Another drawing question is: What is God Consciousness? I go through the different stages of evolution of consciousness in answering that question. I talk about what is soul consciousness, when you become in touch with the observer within you; then what is cosmic consciousness -- the simultaneity of local and non-local awareness, which in Christian doctrine is to be in the world and not of it. You can easily call it Christ consciousness.
Then there is divine consciousness. This is the next stage where you are able to look at the objects of your perception and experience, to appreciate the divine in the objects of your perception -- a tree is also work of consciousness, so is a forest, so is an ecosystem. It is also the infinite void, it is also rainbows and sunshine, and earth and water and wind and air; and, ultimately, this thing is the whole universe pretending to be a table. In the end, every object of your perception is a manifestation of the whole universe and therefore a manifestation of the divine.
The intelligence of God is everywhere; therefore, we call it omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. God is not difficult to find; God is impossible to avoid.
Have people asked you about your preparation for this book?
They ask all the time. I must have read the New Testament at least a few thousand times from my school years and I have read the Old Testament a few hundred times. They (the fundamentalist critics) cannot catch me on that. In fact, I went to the Harvard Divinity School and I had a dialogue with (well-known theologian) Harvey Cox. He was so gracious.
Were you surprised by the attack on your book?
No matter what you write, the fundamentalists attack it. It doesn't matter if you are a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian: If you are a fundamentalist, you have a problem.
Do you know (actor, filmmaker) Mike Myers? Some years ago, he had a bit of an existential crisis. He started to read some of my books, listen to the tapes. To entertain himself (in the last three to four years), he started to do one act theatre in the Greenwich Village in New York, where he would imitate my accent. Then he started to write the screenplay of The Love Guru and he came to me and said, 'Listen, I am a comedian and the only way I can pay tribute is through humour; I want to pay tribute to you because you have influenced my life and so this is a screenplay about someone who wants to be like Deepak Chopra. I want you to do a cameo appearance and give me your blessings.'
Image: The 'Christ the Redeemer' statue
Photograph: Adriana Lorete/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: 'The soul is a confluence of the sacred and the profane'
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