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Past Lives, Regression And Other Tools
Past lives reincarnation is a theory whereby the soul goes through reincarnation and other births; the Hindu religion dictates that this happens because of karma (the deeds one does during one's life) and the soul or athma. Hindu religious scriptures dictate that the soul does not die, and only changes from one form to the next, and just as one might change clothes that have worn out for newer ones.
This is a very different philosophy from that of Christian theory of reincarnation, which focuses on the resurrection of Christ. It is believed that the soul can take any form, whether man, woman, or animal. The deeds or karma of the human being in the present life are what determines the kind of life that person will have in the next life.
Several Hindu scriptures talk about past lives reincarnation. Most notable among these is the Bhrigu Sanhita, which supposedly held an accounting of all past and future births for souls then currently living. It's unfortunate, then, that the scripture was lost over time.
A proponent of modern rebirth has been Dr. Ian Stevenson, who has collected much information on this subject. Science in general still frowns on the concept of rebirth as valid, so it can't be said that modern science supports this collection of 'scientific information' on reincarnation theory. Nonetheless, Stevenson's work is the most famous and well documented, not least because Dr. Stevenson was a psychiatrist with a degree in medicine.
Today, most past life regression therapists use hypnosis or induce trance in subjects to get them to recall past lives. However, Dr. Stevenson didn't do any of these things. Instead, he simply talked to children who spontaneously recalled things that happened to them in their past lives.
Among the most well-known and puzzling cases was that of a child, a young boy, six years old, from a tiny village in Punjab. This child claimed that he had been Satnam Singh, a man from a village that the boy named as Chakkchela; the boy claimed to have lived there as Satnam Singh, even though he actually had not been there himself. Additionally, the boy could describe Chakkchela in minute detail.
The boy's family tried to dissuade him from making such statements, but he continued to claim that his name was Satnam, even going so far as to reveal the name of the man's father. As Satnam, he said that he had been killed while coming home from school on his motorcycle. This claim was investigated and was indeed found to be true, that a man named Satnam Singh had indeed been killed thusly. The boy also revealed other intimate details about the man's family that checked out to be true. The final proof was when the man's handwriting was compared to the young boy's, and they proved identical.
Stephenson's collection also includes another popular account of past lives reincarnation, from a young girl named Swarnalata. This little girl was just three years old and vividly remembered her past life as a young woman she called Biya Pathak. The little girl described the house he lived in and took her father to the house one day when they were out. The child went so far as to suggest that she'd lived there, and that they could have a better cup of tea if they went into that house than they could get on the road. The 'clincher' for this case was when the little girl recognized the young woman's brother, and addressed him by his pet name from among nine people.
Stevenson's work records dozens of incidents like these. Stevenson further states that if one is injured in a past life, the injury can manifest in the next life as a birthmark. This was indeed found to be true for one case that involved a man from Thailand; this man said that he was in fact his own now-dead uncle (his mother's brother) and had been reincarnated. The man bore a scar on his head that matched the location where his uncle had sustained a fatal wound from a knife.
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 psychologists, as well as of eminent authorities, believe that past life regression is indeed plausible. Among them, Dr. Brian Weiss is considered to be the father of past life regression. Even though science remains skeptical about it, it's also worth noting that many people experience a complete disappearance of fears and phobias they've carried their entire lives after they've undergone several sessions of past life regression therapy.
Past Lives Reincarnation And Your New Life
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