This paper explores the early autobiographical work of the popular health and wellbeing guru, Deepak Chopra. The autobiography (entitled Return of the Rishi) is Chopra’s account of his early forays into meditation and Āyurveda, the Indian health tradition. It is the story of his “spiritual transformation” and his development into a proficient Āyurvedic healer. Following the lead of his one-time guru and mentor, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Chopra represents Āyurveda as “consciousness-based” medicine. This paper demonstrates how, by means of a series of narrative strategies deploying the motif of the semi-divine ṛṣi, or sage, and foregrounding personal experience as the ultimate source of spiritual legitimacy and authority, Chopra (a biomedical doctor with little or no formal training in Āyurveda) seeks to secure legitimacy as an authority on Āyurveda and an adept with extraordinary healing powers.

中文翻译：

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阿育吠陀和身心治疗：迪帕克乔普拉自传写作中的合法化策略

本文探讨了受欢迎的健康与幸福大师迪帕克·乔普拉 (Deepak Chopra) 的早期自传作品。这本自传（题为《圣人归来》）是乔普拉对他早期涉足冥想和印度保健传统 Āyurveda 的描述。这是关于他的“精神转变”和他发展成为一名熟练的 Āyurvedic 治疗师的故事。在他曾经的导师和导师 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 的带领下，乔普拉将 Āyurveda 视为“基于意识的”医学。本文展示了如何通过一系列叙事策略部署半神圣 ṛṣi 或圣人的母题，并将个人经验作为精神合法性和权威的最终来源，