Deepak Chopra

I don't think God particularly needs Deepak to go to bat for Him (or Her). All the same, even though his stuff is pretty relatively simply written for the masses, he does a pretty good job of putting up an argument against the scientific materialists. He also does a pretty good job of incorporating some Vedantic wisdom. People think of him as a charlatan, but I think he's pretty on the level. Like a lot of New Age lit, it's kind of simplified Blavatsky (who he fails to credit, by the way), but the world could probably benefit from any Blavatsky, watered down or not.… (more)

Even though I generally agree with most of what Deepak has to say, I've always been a bit skeptical--not about his ideas, but his presentation and motivation. I'm just not a big fan of "how to" books, in general. But this particular book is really pretty fantastic. I almost gave it five stars. It's almost like it came from a modern Annie Besant. I say this in the sense that Besant was able to distill the essence of Blavatsky's massive tomes, Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, in a way that was clear and concise, so that one didn't have to be a scholar to understand. Also, in the sense that he manages to fuse Vedantic thought, Tibetan Buddhism, Gnosticism, and other mystic philosophies with current scientific trends in quantum theory, parapsychology, and other relevant topics. It would actually make a great companion to Besant's The Ancient Wisdom. While he doesn't mention Besant in particular, he does credit the Theosophical Society, as well as Jung and Krishnamurti, which many authors who have mined similar territory have failed to do.… (more)

Even though I generally agree with most of what Deepak has to say, I've always been a bit skeptical--not about his ideas, but his presentation and motivation. I'm just not a big fan of "how to" books, in general. But this particular book is really pretty fantastic. I almost gave it five stars. It's almost like it came from a modern Annie Besant. I say this in the sense that Besant was able to distill the essence of Blavatsky's massive tomes, Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, in a way that was clear and concise, so that one didn't have to be a scholar to understand. Also, in the sense that he manages to fuse Vedantic thought, Tibetan Buddhism, Gnosticism, and other mystic philosophies with current scientific trends in quantum theory, parapsychology, and other relevant topics. It would actually make a great companion to Besant's The Ancient Wisdom. While he doesn't mention Besant in particular, he does credit the Theosophical Society, as well as Jung and Krishnamurti, which many authors who have mined similar territory have failed to do.… (more)

I don't think God particularly needs Deepak to go to bat for Him (or Her). All the same, even though his stuff is pretty relatively simply written for the masses, he does a pretty good job of putting up an argument against the scientific materialists. He also does a pretty good job of incorporating some Vedantic wisdom. People think of him as a charlatan, but I think he's pretty on the level. Like a lot of New Age lit, it's kind of simplified Blavatsky (who he fails to credit, by the way), but the world could probably benefit from any Blavatsky, watered down or not.… (more)