Rebirth-A RECORD OF SOME INTERESTING CASES

(Extracted from  "What Becomes Of The Soul After Death" By Sri Swami Sivananda)



Soldier Castor, the Burmese speaker—George Castor, related some of his past experiences in the Sunday Express, London, (1935). He was a soldier born in 1889. From his boyhood he was speaking while asleep in Burmese. In 1907 he joined the army. In 1909 when he was 20, he was transferred to Maymyo (Burma) and there he felt that he had seen the land, lived in it, spoken the Burmese tongue, known the Irrawaddy and he told Lance Corporal Carrigon that on the other side of the Irrawaddy, there was a large temple with a huge crack in the wall from top to bottom and nearby a large bell—a statement that was found true to the letter.

* * *

An 18 year old boy of Jhamapukhur (Calcutta) was on his death-bed. The boy’s parents had thrown themselves at the feet of a Sadhu Purusha but, at the same time, had tried other means for the boy’s cure. The aunt of the boy blamed the Sadhu Purusha saying that faith in the Sadhu was killing him. At this the boy burst out:
“The Sadhu Purusha is not to blame. You could not put your trust in him. What has befallen me is nothing, when my past Karma is considered. A thousand times more should I suffer. In my past life, I worked in a Railway office and murdered a person, I cut him to pieces. Oh! how I pained him. Where will that Karma go?
“All this happened about 50 years ago when the Suke Street Thana was in charge of a reputed officer who was known as ‘Kana’ sergeant as he was blind in one eye. He succeeded in arresting me, I escaped the gallows but got hard labour.”
Then addressing his mother the boy said: “Mother, I am going now. Do you know why? The person who is sleeping in the other room (referring to his father) was my son in my last birth. He did all he could to make me miserable. To make him feel the consequence of his past Karma I am now born as his son. He must now himself feel the pain and sorrow a son can inflict on his father. Karma can never be evaded and must always be endured.”
(Enquiry showed that Suke Street Thana was actually in charge of an officer who was famous all over the city as the blind sergeant and who retired about 50 years ago).

* * *

Hill, the South American explorer—Mr. Hill writes to the Editor of the ‘People’: “I had a strong belief that certain parts of South America were familiar to me. I had a recurring dream that I was an explorer wandering alone in a tropical forest when suddenly a band of dark-skinned men appeared to whom I spoke in their tongue. But for some reason they became angry and their leaders struck me. Eventually, I became a steward in the Royal Mail Liners and went to South America. There, I found myself anticipating the names of obscure streets and buildings with accuracy, and I felt as I made my way about Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Buenos Aires that I had surely walked there before. On one voyage we took on board a Danish author at Santos. One day he sent for me to come to his cabin, and said: ‘Steward, you are the victim of a remarkable coincidence or something far stranger.’
“Then he showed me a human head taken by him from the head-hunters of Amazon, reduced by a secret process to half of its normal size and preserved. I shuddered. I know I was looking at an exact counterpart of my own face.”

* * *

Bajitpur Postal Clerk’s Son (Advance 15 Jul. 1936)—a three year-old son of a postal clerk of Bajitpur (Faridpur) began to cry one day and insisted on going to his own home. In reply to a question, he said:
“I am an inhabitant of Fazilpur in Chittagong. From Luxum Railway Station a road leads to my village. I have three sons and four daughters there. The Kalibari of Meher is not very far off from my residence. It is at the Meher Kalibari that Sarvananda realised salvation. There is no image of Kali. There is a big banyan tree and worship is held at its root.”
There is also a very tall palm tree. The father of the boy had never been to Chittagong or Luxum station or to Meher Kalibari. The boy sometimes sings songs which he had never heard.

* * *

A Hungarian girl forgets her parents—in 1933, a 15-year-old Hungarian daughter of an engineer lay on her death-bed at Budapest. Apparently she died, but recovered a little later, forgot her native Hungarian language completely and began to speak Spanish only. She could not recognise even her parents whom she referred to as: “These nice people here are very kind to me, but they are not my parents as they pretend to be.” To a Spanish interpreter, she said: “I am Senore Lucid Attarezde Salvio. I was the wife of a working man in Madrid and had 14 children. I was 40 years old and rather sick. A few years ago I died, at least thought I was dying. Now I have recovered in this strange country.”
She is singing Spanish songs, preparing special Spanish food and giving graphic descriptions of Madrid where she has never been.

