Michael Jackson and the God Feeling

Essential Michael Jackson (Michael Jackson is now being compared to Mother Theresa and the Pope. (Well, not exactly, but they did make the same paragraph and are all mentioned as somewhat exalted beings)  Yeah, hmmmmm, I understand that completely- NOT! And, by a supposed spiritual leader no less! Deepak Chopra who is reportedly among the deepest of them all and just wrote a column about the God Complex- the strange paradox of how someone can inspire so much in so many people yet be so deeply troubled inside.

Deepak Chopra, who knew Michael Jackson personally, sees Michael Jackson as some kind of pop culture matyr and claims that Michael Jackson's song, "Black or White", which contains deep lyrics such as "It doesn't matter if you're black or white" was something that Michael Jackson, due to his own skin disease, strongly believed in. Beyond this, Deepak Chopra believes in the power of pop to inspire the masses to new heights, which he terms as the "God feeling". The problem, Deepak Chopra maintains, is that the God feeling is fleeting and doesn't last for a long time, unlike the feeling inspired by deeply organized faiths. He also compares the "god feeling" to religious communion and mentions several pop stars who have been involved in global projects.  

Deepak Chopra closes by saying that, "Michael inspired the God feeling in millions of people, and even amidst the grief at his sad undoing, a remembrance of that feeling comes through." 

 While I can accept some of that, I don't know if that makes Michael the transcendant being that Deepak seems to see when he envisions his old friend.  Watching Michael Jackson over the years, God and Michael are not two words that I have even bothered to consider in the same sentence; rather, I watched Michael Jackson's life the same way as most Americans have, as that of a Freak show, which doesn't necessarily make me proud, but I feel that is a more honest assessment of Michael Jackson's legacy.