Almost everyone has heard stories of people (mostly children) behaving strangely after remembering their past life. A long time ago, a magazine called ‘Truth’ used to hunt for and publish events where individuals remembered their past lives.
Many scientists have attempted to investigate whether those who claim to have “memories of a past life” are telling the truth or if it is all just an illusion. Prominent among them was Dr. Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia, USA. He collected thousands of cases of past-life memories from around the world. It is said that what most of these people claimed turned out to be true. Stevenson was astonished to find that the past-life individuals described by many children had actually existed, and the details provided about them were accurate. The documentation he gathered is immense.
In India, Dr. Satwant Pasricha of NIMHANS, Bengaluru, conducted similar research. She documented everything—including birthmarks, physical resemblances, and behavioral traits—linking the child of this birth to the person of the past life. She authored the book, ‘Claims of Reincarnation: An Empirical Study of Cases in India‘.
Research into Janmas (reincarnations) continues even today, accompanied by opposing viewpoints. Alongside this, extreme malpractices and rackets are also taking place. Some individuals have set up ‘clinics’ and are running a “past-life regression” hypnotism business, digging into the past lives of anyone willing to pay money! While the idea that the secrets of Janmas can be unlocked through hypnotism sounds thrilling, it lacks substantial scientific backing.
Awareness of past lives only truly brings conviction when an individual spontaneously experiences those memories himself/herself. It is not something to be learned from someone else by visiting a clinic. If someone naturally remembers his/her own past life, its authenticity can be verified. However, the claim that ‘someone else can discover another person’s past life through hypnotism or astrology’ is neither scientifically proven nor supported by the Sanatan Shastras.
In Indian religious and spiritual texts, yogis who realized their past lives through the power of penance are called ‘Jatismaras’. But no Sanatana text states that this can be achieved through hypnotism. Although descriptions of an individual’s Janmas appear in Nadi Jyotisha texts, proving their accuracy is difficult; it is a system based on blindly believing whatever is stated.
Many people have been haunted by “memories” of their past lives, and the truth of thousands of such cases has been verified. A famous historical event from Gandhiji’s era is worth mentioning here.
It is the story of Shanti Devi (1926-1987), a 9-year-old girl who began narrating her past life in 1935. She would weep while remembering her past-life family in Mathura, but that family initially refused to meet her. The matter eventually reached Gandhiji, who appointed an inquiry committee consisting of prominent dignitaries. At the committee’s request, the past-life family agreed to meet Shanti Devi. They welcomed her into their home in the presence of the committee members. The girl revealed that in her previous birth, she was a housewife in that very home named Lugdi Devi (who had passed away in 1925). Although the details she provided were correct, they were facts known to many, making it difficult for people to accept that Lugdi Devi had returned as Shanti Devi. Finally, Shanti Devi called her “past-life” husband aside and disclosed private matters known exclusively to the husband and wife! He was completely stunned! It is said that the details narrated by Shanti Devi were incredibly precise and true. The family believed her words. In 1936, the committee approved and submitted its report, and Gandhiji himself believed it. The case was widely reported, and reincarnation researchers from India and abroad met and interviewed Shanti Devi. Ian Stevenson also met her to collect detailed data.
Most modern scientists have ignored the vast amount of data collected by Stevenson and others. This is because modern science often functions not as an open system of inquiry, but as a closed-door ideology. The wisdom to design a scale appropriate to a subject—rather than dismissing whatever falls outside existing metrics—is still rarely found in the modern scientific world. The majority insist that everything must fit the metrics of classical physics. It is an old habit of theirs to dismiss phenomena that do not fit their criteria as ‘parapsychology’ or ‘paranormal.’ Relying solely on their limited parameters, it is impossible to prove the existence of past life in a way they would accept.
However, what should we say about the reports of so many people remembering their past lives? Are the memories of so many individuals false? Or is it a form of delusion? Realizing that dismissing everything is not that simple, some researchers have used indirect methods to understand the truth of rebirth. The first thing to observe is whether the memory of a past life has arisen naturally in a child, or if there is external manipulation. Commercial operations that take money claiming, “I will hypnotize you, take you back to your past life, make you remember, and record it for you,” cannot align with honest study. Mere statements do not serve as proof. Accurate, definitive, and comprehensive details must be gathered. In cases where past-life details cannot be verified (for instance, if someone claims he/she was an unknown person 200 years ago), statements remain just statements.
Regardless of the scientific consensus, belief in rebirth is growing among ordinary people worldwide. In its August 15, 2009 issue, the American weekly ‘Newsweek’ published an interesting article written by its religion editor, Lisa Miller, titled “We Are All Hindus Now.” The article drew attention to how, despite America being a Christian-majority country, the core beliefs now held by most of its people are fundamentally the tenets of Hinduism. The article described how ordinary citizens, without even realizing it, are moving away from strict Christian monotheistic beliefs and increasingly adopting Sanatana Hindu methods that validate diverse spiritual paths. According to a 2008 Harris Poll survey, 24% of Americans believed in reincarnation. ‘Newsweek’ noted that “Christian Americans are beginning to believe in reincarnation just like Hindus.”
Inner human experience is common to everyone, without distinctions of Hindu or Christian. It is difficult to suppress this through the influence of organized religions. In the past, no one in India doubted the concept of many births. The true intellectuals of ancient India possessed deep knowledge of these subjects. India has a tradition of respecting those who understand otherworldly, extrasensory, and spiritual truths beyond everyday sensory perceptions as true ‘intellectuals.’ However, as the influence of European colonizers—and later, America—intensified, a new trend took root where dismissing such knowledge was deemed the ‘mark of an intellectual.’ A ‘belief’ was spread globally that Western-style ‘science’ is the only path to knowledge.
Consequently, most scientists in India refused to have a look at the subject of rebirth even as an “open subject for study.” Yet, the moment they realized that studies were being conducted by certain people in the West, interest sparked here too! This is not a sign of independent intelligence; it is intellectual slavery.
Many are still under the delusion that studying Donald Duck, Donald Trump, McDonald’s, or Mickey Mouse constitutes ‘real knowledge!’
If one accepts the truth of past lives, they must also accept the possibility of future lives. Then, questions arise: “How are these transitions determined? What forces decide which birth belongs to whom?” One is ‘inevitably’ forced to try and understand the power or system governing these lifetimes! That is precisely the problem for the West. Such inquiries do not fit into Christian frameworks or Communist frameworks. Fearing that their very rational foundations will be shaken, they adopt the dishonest route of evading the issue by dismissing it all as “false stories.” They fear having to accept Sanatan values! There is also a fear that if the existence of intelligent life on other planets is proven, the assertions and beliefs of the Bible, the Quran, and Marxism will collapse.
No matter how excellent the research conducted by Western-style science has been so far, its core nature remains influenced by the rational frameworks laid down by European Christian religion. Various Western philosophies—be it Bacon, Marx, Weber, Popper, Hegel, Freud, or Darwin—cannot be said to have entirely transcended European Christian thinking. Only the common people, untouched by the direct influence of these philosophies, are unconsciously sliding toward the Sanatan methods of open inquiry.
Today, a vast number of ordinary people in the West believe in reincarnation. The Sanatan spiritual word “Karma” entered the English dictionary many years ago. Phrases like “Good Karma” and “Bad Karma” are now used freely in Western writings and speeches. Ironically, many ‘moderns’ in India who had dismissed the word Karma as archaic superstition have quietly begun using it themselves—only after hearing it come out of Western mouths!
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