* * *

Jung Bahadur’s daughter (Delhi)—Shanta, an 8-year old girl of Lala Jung Bahadur, a merchant of Delhi, used to say, ever since she could talk—that in her former life she was married to a man of Mathura whose address she gave. When her former husband was informed of it, he sent his brother whom the girl identified instantly. Then her husband came and she recognised him at once, and told him facts which were known only to him and his former wife. She also told him that she had buried one hundred rupees at a certain place in her home.

* * *

Devi Prasad’s child, Kanpur (Amrita Bazar Patrika 1 May 1938)—A five-year-old child of one Devi Prasad Bhatnagar, living in Premnagar, Kanpur, says that in his previous birth his name was Sivadayal Muktas and that he had been murdered during the Kanpur riots in 1931 when he was decoyed by two Muslim friends to a house and there murdered. One day the child insisted on going to his old house where he said his former wife was lying ill. He was taken there and he at once recognised his wife, his children and other articles.

* * *

Recites the Gita at one year and a half—correspondent from Prayagraj reports (A.B. Patrika):
“A three-year-old boy at Jhansi can reproduce from memory the whole Srimad Bhagavadgita and Ramayana and his pronunciation is perfect. The boy was trying in vain to speak something since he attained the age of 5 months and at the age of one year and a half he recited to his hearers the Gita, etc.”

* * *

A five-year-old child and Piano (People 20 Jun. 1937)—A five-year-old Blackpool child would rather play the Piano than play with a doll. She has never had a lesson, yet she plays brilliantly. She can play in perfect tune any melody she hears and she adds a tune or two of her own composition.

* * *

Barrister’s daughter (Calcutta)—The daughter of a barrister of the Calcutta High Court, when only 3 year old, could clean the house floors excellently. On being asked she said:
“I used to clean the floors in my father-in-law’s house in Beldanga where only myself, my father-in-law and one of his daughters lived. I used to perform Puja and cook Thakurji’s Bhog. There was a Dole Mancha in my father-in-law’s house. On the Dole Yatra Day we used to put Thakurji on a swing and smear him profusely with Avir.”
The child lives in strict Achara and does not eat or sleep with her parents who are anglicised and therefore untouchables. Her food is separately cooked.
These facts can be easily verified even now.
With strongest ties to the earth, with desires and affections hovering over earthly scenes, the generality of persons are reborn on earth, immediately after death. They do not sojourn in other planes of existence. Some of them, as it does happen, though rarely, remember their immediate past incarnation. Here are two from the many cases published in the Fate magazine, in the year 1954.
Anne, aged four, said to her father: “Daddy, I have been here on earth lots of times.”
When he laughed, Anne became indignant. “I was! I was! I was!” she cried, stamping her foot, “Once I went to Canada as a man. I remember my name even. It was Lishus Faber. I was a soldier and I took the gates!”
After months of research, a historian found the evidence of a battle in Canada in which a single soldier had “taken the gates” as Anne had said.
The name of the lieutenant was Aloysius La-Febre—Lishus Faber as pronounced by Anne.

* * *

Visvanath, born in Bareilly, began at the age of three to give minute details of a previous life in a town called Pilibhit. His parents, fearing that this meant he was going to die young did their best to conceal their son’s story.
The boy named the school to which he had gone in Pilibhit in his previous existence and said they had a neighbour named Lala Sunder Lal who had a green gate, a sword and he described the parties which this wealthy man had given.
To test him the boy was taken to this distant town, which he had never visited before in his present life. Here he correctly pointed out various parts of his original home, now in ruins, including a hidden stairway. Shown a group photograph, he correctly pointed out a man as his former uncle, Har Narain, and finally pointed to himself—a boy sitting amidst the group.
Every detail was found to be correct. His own identity was established as Laxmi Narain, who had died of tuberculosis at the age of 32.
Laxmi Narain’s mother was still living. She asked little Visvanath numerous questions to test his memory. He answered every question correctly without a moment’s hesitation.

