Reincarnation,the rebirth of a soul in a new body. When I was in my early teens,I watched a Bengali movie,the title was “after Death. ” I was skeptical about it,I didn’t believe there could be such a thing as reincarnation. Recently I watched another movie in Hindi,this one was also about reincarnation.My belief was shaky,I felt maybe there is some truth in it.I chose a poem of Tagore to translate,this one was also related to the same subject.
I am pretty much convinced this is something I could do research on and post it on my blog. I have gathered some information from Dr. Ian Stevenson’s life’s work. The best known collection of scientific data that appears to provide scientific proof that reincarnation is real, is the life’s work of Dr. Ian Stevenson. Stevenson did not rely on hypnosis,he chose to collect thousands of cases of children,who remembered their past life.
One of his cases was a child from India. Her name is Swarnlata. from the time she was three, she gave enough information,to enable Dr. Stevenson to locate the family of the deceased person she remembered.She gave more than fifty specific facts that were verified.
She was born to an intellectual and prosperous family in Pradesh in India in 1948.one day she was travelling with her father past the town of Katni it was more than hundred miles from her home.She was only three years old,she suddenly asked the driver to turn down a road she claimed where she said was,”my house.” She said they can get a better cup of tea there than they could on the road. Soon she began to tell more about her life in Katni. Her father carefully wrote them down. She said her name was Biya Pathak and that she had two sons. She gave a detailed description of the house.She said behind her house was a girl’s school.In front there was a railway line. Everything she said was amazingly accurate.
She said Biya died of a pain in her throat,she gave the name of the doctor who treated her. She also recalled an incident at a wedding when she and her friend had difficulty finding the washroom.
When Swarnlata was ten years old her case reached Professor H.N.Bannerjee. He was an Indian researcher and a colleague of Stevenson.To verify her memory Professor Bannerjee travelled to Katni.From Swarnlata’s description,he found the house.the house was changed a bit.He found out it belonged to the Pathak family.
He interviewed the family and verified everything Swarnlata had said.The Pathaks and the Mishars did not know each other.In 1959 Biya’s son,husband and eldest brother journeyed to Chhatarpur where Swarnlata lived.To test her they did not reveal their identity or purpose of their visit.However they took nine men to accompany them to the Mishar’s home.
Swarnlata instantly recognized her brother and called him “Babu.” Not much is known about the reaction of the parties,as Dr. Stevenson only gave the bare facts.
Swarnlata identified her son,Murli,who tried to trick her,but was not successful.The ten year old went around the room looking at each man,some she knew from her past,others she said were strangers.She recognized Chintamini Pandey,husband of Biya. She reminded Mr. Pandey that he had stolen twelve hundred rupees from Biya’s box. Pandey admitted the truth,this was something only he and his wife knew.
Again to test her, she was taken to a room full strangers and asked whom she recognized. She correctly picked her husband’s cousin. Murli further tested her by introducing her to a man he claimed was his new friend Bhola. Swarnlata could not be deceived,she immediately knew it was actually Naresh, Biya’s second son.
In the years that followed,Swarnlata regularly visited the Pathaks. The pathak brothers and Swarnlata observed the Hindu custom of Rakhi,in which the brothers and sisters annually renew their devotion to each other. The Pathaks did not believe in reincarnation but changed their views of reincarnation and accepted Swarnlata as Biya reborn.
There are reports she grew up normally,received an advance degree in Botany and got married. Once she said she wished she could return to the life of Biya.
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- Ian Stevenson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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