Does this guy give anyone else the creeps? | Image: AP Photo/Diane Bondareff, file
Where there’s blood in the water, you can expect a shark. When there’s fear in the air, you can expect Deepak Chopra. He, with coproducer Jewel, is set to digitally release a new film, “The Mindfulness Movement.”
Chopra has been making the rounds, offering advice in these threatening times. Unfortunately, the biggest threat might be the man with the flashy glasses.
At first, Deepak Chopra sounds like he has your best interests in mind. He’s been going on YouTube, posting videos where he talks about keeping a cool head during this global pandemic. That would be fine if that’s all he wanted. But that’s not all he wants.
He wants something for himself, too—namely, your money. Chopra’s increased visibility is naturally synced up with the release of his new movie. As billions of people struggle with fear, panic, and worry, this movie is here to help you through it.
Is it free? Of course not. Is it more expensive than most movies on, say, Amazon Prime? Yes. As lines for food banks become longer than the eye can see, you can buy it for about the same price as 5lbs of rice. It’s $14 to own this new flick. That’s certainly not a realistic option for the people who are struggling and might need the most help.
But the real problem is not with this movie. The problem is that Deepak Chopra is a full-on charlatan.
One moment he’s telling us to:
Be kind to yourself and others. Come from love every moment you can.
The next moment, he’s trying to sell us $ 350′ meditation glasses.’ Excuse me? I thought you had our best interests in mind? Gizmodo reviewed the product and claimed the only thing the flashing ‘beta brain frequencies’ gave them was a headache.
I don’t recall any stories of Jesus or the Buddha trying pawn off pricey ‘enlightenment sandals’ or ‘forgiveness sticks.’ That’s because they were legit. They carried the hallmark of any trustworthy spiritual teacher: they didn’t ask for anything in return.
If the meditation goggles weren’t enough, Chopra, at one point, was selling a ‘harmonizing necklace’ for $133. Or maybe you want a ‘life-changing’ meditation retreat in Yosemite. Well, the only thing ‘life-changing’ about this retreat is that it costs $5,681 to participate.
Deepak Chopra is not a guru, he’s not a real spiritual teacher, and he doesn’t even sound like a nice person. Professor Brian Cox went on Conan to tell the story of Chopra telling him, “I’m going to shove my cosmic consciousness up your a**.”
It’s a shame because he somehow tricked a few trustworthy Buddhist teachers, like Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg, to appear in his film. While surely they will offer some helpful insights, you’re better off searching for them on YouTube. Deepak Chopra is a fraud, and you should keep your money for important things, like food or an optometrist after using Chopra’s goggles.