Two of M.R.James' best ghost stories - The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral and Count Magnus - reflect on the Antichrist legend, also the subject around the same time of an interesting book by the distinguished theologian W.Bousset. There was widespread agreement in the early church that Antichrist would be a figure claiming religious authority in some form (I don't think Dr.Chopra makes that claim) and even that he would be born in Chorazin of Galilee, on which the Lord pronounced woe, and be a member of the secretive apostate tribe of Dan. His agents could, some have believed, be contacted in Chorazin if you know who to look for. He might also be in touch with the concealed armies of Gog and Magog who have been planning for more than a thousand years to break out of a mountain fastness in Central Asia or Scandinavia. Perhaps we should examine Chopra's ancestry and see if he has been on any unexplained trips to harsh mountain terrain.

The right wingers don't know the diffeance between religon and spirtulality. Religon is nothing more than dictatable principles that can be made up by just about anyone. Spirtulality is the following of undeniable truth and wisdom that is given to people who do what God itself says and not what humans say what God says.

The right wingers don't know the diffeance between religon and spirtulality. Religon is nothing more than dictatable principles that can be made up by just about anyone. Spirtulality is the following of undeniable truth and wisdom that is given to people who do what God itself says and not what humans say what God says.

TO ANITA:

Thank You for your post, I am just trying to do what God chose me for and not only are we all in this together but we should also encourage one another.

Take care and God Bless.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Thomas Baum, I loved what you said:

'One of the things that Jesus said was, "Come follow Me.", He didn't say follow the person or group that says they are following Me.

I am Catholic and I cherish my Catholic Faith and I also take very seriously Jesus's invitation to, "Come follow Me.".

Another thing about Jesus's invitation to, "Come follow Me", notice He didn't say 'come follow My teachings', He didn't say, 'come follow the book that speaks about Me' but He said, "Come follow Me", do you see the difference?'

Brilliantly put!

People always try to kill off those whose truth threatens their most cherished beliefs. I honor and acknowledge you for putting yourself and your (and my) truth out there in such a profoundly impactful way.

Namaste

Well, yes and no, Deepak.

If you want to claim Jesus then eliminating part of his saying probably will provoke anger from those who identify as his followers.

It is not clear to me if you want to stick with Jesus' sayings and re-interpret them or just eliminate the hell-fire ones wholesale. I'm for the re-interpreting approach.

I think anger is still a taboo in our culture (and so full of poorly integrated anger). There are two versions of this I think - unfiltered expression (common in some kinds of fundamentalism) and ill considered suppression (common in some of those who advocate tolerance). For me it seems possible for anger to play a positive role in targeting what I see as unsatisfactory and initiating a positive alternative (it will take more than anger to sustain it though).

To claim that Jesus and all spiritual teachers have a common core means the need to have read and understood all these teachers. I can't claim to have done this. Many of those who do make this claim can't even list all the spiritual teachers. It seems, usually, to be just a way of avoiding conflict (ie. the advocates of tolerance approach to avoiding anger).

It's a very strange world we live in Mr.Chopra.You are one of the few people that has made sense to me over the years.

Jesus was a great teacher who's message was for us to strive to attain what he had in his lifetime. He was showing us what wonders could be created in this reality that we live in, but as then as it is now. Some hear the message totally in human terms and are missing the higher conscious part of his message.
At least some of us understand the message and are sharing it as much as we can in our own lives...

Don't worry you are just the current, 'flavor of the day' for the fundamentalist's. They seem to be in such a grand hurry for their anti-Christ to appear that they have lost much sense of mind. Soon they will be onto another person and they'll leave you alone again.
It's good to have them look at themselves, question their belief systems and motives.

Thank you for all of the work you and your family have put into sharing, the message.

namaste

It's a very strange world we live in Mr.Chopra.You are one of the few people that has made sense to me over the years.

Jesus was a great teacher who's message was for us to strive to attain what he had in his lifetime. He was showing us what wonders could be created in this reality that we live in, but as then as it is now. Some hear the message totally in human terms and are missing the higher conscious part of his message.
At least some of us understand the message and are sharing it as much as we can in our own lives...

Don't worry you are just the current, 'flavor of the day' for the fundamentalist's. They seem to be in such a grand hurry for their anti-Christ to appear that they have lost much sense of mind. Soon they will be onto another person and they'll leave you alone again.
It's good to have them look at themselves, question their belief systems and motives.

Thank you for all of the work you and your family have put into sharing, the message.

namaste

Dr. Chopra,

It amazes me that people can read your words and your thoughts and still get caught up in their own minds and miss the whole point of everything you are trying to convey. I also enjoy when those who have not made it a point to understand your views pop by to let you know that Jesus is God... predictable to the point of frustration.

Mr. Steven Levey in the postings has it right. I appreciate that someone can stay objective enough to these issues to be able to speak the truth. Although, I fear that no matter how much sense anyone tries to make or how much truth someone tries to speak, there will always be those that choose to drown in dogma they have been fed since infancy.

