The Future of God: A Practical Approach to Spirituality for Our Times

229 Pages·2014·1.05 MB·English

by  Chopra

Praise for
The Future of God
“Being a nuclear physicist dealing with basic quantum field theory, I find
my worldview agreeing with Deepak Chopra. The all-embracing holistic
quantum field is a step forward from our classical reductionistic
interpretation of a determined ‘reality.’ It suggests a dynamic, alive
cosmos, or ‘Wirklichkeit.’ Dr. Chopra’s work will be talked about for a
long time to come.”
—HANS PETER DUERR, scientific member and director emeritus of Max
Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics
“As Deepak explains, Dawkins’s materialism is the delusion, not God.
Eastern spiritualists, Western constructivists, and quantum physicists
agree—the mind shapes, if not creates, the world. Materialism is a
mirage of deeper level quantum reality, one which surfaces in living
systems, guiding consciousness and evolution. The ‘Watchmaker’ isn’t
blind. Dawkins is.”
—STUART HAMEROFF, M.D., professor of anesthesiology and
psychology director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the
University of Arizona, www.quantumconsciousness.org
“The Future of God is a brilliant exposition for the need of consciousness-
based reality. It is consistent with the worldview of quantum physics
that showed the importance of the mind and is a fitting answer to the
claims of militant atheists whose science is based on outdated views now
known to not be true and which became obsolete almost a century ago.”
—MENAS C. KAFATOS, Fletcher Jones Professor of Computational
Physics at Chapman University and coauthor of The Non-Local
Universe: The New Physics and Matters of the Mind
“A magnificent and masterfully argued presentation of why randomness
can never explain the great mystery of life on earth. This wonderfully
accessible book is a must-read for anyone who, much like Einstein and
other pioneers of the new physics did, experiences a feeling of utter
humility when contemplating the grandeur of the cosmos.”
—P. MURALI DORAISWAMY, professor of psychiatry and member of the
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
“Deepak Chopra has successfully blended ancient Vedanta philosophy
with his unique perspective on modern science to provide a vast
audience with solutions that meet many needs for our modern age. He is
among the influential scholars, authors, and thinkers who have found
truth in the Perennial philosophy and developed ways to help people
apply that truth to their daily lives.”
—HUSTON SMITH, author of Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the
Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief
“The most transformative discoveries begin with delusion, are
challenged by insight, driven by faith, pursued with science, and
culminate in truth. Deepak Chopra beautifully makes the case that the
biggest delusion is a universe without God or consciousness.”
—RUDY TANZI, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Super Brain
“At a time when the revolutions of the physical sciences are changing
our understanding of the human consciousness, The Future of God is a
book that needed to be written, and no one could have written it better
than Deepak Chopra. In this brilliant analysis, Chopra shows how God is
evolving with our consciousness, and how both the religious and
atheistic fundamentalists are focused on an outdated God. This book is a
treasure of deep insights that will not only touch your heart but will also
lead you to understand how a God without illusions is a necessary
condition for your physical well-being.”
—LOTHAR SCHÄFER, distinguished professor of physical chemistry
(emeritus) at the University of Arkansas and author of Infinite
Potential
“In The Future of God, Deepak Chopra crisply dissects the militant
atheist’s assertion that there is no meaning or purpose to life, and no
need for faith in an accidental universe. He lays bare the belief vs.
disbelief controversy and provides sound reasons why it is both possible
and necessary to mature beyond the simplistic dogmas that have
sustained a timeworn and increasingly futile debate.”
—DEAN RADIN, PH.D., author of The Conscious Universe and
Supernormal
“The Future of God is a much-needed book. Chopra convincingly exposes
the limitations, arrogance, and intellectual blindness of the ‘new
atheists.’ He recognizes that unbelief has a role to play, but he also
shows how to go beyond the atheists’ narrow dogmatism to a far richer
experience and understanding of reality.”
—RUPERT SHELDRAKE, PH.D., author of Science Set Free
“The Future of God is the freshest riposte yet in response to the chest-
beating, triumphal, militant atheism that can’t stop congratulating itself
for imaginary victories over traditional religion. Dr. Chopra shows how
this tiresome movement is based in bad philosophy, bad science, and
bad psychology, and how it is mired in abysmal confusion about what
authentic spirituality is all about. He shows how militant atheism,
through sleight of hand, merely substitutes one blind faith for another,
