Thursday 16 July 2009

Reincarnation -Part 4

As we looked into the detailed history of reincarnation,let us now see specific cases which has been world accepted as true cases of reincarnation.For readers benefit I have reduced the volume of the story but nevertheless I have retained the best part of the story and this excerpt is taken from Ian Stevenson book on past lives .
The case history of Sukla Gupta, a little girl from West Bengal is one of 3000 in the files of Dr.Stevenson. When Sukla was a year and half old and barely able to talk, she used to cradle a pillow and address it “Minu, Minu,” she said, was her daughter. Sukla over the next three years also recalled her previous life events, which indicated Minu to be her daughter in her previous life. Sukla was the daughter of a railway worker in Kampa, a village in West Bengal. Sukla often talked not only about her daughter, Minu but also about her husband, the father of Minu. She also talked about his younger brothers Khetu and Karuna . They all lived, she said, at Rathtala in Bhatpara. Sukla’s family, the Guptas, knew little about Bhatpar, that it was a city about 11 miles south. But, they had never heard of a place called Rathtala, nor of people Sukla had named.
Yet Sukla developed a desire to go there, and she insisted that if her parents didn’t take her she would go alone. K.N.Sen Gupta, Sukla’s father, talked about the matter with some friends. He also mentioned it to one of his railway co-workers, S.C.Pal, an assistant station master. Pal lived near Bhatpara and had two cousins there. Through his cousins he learned that Bhatpara indeed had a district called Rathtala. He also learned of a man there named Khetu. Khetu had a sister in law named Mana who died several years before, in 1948, leaving behind an infant daughter named Minu. SenGupta decided to investigate further. With the consent of that family, he arranged for a visit to Rathtala. Sukla said that she could show the way to the house. So in 1959, when Sukla was about five, Sen Gupta and five other members of his family journeyed with her to Bhatapra.
When they arrived, Sukla took the lead. Avoiding possible wrong turns, she brought them straight to the house of Amritlal Chakravarty, her supposed father in law in her past life. As the party approached, Chakravarty happened to be out on the street. When Sukla saw him, she looked down shyly, following the usual custom for a young woman in the presence of older male relative. But when Sukla went to enter the house she was confused. She didn’t seem to be at the right entrance. Her confusion however made sense. After the death of Mana (Sukla’s name in her previous life), the entrance had been moved from the main street to an ally on the side. And the party soon found that Sukla recognized not only the house, but also the people in it, including those she said were her mother in law, her brother in law, her husband and her daughter. In side house, Sukla found herself in room with some 20 to 30 people. When she was asked, can you point out your husband, she correctly indicated Chakravarty.
Another fascinating case involved a five year old by named Imad who claimed that he lived a former life as a man named Ibrahim, in a village 25 kilometers from his own home in Lebanon. When Stevenson questioned Imad on little details of Ibrahim’s life and the village he lived in, the boy was correct on 51 of the 57 questions asked. Imad also correctly gave Ibrahim’s dying words, spoken some ten years before his own birth, named members of his family and constantly spoke affectionately of Ibrahim’s mistress, Jarmille.
with all the proof in their hand the sad part is the regular scientist still do not accept the fact that reincarnation does happen.when i look at the child narrating its past life all that goes on in my mind is the suffering that the soul has undergone and even the bodily torture that the the baby has undergone to survive and be born again only to narrate the story still people don't accept.
srimad bhagavatam narrates the life of the child inside the mother's womb like this:
“For months the human fetus lies cramped within the darkness of the womb, suffering severely, scorched by the mother’s gastric fire, continually jolted by sudden movements, and feeling constant pressure from being contained in the small amnion, which surrounds the body in the womb. This tight, constricting pocket forces the child’s back to arch constantly like a bow. Further, the unborn child is tormented by hunger and thirst and is bitten again and again all over the body by the hungry worms in the abdomen itself, the child suffers terrible agony because of his tenderness. He thus becomes unconscious moment after moment because of the terrible condition. Owing to the mother’s eating bitter, pungent foodstuffs, or food which is too salty or too sour, the body of the child incessantly suffers pains which are almost intolerable.”
ok. coming back to the story of reincarnation, how can it be identified?
again I take my knowledge from Ian stevenson who clearly says that birth marks and wound of deceased person will recur in rebirth.
Most of the cases where birthmarks and congenital deformities are present for which no medical explanations exist have one to five characteristics in common.
1.In the most unusual scenario, it is possible that someone who believed in reincarnation expressed a wish to be reborn to a couple or one partner of a couple.
2.More frequent than this are the occurrences of prophetic dreams. Someone who has died appears to a pregnant or not as yet pregnant woman and tells her that he or she will be reborn to her.
3.The body of a newborn child is checked for recognizable marks to establish whether the deceased person they had once known has been reborn to them.
4.The most frequently occurring event or common denominator relating to rebirth is probably that of a child remembering a past life. Children usually begin to talk about their memories between the ages of two and four.
5.Many with past-life memories show abilities or talents that they had in their previous lives.
Let me end this post with the verses from the gita:
"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again" –Lord Krsna [Bhagavad-gita 8.16]
while making this post Gita has come to my rescue and it also has given me a new beginning. I could feel its impact on me.Do you feel its impact on you? If so,those who are already reading the Gita continue reading,and those of you who haven't started ,it could be a good start for you today.
May the Lord shower his blessings on all those who follow His path.