I also appreciate your words on tolerance. I, myself, have been caught up in trying to be more and more tolerant while losing sight of what is truly important. You are right to say that tolerance begins to lose its meaning if we are tolerant of the wrong actions and ideas. Thank you for this reminder.

Thank you again for your words of truth and wisdom. I can not tell you how refreshing they have been.

Much love,
Daibreak

Hi my friend,
As heart wrenching as it is to see how ignorance is truly pandemic, its no surprise given the nature of consciousness and its propensity toward delusion. A striking thing that I noticed was that Christian doctrine and even the Bible itself was incoherent and contradictory, right up until I had immersed myself in Alchemy and Qabalah (yoga of the west). Now as I reread the Bible and explore the subtle teachings of Christianity, I experience a perfectly coherent expression of divine wisdom. This experience of understanding extends beyond the symbols that make up the doctrine. The ideas of sacrifice, atonement, resurrection and so on, are deeply esoteric principles that the the mind can use to leap off of into an experience of truth, but to hold them on the level mind, grossly distorts there hidden meaning. There is a quality of discernment necessary to sort out the fine from the gross, and perhaps humanity is quickly approaching the maturity level that is necessary to do this. I'm more hopeful now then ever that wide spread sanity will take hold. The ego can no longer defend its lack of content.

Love,
Asa

You can't be the anti-Christ. I am the anti-Christ.

Now that we have that settled can we move on?

get over yourself, your not important enough to be the anti-Christ

Your banner obscures part of the text.

My feeling is as follows:
Anyone who has genuinely read Mr. Chopra's writtings, or listened to him speak, will be very aware that he champions the good in all of us. No where in his extensive writtings has he ever spoken down to any tradition. Yes, he may have, as has the Dalai Lama, Martin Luthor King, Ghandi and others, spoken against hypocracy and fundementalism of all kinds and for self government and responsability as well as self transcendence. This last is antithetical to sectarian thought and has had the consequence of angering the small minded, for whom religion has always been used as a power for control other passive individuals. Similarly, so have small minded political spokesman and Scientists tried to gain power, and of course we know many have gotten what they have sought. Well, at least they all have this in common.
But this drab description of the reality of our times are passing states, and we musn't let the fact of it allow us to forget that Man will survive these narrow minded folks. And we will do it ourselves in the future, as we pass from life to life and awaken from our stupor.

Spiderman2 - for a second you made sense, but then fell off your horse into that like-minded pile of born-again believers that are waiting with glee for the end of the world.

A person's view of religion is limited by their own personal development, and end of the worlders are a bleak, suicidal bunch if nothing else.

Your creator is a very limited being indeed - hell hath no wrath or fury like a divine ego scorned, according to your philosophy. You would benefit by going beyond this nonsense, as you seem to have some potential for higher thought processes. Dump the fundamentalism and be happy.

Spiderman2 - for a second you made sense, but then fell off your horse into that like-minded pile of born-again believers that are waiting with glee for the end of the world.

A person's view of religion is limited by their own personal development, and end of the worlders are a bleak, suicidal bunch if nothing else.

Your creator is a very limited being indeed - hell hath no wrath or fury like a divine ego scorned, according to your philosophy. You would benefit by going beyond this nonsense, as you seem to have some potential for higher thought processes. Dump the fundamentalism and be happy.

Yeah, but you have the problem of justice...no justice, no peace.

"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord', but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. On judgment day many will tell me, 'Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name'. But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized."

- Jesus, Matthew 7:21-23 New Living Translation

1) Anonymous comments should be disabled in the forum. Commenters should be required to use their WaPo or Newsweek registration and email address. Additionally, there should be a character limit on the size of posts.

This is true everywhere on the Internet, but especially true when religion and politics are being discussed. Notice the vandalism from angry, conservative Christian trolls.

2) I think you might be onto something about the more venomous forces within the Christian Right fading into the background. They have received a lot of attention in recent years, but spite disguised as religious moralizing does not resonate with most Americans, and a backlash has been inevitable for some time now.

Of course someone that doesn't study the New Testament cannot speak on the whole purpose of Christ - only to die for our sin. Yes while he walked this earth he taught and showed the way for love.
Your first paragraph lost me when you state that "Jesus's teaching of love and peace has been hijacked to promote war and bigotry provokes the very types I was pointing at." We have not hijacked Jesus teaching we just take him at his every word and we trust that he knew mankind and sin all to well. In Matthew Chapter 24 verse 6 Jesus said "You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end."
Folks like yourself like only to speak of our Lord as love. And yes he is definitely Love. He is also Justice, Defense, Righteous and He is also an Angry God. Angry for the injustice that mankind place upon innocence.
He knew that our world is a fallen one and that people of this world would do evil.
Really bad things happen to good people when good people doing nothing to protect the innocent.
Unless you know who you are really talking about maybe you should speak only on the religion that you have studied greatly - whatever that is.

