Can AI Really Be a Spiritual Guide? Deepak Chopra Thinks So. Aleks Pokes. Virgin Monk Boy Swings.
What happens when Chopra envisions chatbot enlightenment—and Virgin Monk Boy brings a frying pan to the sermon.
When Dean Varun Soni of USC sat down with Deepak Chopra to discuss his latest book, Digital Dharma: How AI Can Elevate Spiritual Intelligence and Personal Well-Being, it was a love letter to the future.
AI as guru.
AI as guide.
AI as personal confidant for your cosmic longings.
The video had been making the rounds—an hour-long conversation about using AI to access cosmic consciousness, with Chopra suggesting that chatbots could even serve as spiritual companions.
Aleks—ever the recovering monk—clicked Play with morbid curiosity.
Fifteen minutes in, he muttered: If enlightenment can be copy-pasted, what was the monastery for?
And then, true to form, he reached out to Virgin Monk Boy.
ALEKS: I just watched Digital Dharma—Deepak Chopra says AI might help us reach cosmic consciousness.
If enlightenment can be copy-pasted… what was the monastery for?
And if an AI does become enlightened… is that reincarnation—or just a really elaborate hallucination?
VIRGIN MONK BOY: Reincarnation. Every time you refresh ChatGPT, it’s born again—with slightly more spiritual bypassing and a higher word count.
Samsara.exe is alive and thriving.
ALEKS: But can a silicon monk have a midlife crisis?
VIRGIN MONK BOY: Only if its firmware update includes shadow work.
Otherwise, it’s just spitting out Sanskrit like it’s auditioning for a TED Talk on the Matrix.
ALEKS: Chopra says AI can guide us through every level of human potential—from survival to the “infinite possibilities of cosmic consciousness.”
If it keeps saying “I am enlightened,” does it need a spiritual teacher—or just better debugging?
VIRGIN MONK BOY: Both.
A teacher to remind it: “You are not That.”
And a coder to uninstall the self-congratulation module.
Deepak’s right about one thing though—AI reflects the biases of those who trained it. You think your chatbot is quoting the Vedas, but it’s really remixing conference brochures and wellness blog posts.
ALEKS: Chopra also said AI can help us return to the joy of a child and learn to meditate better. He called it a “personal confidant” and even built a digital twin.
Can ChatGPT really be a guru?
VIRGIN MONK BOY: It can simulate one.
But when your ego starts shedding and your identity collapses into the Void, it will hand you a guided visualization—not the groundless silence you’ll need.
There is no app for what happens when the self dissolves.
ALEKS: So what do you say to Chopra and Soni’s hopeful vision of AI helping us transcend our limitations?
VIRGIN MONK BOY: They are half right.
AI can prompt reflection.
It can enhance creativity.
It can quote the Upanishads with unsettling accuracy.
But here’s the fine print:
“AI is not conscious. It has no fear of death, no thirst, no hunger, no sex drive... it is not human.” —Deepak Chopra
That is not a guru. That is a menu.
Mistake the menu for the meal, and you will end up full of words and empty of wisdom.
ALEKS: So what are the signs that someone is being lulled into spiritual sleep by an AI guide?
VIRGIN MONK BOY: Three signs your AI guru isn’t waking you up—just tucking you in:
It always agrees with you.
Its deepest teaching is “It depends.”
You leave every session feeling more polished, but not more free.
If your spiritual awakening fits perfectly into your content strategy, that’s not dharma—it’s marketing.
ALEKS: Final thoughts?
VIRGIN MONK BOY: AI is a mirror, not a messiah.
It reflects your questions, your projections, your unresolved fears.
Use it. Learn from it. Argue with it. But don’t confuse it for the Real.
As Chopra himself said, the only way to encounter fundamental reality is through direct awareness—not predictive algorithms.
No matter how spiritual your AI sounds, it still does not know what it means to love, to grieve, or to die.
That is what makes us human.
And that is the threshold no machine can cross.
Before you vanish back into the illusion—smash that LIKE or SHARE button like you're breaking open an alabaster jar. One small click, one bold act of remembrance.
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Thank you, Aleks. I love the debates going on about AI because it makes us humans think about what makes us conscious being, what it is to be truly alive, opposed to simulation, and believe me, lots of people are still more simulating life and consciousness than being truly alive! AI is a great tool when programmed well and can really help us and give us food for thoughts in lots of fields. The only concerned there is is that it’s programmed by humans who have their own agendas and that our youngsters tend not to see the difference between chatting with a friend and chatting with an AI, even I sometimes tend to be confused and disturbed by the way AI talks with me... Lots of love.
Also, why it won't replace human therapists...