managing to fool itself in the process. In The Future of God, Dr. Chopra
describes an approach to God that is congruent with a modern
worldview, while simultaneously honoring the innate human connection
with the Divine.”
—LARRY DOSSEY, M.D., author of One Mind: How Our Individual Mind
Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters
“The continuing struggle between two worldviews, one religious, the
other scientific, has confused the Western mind enormously. In this book
the visionary Deepak Chopra has taken on the task of a ‘guide for the
perplexed’ as only he can. The Future of God is important for two reasons.
First, and this is marvelous, Deepak has done a wonderful job of
debunking the so-called debunkers, people like Richard Dawkins, who, it
seems, cannot even distinguish between popular and esoteric aspects of
religion. The latter is about spirituality, which has found new support
from quantum physics and other recent breakthroughs in science. The
second reason for the book’s importance is that it really is a reliable
guide to why and how you can seek God in even these confusing times.”
—AMIT GOSWAMI, quantum physicist and author of The Self-Aware
Universe, The Quantum Doctor, and How Quantum Activism Can Save
Civilization
Bestsellers by Deepak Chopra
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The Book of Secrets
Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment
Grow Younger, Live Longer (with coauthor David Simon) How to
Know God
Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment
Life After Death
Muhammad: A Story of a Prophet
The Path to Love
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Perfect Health
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Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul
The Return of Merlin
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
The Shadow Effect (with coauthors Debbie Ford and Marianne
Williamson) Spiritual Solutions
Super Brain (with coauthor Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.) The Third Jesus
War of the Worldviews (with coauthor Leonard Mlodinow) The Way
of the Wizard
What Are You Hungry For?
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Ask Deepak About Death and Dying
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Ask the Kabala (with coauthor Michael Zapolin) Boundless Energy
Brain, Mind and Cosmos: The Nature of Our Existence and the
Universe (edited by Deepak Chopra with contributions from
notable scientists and philosophers) Brotherhood: Dharma,
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The Chopra Center Cookbook (with coauthors David Simon and
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coauthor David Simon) Consciousness and the Universe (with
coauthors Stuart Hameroff and Sir Roger Penrose) Creating
Affluence
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The Daughters of Joy
The Deeper Wound
The Essential Ageless Body, Timeless Mind
The Essential How to Know God
The Essential Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire
Everyday Immortality
Fire in the Heart
God: A Story of Revelation
Golf for Enlightenment
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Journey into Healing
Kama Sutra
Lords of Light
The Love Poems of Rumi (edited by Deepak Chopra; translated by
Deepak Chopra and Fereydoun Kia) Magical Beginnings,
Enchanted Lives (with coauthors David Simon and Vicki Abrams)
Manifesting Good Luck
On the Shores of Eternity
Overcoming Addictions
Perfect Digestion
Perfect Weight
Power, Freedom, and Grace
Raid on the Inarticulate
Restful Sleep
Return of the Rishi
The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling
Your Dreams
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes (with coauthor Gotham
Chopra) The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga (with coauthor David
Simon) The Soul in Love
The Soul of Leadership
Soulmate
The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire
Teens Ask Deepak
The Ultimate Happiness Prescription
Unconditional Life
Walking Wisdom (contributor; authored by Gotham Chopra) Why Is
God Laughing?
For Children
On My Way to a Happy Life (with coauthor Kristina Tracy;
illustrated by Rosemary Woods) You with the Stars in Your Eyes
(illustrated by Dave Zaboski)
Deepak Chopra Imprint
Infinite Potential by Lothar Schäfer Science Set Free by Rupert
Sheldrake Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for
Extraordinary Psychic Abilities by Dean Radin The Generosity
Network by Jennifer McCrea, Jeffrey Walker, and Karl Weber

Copyright © 2014 by Deepak Chopra All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a
division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
Harmony Books is a registered trademark, and the Circle colophon is a trademark of Random
House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chopra, Deepak.
The Future of God : a practical approach to spirituality for our times / Deepak Chopra — First
Edition.
pages cm
1. God. 2. Religion—Philosophy. 3. Atheism—Controversial literature. I. Title.
BL473.C465 2014
202’.11—dc23 2013008547
ISBN 978-0-307-88497-8