Deepak:

Your characterization of Christians is narrow-minded and stereotypical. Even some of the evangelicals, whose rhetoric sometimes bothers both of us, contribute mightily to society.

But, if you haven't been on a mission trip to dig wells in Haiti or build mud brick huts at an African refugee camp perhaps you would miss it.

Hundreds of millions of dollars (if not more) go from American churches to schools, orphanages and clinics around the world every year. But, if you hadn't taken the time to visit the pastor's office to see the gigantic duffel bags full of medicine yourself, you wouldn't know.

At some point you will realize that your criticisms run the risk of going beyond the constructive and may reach the level of religious intolerance that you claim to be fighting against.

The attacks on Deepak Chopra personalize the frustration that those of us who have lost faith in the church and religion have not lost faith in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Through prayer we can communicate with the Trinity without the direct or indirect interference of those involved with religion or the church.

What I see and I suppose many others see is so-called Christian conservative religions and churches leading, via Bush, the invasion of another country. We see these people in politics doing non-Christian deeds. We see non-conservative churches and religious people stand passively by while the newspapers trumpet the deaths of thousands of Iraqis.

I see the church and religions join together to support the starvation and denial of health care to millions of Palestinians to curry favors from the Jewish political powerhouse.

My problem is God said thou shall not kill. God said do unto others as you would want them to do to you. Jesus said to treat thy neighbor as thyself. All that is happening in the church and religion at this time flies in the face of how God and Jesus commanded yes I said God and Jesus commanded man to live.

Deepak, Falwell, etc seemed to silently condone the manic march against God that is being lead by the church and religion. If the church and religious people are not following the word of God, whose word are they following?

We the people who fled the church and religion did so because we consciously and subconsciously recognize who really controls church and religion and if it is not Christ it must be the anti-Christ. The truth always hurts. From a proud liberal. END THE WAR IN IRAQ.

you wrote a good letter last week deepak.

i too had left the church some ten years ago- in large part based on exactly what you mentioned. i was, and still am disillusioned with the institution of christianity. for me, your message helped keep alive in me the small part that still identifies with christianity.

and the slander you received? you were hitting the bee's nest and you knew it. by asserting what you feel (like any teaching of religion does), you knew you were going to bring an either acceptance/agreement or a rage/passion response. people who politely disagree with your view would have most likely kept reading something else- or obviously, responded in acceptable terms.

on points of specifics, i agree in large part with what you said. but on tactics of social/religious change, i applaud you immensely. how better to show that angry bees bite, than to hit the nest for all to see?

this has been done again and again by folk wanting to reform the nature of religion. when will christians learn, observe, and act on this?

I listened to you on a radio talk show a couple days ago and immediately bought your book. Raised Catholic I have become disenchanted with the direction the church has gone; I've only read the first two chapters and you've restored my faith in the teachings of Christ. Maybe it would benefit your critics to take the time to read your book. The politics of religion has blinded many on the true teachings of the love of Christ.

I agree completely. Thank you for articulating ideas I've been wrestling with for years. I do not ascribe to a denomination but I do consider myself a follower of Christ and the acrimony and hypocracy that has passed for religious discourse saddens me.

I pray that your vision of the a new interpretation of the message of Christ will come to pass.

peace be with you!

Just shut the hell up you Snake Oil salesman - go dye your hair black and pretend you're immortal you phony rip off artist

As in all transformative eras, the courageous warriors of truth appear before the mass of mankind to herald in change. They are often maligned, misquoted and mistaken for just the opposite of what they are sharing with a frustrated collective consciousness.

Deepak is perhaps the single best informed 'visible' hero of our time with the combination of experience, credentials and expansive knowledge of comparitive beliefs...including eastern spirituality, quantum theory, medicine, metaphysics and western spirituality.

His unfailing ability to simplify these seeming diversities into a single focus that anyone can comprehend spans at least 2 decades. He has sold millions of books and related materials...someone is listening!

These facts only underscore the credibility of his latest work, "The Third Jesus" - a triumph to say the least. He steps into the cross-hairs of die-hard, unswerving opinion about the example Jesus modeled for us and brings a freshness to the story that breathes life into an often disheartening legacy.

I might suggest with the greatest of humility, that whoever may wish to cast aspersions on the work first read the endorsers that preface the book. Most of them have long and credible links to Christianity. Next, I would suggest that they actually read the book through with an open heart if not an open mind. After all, are we not all searching for peace.

A wonderful quote I may offer in conclusion is,
"Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?" Perhaps naive, but worth consideration.

