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Past Lives Reincarnation And Your New Life
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.
Christianity has a very different viewpoint of reincarnation, focusing on Christ's resurrection instead. In Hinduism, the soul can inhabit any form, woman, man, even animal. The karma, or deeds of the human being, dictate what the next life will hold for that person.
Several scriptures in the Hindu religion talk about past lives reincarnation extensively. One of the most notable of these is the Bhrigu Sanhita. This scripture apparently had an accounting for everyone on earth, both for past and future births. However, this scripture has been lost to the ages.
Most compellingly, Dr. Ian Stevenson has collected modern rebirth data. Although scientists still frown on the claims of rebirth, such that it cannot be said that modern science respects so-called 'scientific information' on reincarnation theory, Stevenson's work is the most well-documented and famous; not least, that was because Dr. Stevenson had a degree in medicine and was a psychiatrist.
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.
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 dissuade the boy from telling people about this, but he continued to claim that he was Satnam; he also gave the name of this man's father. He also said that he had been killed in his past life as he was coming home from school in a motorcycle accident. The boy's claims were investigated and were indeed found to be true, insofar that a man by that name had indeed been killed in a motorcycle accident on the way home from school. The boy was also able to give intimate family details, and these, too, proved to be accurate. What was most notable, though, was that when the man's and the boy's handwriting samples were compared, they were found to be identical.
Another popular account from Stevenson's collection about past lives reincarnation came from a young girl named Swarnalata. This little girl was just three years old, but nonetheless, she could recall her life as a young woman named Biya Pathak very vividly. She described the house she had lived in, and in fact took her father there one day when they were traveling. The child even said that she'd lived there, and that they could get a better cup of tea in that house than they could have if they'd got it on the road. What sealed this case was that the little girl recognized Biya Pathak's brother, and called him by a pet name from among nine people.
Stephenson's files contain dozens of these types of cases. He further states that when an injury is caused in one life, it can often manifest in the next life in the form of a birthmark, in the same location. As one example, a man from Thailand recalled that he was the reincarnation of his deceased maternal uncle. This man had a scar in the exact location where his uncle had suffered a fatal knife wound, to his head.
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.
Past Lives Remembered
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