Book Review: Digital Dharma
How AI Can Elevate Spiritual Intelligence and Personal Well-Being by Deepak Chopra
Several years ago, I purchased a deluxe automatic litter box. I won the mundane marital argument about what Max Cat needed for a meaningful and fulfilling life. The litter box innovation ranks high on my two-item list, one notch below the automatic coffee machine.
This shiny litter box was irresistible. Max jumped in and out immediately like a jack-in-the-box, triggering the automated rake. With wide green eyes and pupils dilated, he backed away, making a brown/black tiger-striped bottle-brush tail. Max felt threatened by its hidden mystical powers.
As a childless cat lady, I read his feline mind perfectly.
“What kind of sorcery is this?”
Anyone outside of Big Tech may ask the same question about artificial intelligence (AI). Like electricity, AI’s power is invisible, unfathomable, and spellbinding like a magic trick. Whether we like it or not, humanity is undergoing a monumental shift in consciousness. Along this journey of discovery, we need a guide showing us pathways through the fear.
We need Dr. Deepak Chopra.
In his latest book, Digital Dharma: How AI Can Elevate Spiritual Intelligence and Personal Well-Being, Chopra pulls back the veil on large language models (LLMs), demonstrating how to use a chatbot to align personal choices with life purpose. Weaving Vedic philosophy, medical science, psychology, and the mundane problems of daily life, Chopra’s premise is that we have nothing to fear from AI.
He writes:
Although not truly intelligent nor conscious, (AI) has the ability to make your thinking more intelligent and your inner life more conscious.
Gently, Chopra walks readers through how to transmute the invisible energies of AI into the tangible context of personal growth, deepening confidence, and forwarding action. For example, the story about an argument with my husband over purchasing an automatic litter box was mundane. However, some of the most significant opportunities for personal growth are hidden within the mundane. Chopra uses numerous examples of the divisions we unconsciously create during daily interactions.
For instance, Part III of the book is dedicated to seven strategies for prompting AI to assume different expertise roles, such as psychologist, topic expert, business advisor, mentor, or friend. Strategy #3: Bend and Bounce Back uses ChatGPT to advise on a hypothetical personal problem.
Chopra’s Prompt: I’d like to talk with you about my friend Bea. She is 62 and very bright, having worked for years as a paralegal. Our friendship is under strain because she is getting more and more opinionated, stubborn, and set in her ways.
ChatGPT: It is essential to approach the situation with understanding and empathy. Here are some steps you can consider taking to address the strain on your friendship with Bea.
ChatGPT provides three detailed steps to defuse the tension in the friendship and create a stronger bond between friends.
Switching gears, what about the spiritual component? Seekers like you and I intuitively feel the generalized fears swirling around, but we also share deeper concerns about AI, such as:
Disconnection from the Divine
Dehumanization of Wisdom
Erosion of Free Will
Chopra writes:
It isn’t that a machine has spiritual wisdom, but that it can access human wisdom with amazing speed and distill centuries of teaching into simple, clear ideas. This is the first way that AI promises to revolutionize our concept of spirituality.
I explored this premise by using one of Chopra’s prompts.
If I am on a spiritual path, how can desire be my ally instead of an obstacle?
I entered Chopra’s prompt into my ChatGTP. Below is a simple chat comparison of the main ideas.
On the surface, both chatbots express similar ideas. But ChatGPT's power is when the conversation goes deeper. I asked my ChatGPT these follow-up questions.
Please highlight the similarities and differences based on Chopra's answers in Digital Dharma and your response to my same question (ChatGPT).
What can Deepak Chopra and I learn from each other?
I want to share this discussion thread with The Daily Alchemist readers. Please create five exercises to help them use AI to elevate their spiritual intelligence and personal well-being in an uncertain world.
While the detailed answers are fascinating, I’m disappointed that ChatGTP cannot generate a public link. The infographic I created and inserted in the discussion thread seemed to trigger a technical glitch. But have no fear—I plan to turn the discussion into an ebook for you.
Digital Dharma is an informative, pedagogically rich book that includes AI-generated meditations, quizzes, prompts, and copious examples of chatbot discussion threads. The book offers a transformative lens through which we view the evolving relationship between humanity and technology. Chopra’s wisdom reminds us that while AI may seem like an off-shoot of sorcery, its core value lies in its ability to amplify human insight and purpose.
Hi Melissa, as ever, your article is thought-provoking and fresh, with beautiful graphics and a deep understanding of the subject (AI) and all its complexity. I couldn't enter the quiz, but I am probably on the side of skeptical but curious (and hesitant). Glad you hold the torch and run the marathon on this topic for us skeptics to follow. Thank you!
love that graphic. hope it's posted in many places--communicates efficiently, deeply, and beautifully!