In the spirit of Peace
John McIntosh

Dear Angels of My Heart - Love is the only Answer to all that ails the misguided collective force of fear that comes from the fundamental mind of Christian doctrine. Many have come and many will go that have truly believed the lies that come from this guilt based soil where rights are consumed by thieves parading as Ministers of Jesus Christ - The sights and the scenes of the fundamental world of make believers is beyond what my open heart can bear...Clowns masquerading as Teacher's of Love - mocking the very teachings of this One En-Lightened Master - Christ Jesus. Judgment, Idolization and Coveting, stealing believers of their rights to be love, loved and loving by these teachings.

Let not your heart betray it's mission by attacking that which is simply lost hope in a world of misguided Love.

Be Love - Be Peace - No-thing of this world is anything but what you make it.

Richest BlesSings!
Love Deeply!
Ananda of Love

It is simply my opinion, but this article of his is an even worse mess in form and content than the last. It seems to me that Mr. Chopra is still too content to drop his opinion as if it were fact and assume that you are down with it. (Notice, he doesn't even bother talking to those others so much as about them.) Take for example his surety that Christianity is in crisis. How would he know, really? By what measure? Is it possible that he has given himself over to romanticism, or adopted a narrow view of Christianity as he accuses others of doing, or simply missed something?

He would like you to believe that he can respond to this supposed crisis, but how? By appealing to the vacuum?

He makes no effort here to clear his name, but nevertheless he appears to be a regular man with books to sell. The sad reality is that he probably does not need to create bogus connections to any major religion to encourage people toward his idea of enlightenment, but some controversies are easy to sell as he practically admits.

The people in charge of the WaPo OnFaith forum are being played for fools, by fools, bigtime.

Mindless, meaningless copy and paste dumps, for free! For anyone! ANONYMOUSLY! On every message board! Come over to the WaPo!

This is such a disservice to the online readers.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Kudos Depak.
I like to ask the rightwing evangelicals if they really believe that if Jesus returned today that his first act would be to go to the nearest recruiting station and pick up his gun and flack jacket and go to Iraq and beging killing Gods children whom he loves.
Usually they are angry or dumbfounded.

Dear Dr Chopra

I'm sorry to hear that SOME people have dubbed you "Anti-Christ." My genuine sympathies. But I'm sure the opinion must have been expressed by only a few extremely narrow minded Christians who are not confident enough in their faith and are frightened of different interpretations by a non-Christian. Your interpretation of Jesus is only one of several possibilities in Hinduism.

Jesus Consciousness is a good thing. It is specially good to offer Jesus Consciousness to Christians, even Hindus, who are looking for consciousness, and need the sophistication of the word to satisfy their intellect.

As far as the understanding of Jesus and His mission itself goes, Jesus is to be compared to Krishna, an Avatar of God, not a mere guru. Christianity is founded on that belief, not on Jesus as a guru. With all its limitations, in spite of the damage Christians have done to the name and teachings of Jesus, the belief in Jesus as an Avatar has served Christianity well for two thousand years. Christianity would be meaningless and non-existent without such a foundation. Nobody sacrifices their life for the sake of belief in a guru. Yet, hundreds of early Christians gladly gave up their lives for the sake of their belief in Jesus. Christianity is built on the blood of such martyrs. The selfless service of thousands more down the centuries helped shape the powerful Western civilization.

There is provision in the practice of Christianity to become Christ-like without adopting the New Age religious term "consciousness," in the sense of becoming god in the Hindu understanding. Paul wrote: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." There is a difference between becoming Christ-like and becoming Christ Himself. "Becoming Christ" is what Jesus consciousness as you explained it seems to imply, a Hindu form of spirituality. That is the interpretation many Christians would have trouble with. I can understand your point of view without agreeing with it. But if such an understanding and interpretation helps some people to adopt a kinder view of Christianity (or even bring them back to Christianity after failing to find consciousness in other ways), if it helps people to concentrate on personal transformation, without being stuck at talking about their faith alone, then I am all for it. Let as many people as possible come to Christ. Thank you for trying to offer a version of spirituality that might be helpful to some. The emphasis on personal transformation is of great help to all Christians.

Please do not be disappointed if many Christians do not understand or find such an interpretation not in keeping with the foundation of Christianity.

Wishing you great success with your latest book!

Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia

Athena:

Dr. Chopra,

Someone called you The Anti-Christ? Don't feel bad. Take it as a complement. The loonies are always going around saying that one person or another is the Anti-Christ. You're in good company - Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Hillary and/or Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-Moon, George Steinbrenner, etc.

What do you call bad company if the above is "good company"?

