New Delhi:
He's the 3 AM friend to some of the world's most powerful and celebrated people. So what do you ask the guru of well-being who was on Michael Jackson's speed dial for two decades?
Deepak Chopra, new-age guru, author, pioneer of mind-body healing, will speak at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 22 and then shoot an episode with Oprah Winfrey the following day.
The segment with Oprah is part of the premiere of her new original primetime series - Oprah's Next Chapter - on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
"Oprah's among the most powerful women in the world. She's extremely intelligent, she reads a lot (more than anyone I know), you know that's why she was so successful with the Book Club," says Dr Chopra. Oprah's Book Club, a discussion segment on her epic talk show for 15 years, catapulted many obscure titles to bestsellers, with Oprah's clout spiking sales.
"You know, people usually think of celebrities somewhere up there, they can't relate to them. With Oprah, everyone can relate to her. She's wonderfully down-to-earth," he says.
From Oprah, the questions shift to the inevitable ones on the King of Pop - Michael Jackson - whom Dr Chopra met somewhere around 1988. A friendship that lasted nearly two decades and one in which he received a call from Michael just two days before his death. "He left a message on my answering machine...said he wanted to share some good news with me. " "Wasn't Michael Jackson under pressure...that's what the reports said...that he was under pressure over his comeback concert," I asked him. "He didn't sound like he was under pressure. He was excited with this new song, Breathe, and he wanted me to look over the lyrics. It's on the environment," says Dr Chopra.
Despite the last happy memories and Michael Jackson's obvious excitement over his new composition, Dr Chopra has often said that Michael Jackson sudden death was almost fated - "like he was hurtling towards it. He wanted to die like Elvis Presley."
"Michael once asked me, what's the drug that takes you to the valley of death and then brings you back. That was propofol , I didn't know then, he adds. The pop icon's autopsy report cites the cause of death as acute propofol intoxication.
The copy of "Breathe" lies with Dr Chopra, "I have contacted his lawyers, and his estate, I can't keep what isn't mine," he says.
The wellness guru who says he is never stressed, has a happier story to wrap up with. A joke he shared with Oprah Winfrey and with us, but not one that he wants published as yet. Instead, here's a quote that Dr Chopra says keeps him stress-free: "What people think of you is none of your business. What you think of yourself is what matters."
Deepak Chopra, new-age guru, author, pioneer of mind-body healing, will speak at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 22 and then shoot an episode with Oprah Winfrey the following day.
The segment with Oprah is part of the premiere of her new original primetime series - Oprah's Next Chapter - on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
"Oprah's among the most powerful women in the world. She's extremely intelligent, she reads a lot (more than anyone I know), you know that's why she was so successful with the Book Club," says Dr Chopra. Oprah's Book Club, a discussion segment on her epic talk show for 15 years, catapulted many obscure titles to bestsellers, with Oprah's clout spiking sales.
"You know, people usually think of celebrities somewhere up there, they can't relate to them. With Oprah, everyone can relate to her. She's wonderfully down-to-earth," he says.
From Oprah, the questions shift to the inevitable ones on the King of Pop - Michael Jackson - whom Dr Chopra met somewhere around 1988. A friendship that lasted nearly two decades and one in which he received a call from Michael just two days before his death. "He left a message on my answering machine...said he wanted to share some good news with me. " "Wasn't Michael Jackson under pressure...that's what the reports said...that he was under pressure over his comeback concert," I asked him. "He didn't sound like he was under pressure. He was excited with this new song, Breathe, and he wanted me to look over the lyrics. It's on the environment," says Dr Chopra.
Despite the last happy memories and Michael Jackson's obvious excitement over his new composition, Dr Chopra has often said that Michael Jackson sudden death was almost fated - "like he was hurtling towards it. He wanted to die like Elvis Presley."
"Michael once asked me, what's the drug that takes you to the valley of death and then brings you back. That was propofol , I didn't know then, he adds. The pop icon's autopsy report cites the cause of death as acute propofol intoxication.
The copy of "Breathe" lies with Dr Chopra, "I have contacted his lawyers, and his estate, I can't keep what isn't mine," he says.
The wellness guru who says he is never stressed, has a happier story to wrap up with. A joke he shared with Oprah Winfrey and with us, but not one that he wants published as yet. Instead, here's a quote that Dr Chopra says keeps him stress-free: "What people think of you is none of your business. What you think of yourself is what matters."
