Dr. Pratap Singhal, MD, is a medical doctor, happiness coach and author. He has authored three books exploring health and happiness.
Dr. Singhal was born in Dhuri in the Indian state of Punjab in 1940. His father, Mahasha Kundan Lal Singhal, and his mother, Lajwanti Singhal, raised a large family of ten children. His father was a social reformer and one of the founders of a school in Dhuri affiliated with the Arya Samaj denomination of Hinduism. Dr. Singhal and his siblings received their primary education at the Arya Samaj school. As a child, Dr. Singhal witnessed religious violence during the India-Pakistan partition in 1947.
Dr. Singhal was raised on the Vedic principles of the Arya Samaj. He explains, “It is based upon a philosophy that you have to be the best, and you have to do the best for others.” I learned a lot from my father and my brothers, the wisdom of life. … That is different from being street-smart, but how to deal with challenges, how to deal with life situations, the stresses of life.” Dr. Singhal went to D.A.V. College in Muzaffarnagar & Medical College in Patiala. He did his residency in ophthalmology and then rotating internships in surgery and obstetrics.
Dr. Singhal and his wife Sushum have been married since 1965. They have three sons, Arun, Sunil and Dhruv, each of whom have gone on to earn medical degrees and become surgeons.
Dr. Singhal immigrated to the United States in 1969. He stayed in California briefly until finding a job at Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia. From 1970 to 1977, he was an ER Physician at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania. After a brief stint in the emergency room at Cabell Huntington Hospital, West Virginia., he became co-director of the Emergency Department at Fairmont General Hospital.
In 1980, Dr. Singhal moved to New Jersey as an emergency room physician at Princeton Medical Center. Soon he started the private practice Belleville, NJ.
In 1985, Dr. Singhal and his wife helped found the Arya Samaj of Essex County, now known as the Arya Samaj of Garden State.
He went on to write ‘How to be Happy Today and Every Day with A New 7 Minute Magical Plan’ (2021) and ‘One Solution to Many Diseases: Presented in 24½ Inspirational Stories (2021)’ He describes his guiding principle, “Happiness is a privilege for human life. Dr. Singhal has been featured on two magazine covers. He was the recipient of the “Hypnotism Research Award” in 2018 by the National Guild of Hypnotherapists.