George

observer,

How do you know that all people from the "right wing" are bigots who do not tolerate immigrants? How do you know that they are all full of hatred towards non-Christians. Those statements are certainly judgmental sweeping generalizations. It sounds like you are intolerant towards Christians. Do you love Christians? I am a Christian and I do not hate you in fact I love my fellow humans even if I disagree with them on religion or politics. I love all the peoples of the world.

deepak chopra,
i believe the right wing religious extremism is as major threat to world peace.it is fuelling hatred and resistance from islamic extremists.

the right wing is irrational and full of bigotry and hatred it does not tolerate immigrants and non christian religions,or even if one believes in 'no particular religion' or agnosticism.it considers any opposing point of view as decadence

i think you ought to run for president. if inspiration is what people want in politics and experience does not matter,and i don't understand it i have listened to your speeches.they are far more inspirational than obama's.

deepak chopra,
i believe the right wing religious extremism is as major threat to world peace.

the right wing is irrational and full of bigotry and hatred it does not tolerate immigrants and non christian religions,or even if one believes in 'no particular religion' or agnosticism.it considers any opposing point of view as decadence

i think you ought to run for president. if inspiration is what people want in politics and experience does not matter,and i don't understand it i have listened to your speeches.they are far more inspirational than obama's.

Please keep speaking those truth the higher self has opened up in you.

And please, I welcome your comments on the Compassion Industry Network Blog;

www.compassionnetwork.blogspot.com

Certainly not the anti-Christ but maybe a very good anti-neochristian.

Hi Deepak!

It is always amusing to observe the wide array of responses ranging from the spiritually enlightened to the dogmatic religious.

For me, being one who lived the dogmatic religious way for most of my life, I can truly understand and appreciate the closed-minded approach being expressed by some.

It is with sincere gratitude that I recognize your efforts to improve the lives of the many. I am a great fan of your work and appreciate the positve changes that I have exerienced in my life as a result.

Please continue to promote peace and educate the world in spiritual matters as you have done for so many years without a second thought to the narrow-minded.

With gratitude,
Dean

I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us eternal life.

Sorry Deepak,
Jesus wasn't a religious leader, He is God. Big difference. To classify Him in human terms as merely a teacher is to put him in the class of humanity which He is not. It is insulting and offensive to us as christians to hear people such as yourself who do not honor and respect the scriptures as we do to put your universalist spin on it.

Jesus was not about anything that had to do with a higher consciousness, the bible talks in very plain and simple terms about our sinful nature and utter depravity. Salvation is not a consciousness that we attain or have bestowed, it is a change in our hearts and a beginning of a relationship with the Creator. Jesus talked about responsibility for our actions and how when we disobey God we sin. We are all guilty of sin and all are in need of a savior. The one and only way to God is through Jesus who loves us.

About the two different Jesus' of which you speak they are not different at all. Even a cursory reading of the bible shows both sides of Jesus. He is both loving and judgmental of sin. He is the way the truth and the life (John 14:1). That life Jesus refers to is ultimately Heaven. There is a real heaven for those who believe. There is a real Hell for those who choose not to.

To admire Jesus and His teachings is hypocrytical if you then try to deny these truths. Christianity has always been in crisis because of persecution, false teachers and the "love of this world". These are not new challenges, it is a way of life for all christianity.

Mr. Chopra has noted a matter that a surprising number of 'religious' people seem to overlook; higher consciousness. Such philosophies as love, peace, altruism, or empathy are all expressions of an advancing consciousness but they are also an expression of removal from any spirit an 'Antichrist' can bring to people. That is, the more spiritually aware people become, the more they would have to remove themselves from physical chains such as intolerance, greed, and lust for the same reason the teacher Jesus tried to remove the money changers from a spiritual temple. It could also be that higher consciousness would require that a person move in more dimensions than Holy Books like the Mahayana, Bible and Quran can express.
This might really be the hysterical problems many around the world face concerning their Holy Books; that an advancing awareness of Creation is an individual process not subject to the interpretation of others no matter how learned they are of the Books. All of the Books do say that oneness with a universal spirit is found by removing the earthly spirit from day to day trivia, and that certainly would include un- listening to the Antichrist spirit.
The Books also say that the Race of Man will one day end and that could be because the Race has evolved in a Race of spiritual beings with a higher consciousness.

Dear friend: You are in good company. Fundamentalists maniacs of religious stupidity, have been calling many great spiritual leaders the AntiChrist for years. This including Gandhi, Maharishi, Osho, His Holiness Dalai Lama etc etc.
Including myself. Keep up the battle of opening the box of truth which dissolves programmed delusions of these lower life forms. We support your views, because we vibrate at your level of awareness. The world is the way it is, and it will change very soon. I respect you and your enlightened viewpoings. There are many consciousness behind you my friend, like a long samba line.

Namaste
Jyothi

Great post Deepak.

When you or anyone tries to impart deeper spiritual wisdom to the masses, it quickly becomes apparent that many are simply not ready to hear a more universal message.

In fact if Jesus himself were on earth again preaching to the multitudes, he would most likely be called the antichrist by many, and once again crucified.

But some are ready for a more substantial kind of spiritual fuel. And your insights help provide a kind of nourishment for those ready to move to the next course.

There will be some in the community that will someday understand why in some verses Jesus says things like (paraphrased): "I can of my own self do nothing, it is the Father that does the works". Or "I have not come to do my will, but his who sent me". "Why call me good, there is but one good, that is God?"

