In his company, you feel exuberant about life. Within minutes of a conversation, you start discovering new ways of looking at the world around you. The man is a celebrated Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School who publishes at a frenetic pace but has great insights into how to slow down the pace of life. We are talking about Dr Sanjiv Chopra, who is now ready with his latest book, The Big 5: Five Simple Things You Can Do to Live a Longer, Healthier Life.
“I wrote this book because there is a lot of confusion among the general public regarding the health benefits of the topics discussed here,” says Dr Chopra.
He explains how he uses simple, easy-to-follow ways to explains things. “An easy way for folks to remember the five things is as follows, ‘On a good, sunny day, go for a brisk walk to your favourite coffee shop. Now you’ve gotten the benefit of vitamin D, exercise, and coffee. Don’t go nuts remembering this, and before you go, meditate.’ There’s an ancient saying: ‘You should meditate once a day, and if you don’t have time to do that, you should meditate twice a day.'”
Any discussion with him can’t be complete without invoking his brother, Deepak Chopra. “Deepak and I share the same values and we hope our children and grandchildren will imbibe them. We have also written together a memoir – Brotherhood: Dharma, Destiny and the American Dream – a few years ago which is much talked about even now.”
When asked about his upcoming projects, Dr Chopra recalls Mark Twain. “The great litterateur said, ‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’ I have, thankfully found my life objective and have several projects in the pipeline, including the writing of four books.”
– The writer is a senior leader at the American India Foundation and works with a number of communities in the US to promote philanthropy
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