Comments Posted By Lila Rajiva
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THE INCREDIBLY STUPID THOUGHTS OF DEEPAK CHOPRA
Actually, it's Rabinowitz who is way off.
The fight over Kashmir has origins which go back to the divide-and-rule politics of the last days of the Raj. Pakistan is almost single-handedly the creation of the very Westernized Jinnah, who died within a year of its creation. The British played Jinnah off the Muslim leaders in the Indian Congress to create their ill-fated "two state" solution, which directly led to the blood bath of partition.
The jihadis who are behind terrorism today were brought to center stage and funded by none other than the US, under President Carter (thanks to Carter's foreign policy guy, the virulently anti-Russian Pole, Z. Brzezinski). In all the years that terrorism (and Islamic terrorism is only one of several kinds on all fronts on the subcontinent) has been taking its toll of India (several decades, and to the tune of 60,000 plus), where was the US? Propping up the very governments (eg. Pakistan)behind terrorism.
The hypocrisy and ignorance is astounding.
Every Indian (and Chopra lived in India before coming to the US) is well aware of this history. Rabinowitz, I will wager, knows nothing about it.
As for Chopra's platitudes - well, it's better to encourage introspection and soft-speaking than belligerent ignorance, if the reputation of the Bush administration has anything to say to us.
We have plenty of political"scientists" on TV every day, if its social-science jargon
that you need.If you are going to quarrel with Chopra's science, or lack thereof, that's a different question....but you still have problems. You'd need to place your scientific and medical credentials against his and become more specific. Especially, a lot of the "snake oil" you claim he is peddling - and there might be some, I don't have an opinion one way or other - is fairly respectable in medicine. For eg., take the reference to "happy molecules," well, emotions do in fact affect our immune system and our health.
Comment Posted By Lila Rajiva On 9.12.2008 @ 09:02
Chopra is a popularizer of traditional ayurvedic, yogic and Hindu concepts. He is also a very well-trained Western physician. He has now become a prolific and popular writer and an extremely successful businessman. His writing - whatever you think of it - is very influential. I have seen his responses in a variety of settings to quite mean-spirited and ignorant attacks on him and am favorably impressed by his restraint. If he is a snake-oil salesman, and he might be, he is one who shows a great deal of character. More than the snake-oil salesmen at the Wall Street Journal who've been selling their snake-oil (junk bonds, anyone?) for decades without any criticism.