And then elsewhere: "I and my Father are one". "I am the way, truth and light".

The deeper understanding comes when we begin to sense there are two "I"s. The Big "I" is the divinity in Jesus, and in you and me.

The little "i" is the human personality, ego, or personal sense of self. In any of us, even in Jesus, it can do nothing of true import of itself.

The god consciousness Deepak speaks of is the big "I" awaiting awakening in us all (the personal transformation and cry of the Soul he mentions).

For those who can sense intuitively something of the mystery of the two "I"s, a greater awakening of universal realities begins to stir. A whole new layer of Biblical understanding & Jesus' teachings begins to open up.

And it becomes evident that the mystical experience of God is truly available (at least potentially) as a conscious experience to every human, without having to first depart the planet and go to some heavenly abode.

Where you are now is always the perfect time (the only time) to seek the quietude and inner silence that allows the experience.

This experience is the rebirth most religions speak of; it has nothing to do with a personality, it is a transformative experience in one's consciousness that takes one from "thinking" or "believing", to "knowing" one's relationship to (and identity with) Truth.

With this experience comes something profound: for the first time "loving your neighbor as yourself" actually becomes possible.

Why? Because you've actually, consciously experienced there is only one Self (the god in each has found the god in all). This transformation within an individual is what will ultimately transform the world.

The words, metaphors and allegories differ, but this same core teaching constitutes the essential truth and message to be found in all major religions.

I think too many people might get confused if we start talking about the new vs. the old jesus christ. Why don't we just do away with him altogether and start over. At first a lot of people might be sad or upset with that but we can just make sure we keep the holidays like christmas. Sort of absorb those 'old jesus' holidays into our new world-view. I mean, it worked for christianity years ago when it absorbed winter solstace et al.

ps. i wonder if anyone else found this quote from Thomas Baum above ironic:

"One of the things that Jesus said was, "Come follow Me.", He didn't say follow the person or group that says they are following Me.

I am Catholic and I cherish my Catholic Faith and I also take very seriously Jesus's invitation to, "Come follow Me."."

I mean, he's Catholic and is preaching against following a person (or a pope) who says they are following christ. sigh...

pps. i think the idea of jesus christ should continue to exist, simply as use as a swear word.

Amen to that.

Dr.Deepak
A situação que hoje evidencia na Colombia é deprimente e inaceitável.O mais rendoso negocio ali implantado,sequestra e depois inicia o processo de chantagem para render milhões de dolares a este grupo criminoso.Aliados ao ráfego,como comenta a midia,provoca ruptoras em lares deixando vitimas por anos a fio,sem condições de fuga e vivendo em situações promiscua e anti humana.As nações precisam unir e atraves do Conselho de Segurança da ONU uma forte iniciativa deve ser tomada para dar um basta nesta questão.Pois ao que parece os guerrilheiros não querem o comando politico e nem lutam para tal.Sua luta é por recursos financieiros e assim esta questão não terá fim de forma negociada.O sr. com conhecimento e influencia nos meios de comunicação podrá avaliar a questão e agir no sentido que sua consciencia assim determinar.
Cordialmente
valter

It always cracks me up when the self-righteous predict who will go to hell or make it into heaven. Maybe it's not a prediction, but more of a warning not offend their righteousness or they will conjure the wrath of God.

The words I live by are " treat others as you would be treated", "judge not lest ye be judged", "remove the pike from your eye before removing the speck from your neighbor's eye", and "he who is without sin may cast the first stone".

I may not have quoted them all correctly or even know the chapter and verse, but I know who said them and I know what he meant when he said them and I know the difference between right and wrong. This may be judging, but some of you are in for a rude awakening on the day you wish to condemn the rest of us.

For those who wish to mix their religion with their politics there's "My kingdom is not of this earth". That should get you through the next election. What will get you through life though, is "Love one another".

Thanks for turning the light on a world that believes that the darkness pours out of a room when you open the door and not that the light pours in.

TO DEEPAK CHOPRA:

One of the things that Jesus said was, "Come follow Me.", He didn't say follow the person or group that says they are following Me.

I am Catholic and I cherish my Catholic Faith and I also take very seriously Jesus's invitation to, "Come follow Me.".

Another thing about Jesus's invitation to, "Come follow Me", notice He didn't say 'come follow My teachings', He didn't say, 'come follow the book that speaks about Me' but He said, "Come follow Me", do you see the difference?

I have met God and I have also met satan.

God is a Being of Pure Love, Love is not an attribute of God, Love is His Very Being.

Jesus said in a number of places that He is God, whether people can see where He says it or not, or believes Him or not, it is true nevertheless.

God not only is Pure Love, He is also a Trinity and as I have already said Jesus is God-Incarnate.

Lots of people look at Christianity and say lots of things and rightly so, but they are not looking in the right place, so to speak, they should be looking at Jesus.

