13 Questions for Deepak Chopra

1.  Name the four people—living or dead—you would like most to invite to a dinner party at your house. What would you cook?
I would invite:
Buddha
Martin Luther King Jr.
Nelson Mandela
Mother Teresa
George W. Bush
and cook Goa fish curry for all, except for George Bush, I would prepare a medium rare steak from Texas.

2.  What do you dream about?
I dream about expanding beyond space time and causality.
 
3.  Of the seven deadly sins (pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth) which one is the hardest for you to resist?
My personal mantra is no resistance. The easiest way to resist a temptation is to give in to it.

4.  What are you reading right now? 
This questionaire (it is very inspirational).

5.  What is your favorite book of all time?
Can’t answer, it changes all the time. I most often return to “I Am That” by Nisargadatta Maharaj.
 
6.  Coffee or tea? 
Double hazelnut latte.

7.  What do you consider to be your first piece of writing?
An essay on “Time” for my junior high school magazine.

8.  What were some of the challenges or surprises in writing this book?
The biggest challenge was to take a leap from the bare facts of Buddha’s life to a flesh-and-blood character. The biggest surprise was how close I felt to him by the end.

9.  Do you write your first draft on the computer or by hand?
Combination of both. A lot of mental work
precedes any other work.

10.  What is your favorite memory?
The birth of my two children, Gotham and Mallika.
 
11.  If you could live in another time and place, when and where would that be?
The best moment is always now. But if it takes time travel to meet one of the great Vedic sages, I’d do it.

12.  Who is your oldest friend?
My late father, a quiet, loving man and an inspiring doctor.
 
13.  What do you feel is the most important quality in a person?
Lack of self-importance, a natural sense of well-being.