During past three decades, Dr. Stevenson has collected about 3000 cases that showed evidences indicating that people have remembered their past lives. Stevenson concentrates his efforts on children because their stories are far less likely to be tainted than those of adults who claim to have memories of former lives. Ajeet K Mall (05-22-04)
Children are more pure, less contaminated by experiences and exposure to things that might influence them. Many of the best cases Stevenson has examined are those of children who begin to tell of former lives between the ages of two and five. These children tell very specific tales of their former lives, often including their names, the names of relatives and the names of the towns they lived in. In each case, Dr. Stevenson methodically documents the child's statements. Then he identifies the deceased person the child remembers being, and verifies the facts of the deceased person's life that match the child's memory. He even matches birthmarks and birth defects to wounds and scars on the deceased, verified by medical records. His strict methods systematically rule out all possible "normal" explanations for the child’s memories. More details: www.childpastlives.org/stevenson.ht m
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 corre
Answered by
Vipan Thapar
, an ibibo Master,
at
6:46 PM on November 10, 2008
