Deepak Chopra claims not to belong or adhere to any particular religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism (in which he was raised), Buddhism, or any other organized religious institution. His is a mixture of all of the above, with a smattering of New Age, as well as occult beliefs and ideas.
God created the species of man (mankind) to be worshippers; intending that they seek an intimate, personal relationship with Him alone; however, due to the introduction of sin (rebellion) at the fall, the inner longing for God became corrupted, so that they sought for anything or anyone greater than themselves. This truth is evident in the writings of Solomon, who understood the deep, inborn need for the eternal, as declared in Ecclesiastes 3:11: "He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end."
Deepak Chopra, like so many others, has a theology that is corrupted, in that his belief system is based on man-centered, man-focused ideas, rather than on God's absolute truth as written in His word — the Bible. Chopra's thoughts about Jesus bear proof of his anti-biblical, anti-God teachings, and he has written a book based on his twisted interpretation, called
The Third Jesus, stating that there is an historical Jesus, a theological Jesus, and a cosmic Jesus. He makes such statements as, "Jesus is part of our collective unconscious as an archetype, and you know he's not going to go away. So we have to see what kind of relationship we are going to have with this kind of divine inspiration."
He also does not believe that "Christ was a Christian" or that "Buddha was a Buddhist," because "these institutions were created later." He claims that he believes in "secular spirituality, a domain of awareness where we can all experience the same truths." Born in New Delhi, India, Deepak was educated, and became a doctor. He moved to America, and eventually became Chief of Staff of the New England Memorial Hospital, besides keeping a private practice. During this time in his life, he made the decision to move away from the medical norm, and into the field of holistic medicine, applying the Indian inspired system of Ayurveda and yoga, declaring that he is "bridging the technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east." Essential to his approach to good health is the practice of meditation — the "silencing of the mind." He believes this helps in avoiding negativity, which he believes behaves like a "toxin" on and inside the body. He also believes in strict discipline when it comes to diet, as food intake affects not only the body, but the mind, and the spirit as well. He believes in "karma" — the law of cause and effect according to Hindu yoga standards. Although he claims that he does not promote Hinduism as a way of life, many of his teachings find their basis in the Hindu culture.
Some of his most famous supporters include Oprah Winfrey, who co-founded the meditation experiences "Finding Your Flow" and "Oprah and Deepak's 21 Day Meditation Experience," which they claim will serve as a powerful and energizing inner guide for transforming your life. All of these teachings are in direct conflict with those written in God's holy and inerrant word, the Bible. First and foremost, meditation on anything other than the things of God — His word and His truth — is strictly forbidden in Scripture. It is a practice as ancient as the flood of Noah, and can be found woven into the pagan cultures that grew out of Babel. Holistic medicine, as Dave Hunt of Berean Call Ministries so aptly wrote in his book
Occult Invasion, "…is sometimes spelled 'wholistic', because it supposedly deals with the whole person: mind, body, and spirit." In his book, he asks the following questions: "1. What kind of medicine do you give to a spirit? 2. Were you really trained in medical or nursing school to diagnose or treat a spirit? 3. Isn't spirit a religious term?" He concludes that "holistic medicine is shamanism revived in the west."
According to shamanism.com, shamanism is defined as: "an ancient healing tradition and a way of life. The teachings of shamanism focus on our connection to nature and promote the well-being of all creation." The website further states: "Essential aspects of shamanic life include journeying, ceremony, sacred dance, and pilgrimages to places of power in nature...it is an intermediary between this world and the spirit world." Holistic medicine, meditation, spiritism, shamanism, and yoga (a form of Eastern mysticism), are all practices of an occult nature; therefore, they are in direct violation of God's ordinances for His children.
The worship of the natural world (man, animals, nature, the universe, and the spirit realm), rather than the Creator, is nothing new. The Holy Spirit long ago inspired Paul to write a warning about such deception in Romans 1:18-23:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Deepak Chopra, along with a multitude of others, in effect teach that God is who you conceive Him to be — He is different to every person, and His effect on the life of each individual differs in how He is perceived. This god is not the God of the Bible; this god is nothing more than a self-imagined deity — a "force" (as in the Star Wars saga), greater than self, yet controlled by the power and thoughts of the physical, conscious mind. This type of mindset affords Satan and his minions with a perfect passage for influencing and deceiving because their work is done in the minds of men.
Occult behavior is particularly offensive to God, and He inspired Moses to address this issue in Deuteronomy 18:10-12:
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you.
The underlying reason that the occult is so dangerous is that it involves contact with evil spirits and provides an opening for them to enter and perform their evil deeds in and upon those who show an interest. Though such a practice as meditation appears to be innocent, it involves opening the mind to activity by evil spirits (demons), whose sole job it is to deceive and destroy.
God ordained meditation for the purpose of gaining inner peace and comfort from His truth, as well as to strengthen believers, fortifying them with knowledge and wisdom of His ways, His ordinances, and His standards for behavior in His creation, as explained in Joshua 1:8: "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."
In the New Age movement (an umbrella that includes most, if not all, of the above mentioned practices), along with the other false belief systems, meditation is being used for contacting spirits and "spirit guides" who are nothing more than demons disguising themselves as ancient entities, deceased friends, and relatives. Meditation allows them to communicate certain messages or make suggestions to the person performing the ritual of meditation. Sadly, many people have been duped by this occult practice, which is nothing more than sorcery (witchcraft) and idolatry. For those who do not repent, an eternity in the lake of fire awaits as declared in Revelation 21:8: "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
The bottom line is that God is who He says He is — not who people think Him to be. He declares His character, His attributes, and His standards of behavior for living in His creation in the pages of the Bible. He has given His word — His holy and inerrant word — to those who would put their faith and trust in Him, and His truth, as written in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
Jesus Christ is one, not three, as imagined by Deepak Chopra; He is explained in Colossians 1:15-20:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Jesus alone holds the power to dispense salvation, as written in John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'"
Furthermore, God is
jealous, even though Oprah Winfrey has openly declared that she does not like the trait of jealousy in the God she once claimed to worship. Rather she stated her annoyance with "rules, belief systems, and doctrines" when she heard a Baptist minister quote from Deuteronomy 5:9: "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me." Obviously, people like Oprah, Deepak, and a myriad of others have failed to seek after the true God; the Father Creator, the One through Whom all things came into being, and the One Who will exact judgment upon those who have rejected His offer of eternal life through His only begotten Son, Jesus, and His finished work on the cross.