Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Ms. Siv · 01-03-2002, 01:44 AM

This con man seems to be the latest craze all over.
My brother has got seriously addicted recently.

This guy started off as a quack (an alt med practitioner) and then moved to the USA, now claims he combines both modern medicine and alt med and has also, somewhere along the way, become a "spiritual" advisor to the rich and famous and many others. He has published many books and is a millionaire.

Anyone read his books ?

I would seriously like to help my brother get de-toxed but dont know how to go about it.

- Sivakami.

NewWorldSmurf · 01-03-2002, 03:27 AM

Deepak Chopra basically cloaks common sense in Eastern mysticism and sells it to the masses. If you leaf through any of his books, it's all the same--be still, be calm, oh, and cough up $500 for my seminar!

In my opinion, Chopra and others like him in the "self-help" field do the same thing that Xtian fundies do--they prey upon the insecure. People with a strong sense of self avoid the self-help hucksters. Chopra's fallen a little out of style here in the States because his approach is on the tranquil side and "confrontational" experts are the rage now (e.g. Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura ... yep, stick "Dr." in front of your name and you too can be hailed as an expert

).

In any case, anyone who pays money to have someone tell them what they already know but are just not willing to do has too much money and time on their hands.

Hope your brother comes to his senses, but you'll probably have to wait a while.

Prometevsberg · 01-03-2002, 03:45 AM

Some net resources with more information:<http://www.trancenet.org/chopra/index.shtml> and <http://www.hcrc.org/contrib/wheeler/chopra.html>

Ms. Siv · 01-03-2002, 04:22 AM

I did try discussing with him this time when I was there (his craze seems a recent phenomena!). His argument was that Chopra's theories were scientific.
Thats what I hate with this con men. They cloak and disguise their nonsense in scientific jargon to make it seem authentic. Its such hypocrisy, if you ask me !
This guy also claims that science and religion are different aspects of the same truth etc (using the famous elephant and 6 blind men example - that one has been abused ad nauseam!)

Thanks for those URLs, Prometevsberg - I might forward them to my brother (even at the risk of antagonising him!).
Seems a thing in the family. A few months back my sister got infected with the Amway bug big time (still is!) and now my brother falls for Deepak Chopra !

- Sivakami.

ecco · 01-03-2002, 08:06 AM

Scientology is also �scientific�.

Transcendental Meditation is also �scientific�.

At least with Amway your sister can make money. Gurus always cost money.

Ms. Siv · 01-03-2002, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ecco:
<strong>Scientology is also “scientific”.

Transcendental Meditation is also “scientific”.

At least with Amway your sister can make money. Gurus always cost money.</strong>

Whoa !! All those are pseudo-science.
I guess you dont know the truth about Amway .. let me post the few articles that I have.

- Sivakami.

lowmagnet · 01-06-2002, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NewWorldSmurf:
<strong>(e.g. Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura ... yep, stick "Dr." in front of your name and you too can be hailed as an expert

).</strong>

Actually, Phil MacGraw is a professional psychologist, so he really is a Dr.

Laura is, however, not a Dr.

sentinel00 · 01-06-2002, 05:44 PM

Andew Weil is a doctor... he's as full of it as Chopra is.

Chiropracters are called Doctor. They are a bunch of quacks.

Sivakami, there is alot of great information at your disposal online. I'd head over to <a href="http://www.randi.org" target="_blank">James Randi</a>, <a href="http://www.skepdic.com" target="_blank">The Skeptic's Dictionary</a> and <a href="http://www.csicop.org" target="_blank">CSICOP</a> for some good source material on these quacks and the beliefs they profess as facts.

Toto · 01-06-2002, 06:07 PM

I read some of his books when they first came out. I was looking for someone who had a more scientific take on alternative medicine. He does say some good things about relaxation, etc., but it was obvious that he really didn't have any new breakthroughs. He later books have veered off into outright fiction and "How to Know God."

Chopra started out in TM, as a disciple of the Maharishi. When the Maharishi needed to develop a new money making scheme, Chopra took Ayurveda, which is basically Indian folk medicine, and turned in into Maharishi (TM) Ayurveda. It was decided to sell this new product at a very high price, because Americans respect things that are expensive.

(Chopra later broke formal ties with the Maharishi for business purposes.)

