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Past Life Past Lives Reincarnation
One of the philosophies that believes in past lives reincarnation and other births for the soul is the Hindu philosophy. The Hindu philosophy also believes in athma (soul) and karma (deeds). Hindu religious scriptures say that the soul never dies but merely changes body or form, much as one might shed old clothes for new.
This differs greatly from Christianity, which has as its focus Christ's resurrection. The Hindus state that the soul can take any form, whether man, woman or animal. The deeds one does in one's present life, or karma, will dictate what happens to someone in the next life.
Several scriptures and the Hindu religion talk about past lives reincarnation extensively. Notably, a major one of these is the Bhrigu Sanhit, which apparently had an accounting of the future and past lives for all living souls. This scripture has been lost over the centuries, however.
In regard to modern-day reincarnation theory, Dr. Ian Stevenson has collected some compelling data. Even though modern science scoffs at the idea of past lives reincarnation, Dr. Stevenson believed in it. Therefore, although it can't be said that his data is the most respected scientific data on the theory, it's very famous and his cases are very well documented because Dr. Stevenson held a degree in medicine and was a psychiatrist.
Unlike today's past life regression therapists, though, Dr. Stevenson didn't put his patients into trance or hypnotize them. Instead, he interviewed children who had spontaneous recollections of the incidents they experienced in their past lives.
Among the most famous and puzzling of these cases was that of a small boy, six years old, who came from a small village in Punjab. The little boy claimed that he had been a man named Satnam Singh in a past life, and could even minutely described the man's village of of Chakkchela; that was true even though the child had never been there.
The family tried to discourage the boy from saying these things, but he nonetheless continued to say that his name was Satnam. He even told others what the man's father's name had been. Further, the boy said that he had been killed in a motorcycle accident as he was heading home from school. This claim was investigated and it was absolutely found that there had been a man named Satnam Singh, and he had been killed precisely as the boy said he had been. The young boy also revealed intimate details about the family, and these also checked out to be accurate. The most amazing part of this was when the handwriting of the young boy and the handwriting of the deceased man were compared, and were found to be absolutely identical.
Another startling case from Stevenson's files involved that of a young girl, three years old, named Swarnalata. This child remembered that she had been a young woman named Biya Pathak, and could vividly described the house that she lived in. In fact, when she and her father were traveling one day, she led her father directly to the property and even said that she had lived in the area; further, she said that they could get a better cup of tea in that house than they could on the road. Her recollections were completely validated, however, when the little girl recognized the young woman's brother, and addressed him by a pet name the young woman had had for him, from a group of nine people.
Stevenson lists dozens of these cases in his data, and also states that in some cases, when there has been a physical trauma in the last life, it can manifest in the form of a birthmark in the next life. A man from Thailand seemed to illustrate this; he recollected that he was his own deceased maternal uncle, reincarnated. And indeed, this man had a scar on his head that was located in the exact same place as a knife wound his uncle had died from.
Another well-known case of Stevenson's was that of a boy who claimed to be a man called MahaRam in a past life. This man had been killed by close gunshots to the chest, and the boy carried similar scar-like birthmarks on his chest that looked like gunshot wounds.
Many psychiatrists and other eminent authorities in psychology and psychiatry believe in rebirth as a legitimate concept, including Dr. Brian Weiss, who is considered to be the father of past life regression. However, science continues to be very skeptical about it. Nonetheless, it's also worth noting that when many people undergo a few sessions of past life regression therapy, they experience the sudden disappearance of phobias and fears they've had their entire lives.
The Truth About Past Lives Reincarnation
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