and the Huffington Post. Apart from this, Deepak has composed over 25 bestsellers that have been translated into forty languages and their sales going beyond $20 million.

Achievements and Awards
Deepak Chopra has received several awards for his outstanding contribution including the Oceana Award, Cinequest Life of a Maverick Award, International Top Five Outstanding Speakers award, Golden Gavel Award, the Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, Humanitarian Starlite Award, GOI Peace Award, etc. He is also been a member of the American Medical Association and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. In 2009, he set up the Chopra Foundation with the motto to increase awareness of mind-body wellness by means of education, supporting research institutions and fundraising.

Personal Life
Deepak is married to Rita and the couple has two children - a son named Gotham and a daughter named Mallika. Gotham and Mallika are both well-known authors and entrepreneurs.

Time Line
1946: He was born on 22 October in Delhi.
1973: Deepak began to practice medicine in Massachusetts.
1985: He joined Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to study about transcendental meditation.
1995: By this year, he was already a well-known motivational speaker and was a frontrunner among the top five motivational speakers on an international platform.
1996: He co-founded the Chopra Wellness center in California.
2000: He has been a regular advisor at the National Ayurvedic Medical Association.
2009: He instituted the Deepak Foundation.