I hear people say that Jesus taught tolerance when in fact He did nothing of the sort, He taught Love, He is LOVE-INCARNATE.

God has a Plan and has had His Plan since before creation and His Plan is for ALL to be with Him in His Kingdom.

God's Plan will come to Fruition.

God is a searcher of hearts and minds not of religious affiliations or lack thereof.

Also it is important what you do and why you do it and what you know.

Some people are closer to God that don't even believe in God then others that know God's Name.

As it says, Jesus emptied Himself to become One of us, as I say it, He gave up His Omni's.

Jesus was made in the Image and Likeness of God just like the rest of humanity and He was also God, the Second Person of the Trinity, even tho I have met the Trinity, I cannot explain it to anyone.

God happens to be a Trinity, a Trinity of One Who happens to be a Trinity of Pure Love.

Many have watered-down Christianity, watered-down Christianity is not Christianity at all and the hate-filled, egotistical, piece of garbage that some, who refer to themselves as 'christian', present god to be is not god at all.

We have free will and whether we take personal responsibility for what we do is a decision that each one of us makes.

Take care, be ready, see you and the rest of humanity in the Kingdom.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Well put. And Deepak can be my personal hero.

As always, Deepak Chopra's insight and eloquence shines with truth and hope for a more tolerant, loving and peaceful future. Thank you again my friend...
May Peace Prevail
ONE Love
Robin's Heart

You have Christianity to thank for producing the tolerant society in which you have made a name for yourself. What you promote is syncretism, and it is syncretism that leads to intolerance. Why? Because it has no place for truth.

If God is real, he cannot both be (i) who He is and (ii)who you or I want him to be. What the Bible teaches is that He is who He is ("I am that I am") and that He has revealed himself above all as a Holy, incorruptible God. That holiness has implications, both in His relationship to us and in the way a fallen humanity can regain communion with Him. It is that holiness that Christ came to reveal and to vindicate through His ministry, death and resurrection, and then the Grace to bring us back. The rest of it, ethics, higher consciousness, kumbaya is important but incidental to the main mission.

Holiness (not ours, but God's)and its implications are the sticking point for syncretists, thus the hurling of the hellfire and brimstone catchall insult to any who dare disagree.

Arguing about religion is like dancing about architecture.

Always interesting when a man who worships himself tries to comment on God.

I think Deepak has it right.

The thing that always gets me is that no one can explain why a god that would send all non-believers to be tortured for eternity is considered to be a loving god. Surely if it is a loving god eternal torture would be off the table. After all isn't eternal torture a rather evil concept.

Thanks Betsy - I will check it out. Being very familiar with Buddhist thought, I have to say with sincerity that I'm pretty surprised such high profile Buddhists as the Dalai Lama have not mentioned the appearance of Maitreya the Coming Buddha, in whatever guise.

However, I'm in full agreement with your take that such an individual would assume the role of spiritual teacher and advisor, rather than presenting as an avatar and savior. I completely disagree with the Christian messianic view e.g. that anyone can be mysteriously saved by proxy through the efforts and self-sacrifice of another, albeit a 'divine' being - we will accomplish this through our own efforts or not at all....the most we can expect from others is enlightened guidance. This is more than likely what Jesus did offer, although his intentions have been greatly misconstrued by theocratic forces over the centuries.

Dr. Chopra himself is very well versed in Eastern thought, including knowledge of both Hindu and Buddhist savants from the past, so perhaps he will comment on your observation.

Sometimes I can't help being a smart aleck - it's definitely a fault rather than a gift.

Best wishes -

Dee -
Just read New Testament. You obviously were writing about something with which you were unfamiliar. Read it - then read it again. There is nothing that needs to be interpreted. He spoke clearly. Just don't sound off on something you haven't read about. It's unseemly. And you sound, well...dumb.

i understand perfectly what you are saying, but those with their blind faith,probably won't. our only hope right now, is with barack obama. he has the inner vision to see beyond all the fears and threats that have been increasingly forced upon us. please continue to speak for those of us that do understand in hopes that love will soon be restored to humanity.

Great article Dr. Chopra!

Dear Bemused,

Well, there I was agreeing with your congratulations to Dr. Chopra for offering thought provoking ideas, and then I read your comments about my post :)! Ouch. Just kidding, though, I don't blame you at all. The subject really needs to be addressed, since it has major ramifications for the decision we (humanity)must make right now...and we are sorely ill-educated for our task. If we make the right choice, we will survive on this planet with help.

My information comes from www.share-international.org and the 30 years of work of Benjamin Creme, Scottish artist, author and lecturer on the reappearance of the World Teacher, Maitreya.

I came upon this information in 1985, and must say that after years of thorough observation, I think Creme is really on to something. Its worth the time to investigate, since thinking for one's self is the best approach. For me, this information answers so many questions, and makes such reasonable sense, I hope others will at least have an open minded look at it.

In Infinite Play the Movie (the one that blends with reality) on the web site it says.

