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Past Lives, Regression And Other Tools
For those who believe in past lives reincarnation, they believe that the soul goes through reincarnation and other births life after life. Among those who believe in this are those who practice the Hindu religion. The Hindu religion states that reincarnation happens because of the soul or athma, and because of karma, or the deeds one does during one's life. Hindu scriptures state that the soul doesn't die, and only can change from one form to the next; this is similar, for example, to the way one might simply shed old clothes for new.
This is very different from Christianity's view of reincarnation, which focuses on Christ's resurrection. The Hindus state that the soul can inhabit any form, man, woman or animal. The deeds or karma of a human being in one life dictate what's going to be his or her life in the next.
There are several Hindu scriptures that speak very much about past lives reincarnation. Notable among these is the Bhrigu Sanhita, which apparently had a complete accounting of both past and future births for all living souls. Unfortunately, this scripture has been lost over time.
One of the most compelling past lives reincarnation experts on rebirth is Dr. Ian Stevenson. His data is famous and compelling because he had a background in modern medicine; he held a degree in medicine, and was a psychiatrist. This is especially notable considering that modern science discounts rebirth as a legitimate claim. Therefore, it can't be stated that this is the most notable source of scientific information on reincarnation is theory, just the most famous and well documented.
Dr. Stevenson didn't put patients under trances or into hypnotic states, however, as many modern day past life regression therapists do. Instead, he simply interviewed children who spontaneously recalled things they had experienced in past lives.
Most noted and perplexing among these cases was that of a small child, a boy, six years old, from a small village in Punjab. This child claimed that he had been a man named Satnam Singh; further, he could vividly describe the man's village of Chakkchela, even though the boy had never actually been there.
The family was nonplussed by this, and tried to dissuade the boy from saying such things, but the boy continued to insist that he was Satnam and even told people what the man's father's name had been. The boy described his death by saying that he had been killed in a motorcycle accident as he was coming home from school. The boy's story was investigated, and was found to be absolutely true; indeed, a man named Satnam Singh had been killed in a motorcycle accident on the way home from school. This little boy also revealed very personal details about the family, which also turned out to be true. Most amazingly, though, the handwriting of the young boy and Satnam Singh were compared, and found to be 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 files contain literally dozens of these cases. He also states that it can often happen that a trauma in the last birth can take form in the next life as a birthmark. One subject certainly had this happen to him. He recalled that he was his deceased maternal uncle, and a scar on his head proved to be a match to the knife wound his uncle had died from, also on his uncle's head in the same location.
Another astonishing case was when a little boy claimed to remember a past life in which he had been a man named MahaRam, who had been shot and killed at close range in the chest. And indeed, this young boy had birthmarks on his chest that looked like scars from 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.
Why Should You Understand Past Lives Reincarnation?
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