14 comments:

  1. Really interesting. I would like to know why some people can remember their past and others are not able to remember anything - Like me :-) --- Can you please explain?

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  3. This is a question related to a previous blog on "Does GOD really punish the wrong doers?". What is the purpose of GOD creating humans and watching over us as a third umpire?

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  4. this is for anu:
    The athma is supposed to have shed the past life and take a new form.just before death the human mind erases out everything related to its life and the athma carries only the karma with it as a deposit to start a new life.this is the natural process.
    so u come under the natural process.
    there are cases where the athma carries the experiences also.It could be for several reasons.only when it carries with it the experiences does a person remember such things. most of the cases the occurence is at the age of 3 or 4.That is b'cos the mind is still fresh with the previous experience and it is unpolluted in the present life .As one grows the memory dies down or when the deed or purpose is over the memory dies down.

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  5. This is for Raghu:
    good question?
    God created us so that he could distribute his goodness to all.It is like the roses asking one another why is the gardener looking after us so well.
    the second part is why is he umpiring over us.He created us spread his holiness and goodness but along the way the negative energies creeped in and diverted the path of mankind.God walked in front showing mankind the path when he turned around to see if everyone was following him he found few of them were left behind so he stood there waiting for them to come and join. As he was waiting he was guiding them by words of how to reach him and standing at a distance it looked like umpiring but he was not umpiring but guiding us through.It is a beautiful experience to be close to God and experience his love for mankind.
    I hope I answered your question.

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  6. Thanks aunty....It definitely answered my question..I have another question on reincarnation..If a person is a Hindu in one life and he has to undergo reincarnation due to bad karma...Does he have to be born as a Hindu again?

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  7. I would like to add to Raghu's question and wanted to know if we always return as humans.

    -Ramesh

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  8. if god has only created goodness and who or how did the negative energies evolve?

    -Ramesh

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  9. Is it out of wish, or does a woman get reborn as a woman, and a man as a man? What is the importance of the gender to an athma, other than the need of it to fulfill its karma. This also relates to Raghu's and Ramesh's question.

    When does a fetus get a soul - in the mother's womb itself, or at the instant of birth? I have still not clearly understood that. It seems that an unborn child suffers within the womb - why?.

    If the body is discarded, why would any previous birthmarks or deformity manifest itself as a congenital defect in the next birth?

    What all are the attributes of an athma (I mean does it possess happiness, sorrow, hunger, pain and physical feelings)?

    So many questions, so much confusion!

    Latha

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  10. NO. not necessary.he can be born into any religion any caste and any culture.there are evidence to quote that people born in one religion was in a different religion in another birth.In the eyes of God all living things are equal but one's karma always pushs them to take the life of humans b'cos that is the most suffered life on earth.

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  11. It is law of conservation of energy.we all know that.toatl energy in this universe is constant. negative energy is generated due to our actions.it all started in the prehistoric days when the way of life determined their religious beliefs.so that triggered the negative energies and our modern technology and our behaviour patterns added fuel to the fire.

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  12. this is for latha:
    the athma has no genders.anyone could be born as anyone. if u ask a man he will say a woman's life is better. if u ask a woman she will say that a man's life is better.
    if u go back into history our society was designed like that only. men are physically very strong .so they hunted and did the physical labour and women were meant to rear kids and look after the family.
    as generations passed by the women's liberation fiasco started and then everything changed.so it is the behaviour of human race that has brought about the changes not the athma or God.
    Athma enters the body only at the time of birth.The unborn child is getting lessons inside the mother's womb about the survival and the problems it has to face outside. the child is being prepared emotionally and physically that is the reason we always say that the pregnant mother should be happy and think of all the good things and always feel that the baby inside her is special,so indirectly u r forming the child's nature and character and the feeling of insecurity is not there in the child even it has loving parents. time and again it is assured that everything is alright. so i would say it is preparation for life inside the womb.
    read my earlier post i have explained the attributes of athma

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  13. Asha I do firmly believe in Reincarnation.A soul is reincarnated again and again so that it can purify itself to the maximum.But the Maya or illusion and karmas will make us forget which is again a thick sheet covering the soul.The process of removing dirt ???is life???
    Roopa

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  14. "In the eyes of God all living things are equal but one's karma always pushs them to take the life of humans b'cos that is the most suffered life on earth."
    Very well said aunty!!!!! It is very very true. Apart from suffering physically, we suffer mentally(depression, getting upset) as well.

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