"The world has been deceived, what portrayed itself as the light was really the darkness, what was claimed to be the darkness was really the light, those that claimed to be of God were really the AntiChrist."

The many came to know who they were because they produced fear not love.

To Angela:

You write, "Jesus also spoke about those who speak heresy and lead people astray with false doctrine."

To verify that Jesus spoke these words you cite that Paul wrote them in a letter to the Corinthians and further cite that Peter wrote them in a letter to those in the Christian community. In short, they are NOT the words of Jesus, but of Peter and Paul.

Perhaps you should learn more about your bible and Christianity before you castigate others for knowing so little.

At least you can take comfort in the fact that no atheists accused you of being the anti-Christ.

Dr. Chopra - take no offense. You make a generally positive contribution to New Age literature and in the process expose your readers to a far wider range of spiritually related ideas and information than they would typically encounter by sticking their collective heads in the desert sands of the Abrahamic faiths.

Surely the whole idea of the Anti-Christ is taken quite literally by fundamentalists who live in a black and white world, rather than the more realistic and metaphorical interpretation - for anything that serves as an impediment to Man's spiritual evolution. Fundamentalists often mistake verbs for nouns, and people for processes, when making these grand absolutist pronouncements.

You are to be congratulated because offering thought provoking ideas, education, and entertainment in a single process are worthy accomplishments by any standard.

Betsy - where do you get your information anyway?? I missed the announcement of His Coming in 1945. Was this right before or after we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?? Destructive energy indeed.

Boy am I ever out of the loop - where is the Messiah as we speak, and why isn't this a better known fact???

Deepak Chopra is NOT the Antichrist. How do I know? Because the Antichrist is ME!!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!! And you're all going to HELL!!! Ha-ha-ha-ha!!! I AM THE ANTICHRIST!!! The number of the BEAST is upon me!!! I shall cast ye all into the LAKE OF FIRE!!! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

P.S.: Deepak IS a charlatan, but that's not even close!

Some how, in some way, I can see how the following phrase would have been used in ancient times, to send ripples of consciousness far and wide:

"If the people lead, the leaders will follow"

ORGANIZED (and by default, MALE-oriented)religion is the bane of civilization.

Turn the sheeple into people - free will is personal spiritual responsibility.

It alway amuses me to see people arguing about whose version of superstitious myth is the right version. LOL!

Ah the antichrist. It is not, in fact, a person, but an energy...the destructive energy of
materialism...which, I must say, has a comfortable home in some Christian churches and Christian hearts! Pointing to some outside person is a convenient way to distract "the faithful" and unite them against "the enemy".

The antichrist force was released through Nero, breaking down the crystalized civilization
of Rome to make way for the building energy of the Christ through His desciple Jesus. It was released again through Hitler and the Axis Powers during WWII, again to break down the crystalized civilization built during the last 2000 years, and making way for the Christ, this time coming Himself with his group of Disciples. The Christ announced in June 1945 that He would come at the earliest possible moment, when humanity had begun to clean house of the evil of extreme materialism and at least begun to move toward a compassionate mode of human interrelationships.

So, the antichrist has been and gone. The Christ has returned, and is now among us. Who will recognize Him? Probably not Christians, for He comes as the leader awaited by all religions though they call him by different names: the Christ, the Imam Mahde, the Messiah, Sri Krishna, Maitreya Buddha. He is not a religious leader, but a Teacher in the broadest sense...the World Teacher. He teaches right human relationship, based on unconditional love and justice.

Dr. Chopra,

Someone called you The Anti-Christ? Don't feel bad. Take it as a complement. The loonies are always going around saying that one person or another is the Anti-Christ. You're in good company - Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Hillary and/or Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-Moon, George Steinbrenner, etc.

Deepak,

I believe that some Christians are looking and searching for prophecy especially regarding the Antichrist and I never thought you were. However, as per my comments last week, you only tell the half of the story of Jesus and Christianity. Didn't Christ state that the road to eternal life was narrow and only few find it; also, did he not say: I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the father except though me: is this not true but you believe that all roads lead to Jesus/eternal life. Yes, there are some who have mixed up doctrine and will be saved/born again as Jesus states: come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest and he also said; If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." You don't teach truth; you teach heresy and Jesus also spoke about those who speak heresy and lead people astray with false doctrine. Corinthians 11:4-6 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 2 Peter 1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. Yes, Jesus is loving, kind, forgiving (for those who repent) and he's also just and scripture says he will judge the world accordingly to their righteousness. You make him out to be not a tribal judge but a corrupt judge who just winks at sin and just lets everyone, even those who don't believe in him or hate him into heaven, like it's an after party show/celebration. Be Very Careful Deepak; WE MUST ALL GIVE AN ACCOUNT...

Dr. Chopra,

You are most certainly not the Antichrist.

The Antichrist is alive and well, and living at this very moment in his palace in a sovereign enclave within Italy.

Best wishes to you.