Strange Case Of Transmigration Of A Soul

MORADABAD, August 23.—Quite a sensation has been caused following the arrival here on August 15 of a boy named Pramod from Bisauli, district Badaun, who revealed the incidents of his previous life which were found accurate to the minutest detail. Thousands of people, including several prominent figures of the city, visited him during the two days of his stay here and a clear case of transmigration of soul was established in the end.
The boy, aged five and a half years, said that he was Parama Nand, brother of B. Mohanlal, Proprietor of the renowned catering Firm of Messers. Mohan Brothers, having branches in Saharanpur and Moradabad, and he died at Saharanpur on May 9, 1943, following a chronic pain in the stomach.
Born at Bisauli on March 15, 1944, just nine months and six days after the death of Parama Nand, as son of Babu Bankey Lal Sharma Shastri, M.A., Professor in Inter College, Bisauli, the boy as early as he could pronounce the words, uttered clearly the name of Mohan, Moradabad and Saharanpur, and later also pronounced the words Mohan Brothers. Whenever he saw his relations purchasing biscuits and butter he said he had a big biscuit factory in Moradabad. Whenever he saw big shops in the market he said that his shop in Moradabad was bigger than any other shop. He used to insist on his parents now and then to take him to Moradabad. The name of the boy as entered in his Janma Kundali (horoscope) by the Pundits was also Paramanand, a strange coincidence, but the name of his elder brother being Varmod, he also began to be called as Parmod. But the child always insisted that he was Parama Nand, that he had his brothers, sons, daughter and wife at Moradabad.

Mohan Lal Moves

It so happened that early this year, one Lala Raghunandan Lal of Bisauli told one of his relatives living in Moradabad about the boy and his assertions regarding his relationship with the Mohan Brothers. Thereupon, the relations concerned told the whole story to Sri Mohanlal, the proprietor of the firm. Sri Mohanlal, together with some of his relatives, visited Bisauli last July and met the boy’s father. The boy was, however, away in some distant village with some of his relatives and therefore could not be seen. Sri Mohanlal requested Prof. Bankey Lal to bring the boy to Moradabad and the request was acceded. It was promised that the professor would bring the boy to Moradabad during the forthcoming Independence Day Holidays.
On August 15, on alighting from the train, the boy at once recognised his brother and embraced him. On the way from the station to the residence of Sri Mohanlal the boy recognised the Town Hall and said that his shop was now near at hand. When the tonga was by-passing the shop, as arranged, in order to test the boy, he at once asked the tonga to be stopped before the shop of Mohan Brothers. Then he stepped towards the house situated in front of the shop and got into the room where the late Parama Nand used to keep his articles of worship and cash box.
On entering the room he bowed in salutation. It was a very pathetic scene when he recognised his former wife and other relations and recalled several incidents of his past life which concerned them. All agreed that the incidents were true. The boy could not, however, recognise his former eldest son, now 17 years, who was only 13 when Parama Nand died. When the boy recalled that all the brothers used to sit together and drink lemons, etc., all the brothers and others present began to weep.

To Soda Machine

The boy then expressed his desire to go to his “gaddi” and on entering the shop went to the soda machine and explained the process of manufacturing aerated water, a thing which he had never seen in his present life. He told that the water connection had been stopped, as it had really been done in order to test his memory.
The boy then expressed his wish to go to Victory Hotel, owned by Sri Karam Chand, a cousin of Parama Nand. He led the way to the building and to the upper storey and at once exclaimed that the rooms at present constructed on the roof were not there before.
Sahu Nandlal Saran, the premier citizen of Moradabad, took the boy in his car to the Meston Park, and asked him to locate the place where his civil lines branch had once been. He thereupon led the company to the Gujarati Building, owned by Sahu Nandlal Saran, and pointed out the shop where once the branch of Mohan Brothers had been. On his way to the Meston Park the boy recognised the Allahabad Bank, Water Works and District Jail.
It may be noted that throughout his excursions to the different places in the city, done either to fulfil his wish to see places connected with his past life or to test his memory, a large number of persons were present and it was a sight worth seeing. Everybody was moved. The boy recognised several other places and persons who used to visit the shop during his past life.

At the Public Meeting

A large public meeting was held on August 16 at the Arya Samaj where the boy’s father, Prof. Bankey Lal, explained the development of the boy’s memory since his childhood.
It was with great difficulty that the boy was taken back from Moradabad. As he was not willing to go away from his old relations and the shop, he was carried away in the early hours of August 17 while asleep.
A deep impression has been created upon those gentlemen here who do not believe either in God or in the transmigration of soul. As a gentleman told me, “No explanation is necessary for those who believe, no explanation is possible for those who do not.”
There is no need to mention that neither the boy nor his father ever visited Moradabad previously. The tone, the unhesitating manner and the correctness of details narrated by him were found to be absolutely fool-proof and not even once did he falter.
About twelve years ago, a similar, rather more remarkable event took place in Delhi, when Shanti Devi, aged nine years, was taken to Mathura where she identified her former husband, her house and many other details connected with her previous life.

—“Amrita Bazar Patrika”, Aug., 1949.