I though Chopra was just using this to make money from Americans, who would fall for the exotic east as a source of timeless wisdom etc. It is discouraging that people in India are now being taken in.

crazyfingers · 01-06-2002, 06:17 PM

This topic seems to have headed off in the direction of <a href="http://ii-f.ws/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=10" target="_blank">Science and Skepticism</a> so I am moving the topic over there.

01-03-2002, 01:44 AM	#1
Ms. Siv Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: India Posts: 2,340	Deepak Chopra This con man seems to be the latest craze all over. My brother has got seriously addicted recently. This guy started off as a quack (an alt med practitioner) and then moved to the USA, now claims he combines both modern medicine and alt med and has also, somewhere along the way, become a "spiritual" advisor to the rich and famous and many others. He has published many books and is a millionaire. Anyone read his books ? I would seriously like to help my brother get de-toxed but dont know how to go about it. - Sivakami.

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01-03-2002, 03:27 AM	#2
NewWorldSmurf Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Smurfakistan Posts: 77	Deepak Chopra basically cloaks common sense in Eastern mysticism and sells it to the masses. If you leaf through any of his books, it's all the same--be still, be calm, oh, and cough up $500 for my seminar! In my opinion, Chopra and others like him in the "self-help" field do the same thing that Xtian fundies do--they prey upon the insecure. People with a strong sense of self avoid the self-help hucksters. Chopra's fallen a little out of style here in the States because his approach is on the tranquil side and "confrontational" experts are the rage now (e.g. Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura ... yep, stick "Dr." in front of your name and you too can be hailed as an expert ). In any case, anyone who pays money to have someone tell them what they already know but are just not willing to do has too much money and time on their hands. Hope your brother comes to his senses, but you'll probably have to wait a while.

01-03-2002, 03:45 AM	#3
Prometevsberg Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Oslo, Norway Posts: 86	Some net resources with more information:<http://www.trancenet.org/chopra/index.shtml> and <http://www.hcrc.org/contrib/wheeler/chopra.html>

01-03-2002, 04:22 AM	#4
Ms. Siv Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: India Posts: 2,340	I did try discussing with him this time when I was there (his craze seems a recent phenomena!). His argument was that Chopra's theories were scientific. Thats what I hate with this con men. They cloak and disguise their nonsense in scientific jargon to make it seem authentic. Its such hypocrisy, if you ask me ! This guy also claims that science and religion are different aspects of the same truth etc (using the famous elephant and 6 blind men example - that one has been abused ad nauseam!) Thanks for those URLs, Prometevsberg - I might forward them to my brother (even at the risk of antagonising him!). Seems a thing in the family. A few months back my sister got infected with the Amway bug big time (still is!) and now my brother falls for Deepak Chopra ! - Sivakami.

01-03-2002, 08:06 AM	#5
ecco Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: SE Posts: 4,845	Scientology is also �scientific�. Transcendental Meditation is also �scientific�. At least with Amway your sister can make money. Gurus always cost money.

01-06-2002, 05:44 PM	#8
sentinel00 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Mayor of Terminus Posts: 7,616	Andew Weil is a doctor... he's as full of it as Chopra is. Chiropracters are called Doctor. They are a bunch of quacks. Sivakami, there is alot of great information at your disposal online. I'd head over to <a href="http://www.randi.org" target="_blank">James Randi</a>, <a href="http://www.skepdic.com" target="_blank">The Skeptic's Dictionary</a> and <a href="http://www.csicop.org" target="_blank">CSICOP</a> for some good source material on these quacks and the beliefs they profess as facts.

01-06-2002, 06:07 PM	#9
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	I read some of his books when they first came out. I was looking for someone who had a more scientific take on alternative medicine. He does say some good things about relaxation, etc., but it was obvious that he really didn't have any new breakthroughs. He later books have veered off into outright fiction and "How to Know God." Chopra started out in TM, as a disciple of the Maharishi. When the Maharishi needed to develop a new money making scheme, Chopra took Ayurveda, which is basically Indian folk medicine, and turned in into Maharishi (TM) Ayurveda. It was decided to sell this new product at a very high price, because Americans respect things that are expensive. (Chopra later broke formal ties with the Maharishi for business purposes.) I though Chopra was just using this to make money from Americans, who would fall for the exotic east as a source of timeless wisdom etc. It is discouraging that people in India are now being taken in.

01-06-2002, 06:17 PM	#10
crazyfingers Contributor Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Massachusetts, USA Posts: 13,699	This topic seems to have headed off in the direction of <a href="http://ii-f.ws/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=10" target="_blank">Science and Skepticism</a> so I am moving the topic over there.

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