Memories of past lives
How can one experience the memories of past life?
Jainism does not believe in God as creator of the world but he has acknowledged His divine status as the Holy Entity to be worshiped for his great accomplishment of self-realization. Through this self-realisation, he has revealed how behind all these mysteries the law of ‘karma’.
Even the mystery of recovery of the past memories is explained by reference to one of the five-fold categories of knowledge called “Matignana” which is purely the area of inner mental functioning. If this knowledge is obscured by the layers of the atoms of this kind of karma, the soul is incapacitated from recapturing any previous recollections pertaining to the past births.
On the contrary, in cases where due to some circumstantial cause these obscuring coverings of ‘karma’ are sufficiently destroyed. Such fortunate souls do recover the power to remember their previous births (lives).
Documented modern reincarnation stories
For the Para-psychology Branch of the Science of the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Dr. H. N. Banerji has been appointed as the Head and entrusted with research in this field of rebirths or extra-sensory perception (E.S.P.).
Let us here present a few examples of episodes, which have been recorded as facts and which help us to prove the genuineness of the constancy of the soul and the theory of rebirth, on the anvil of a scientific test.
1. NEKATTY OF TURKEY
There is an episode of Turkey which is one of the research cases studied by Dr. Banerji.
A 17 years old boy called “Nekatty” was residing in the town of Edana in Turkey. His full name reads Nekatty Unlukaskiron. This boy born in a poor family can recollect the episodes of his previous birth. When he was born, his parents named him Malek. On the third day since his birth, his mother had a dream in which she saw her newly born child begging her to change his name from Malek to Nessip. The parents, however, changed his name into Nekatty.
No sooner did Nekatty learn to speak that he had commenced talking about his experiences related to events in his previous births, he said, “In my past life I was Nessip Budak. I lived in Merseen where I was murdered.”
As Nekatty grew in age, he narrated more episodes of his past life. He once added, “I was married in my previous birth and had children. My wife’s name was Zehra. Nazar, my son, was the apple of my eye, very dear to me. I was murdered by Ahmed Renkly. The reason was just this, a trifle. Ahmed had asked me to prepare his tea and fetch it to his house. I failed to do so which irritated him so much that he killed me in violent anger. He used the sharp sickle by which he wounded several parts of my body-the back of my head, my face, eyes, chest and stomach”
When he was taken to the house of Nessip Budak, he immediately identified Zehra, his wife and his children. He even addressed them with their correct names. The interesting thing was that Nekatty (former Nessip) could not tell the name of his youngest daughter because she was a posthumous child, born after his murder.
He even referred to his quarrel with Zehra and said, “I had wounded her in the leg in anger with a knife”. When her leg was observed in the light of this information, it clearly had borne the long scar of the wound. Nekatty added, “I was murdered.” Zehra corroborated the fact saying. “Yes, it was raining heavily on that day.”
Now this story of Nessip or Nekatty which has been believed to be a fact of reincarnation has shocked the Muslim world but substantiated the truth of it inspite of the fact that Islam does not support rebirth. What better or stronger evidence is needed than this that in a country like Turkey, the Muslim children themselves should talk of past incarnations with their vivid memories of the episodes in the past life?
2. A YOUNG BOY KAREEMULLAH
Here is another episode from a Muslim family which leaves no room for doubt about the theory of reincarnation and the soul’s immortality.
The story refers to the period after the political partition of India. It even took place in a town called Barella in northern India. A gentleman by name “Hasmat Ali Ansari” was appointed as a private tutor to the son of a zamindar called Ikram Ali.
Once upon a time Hasmat Ali was accompanied by his 5 year old child, Kareemullah, to the house of the zamindar. As soon as the tutor’s young boy entered the zamindar’s haveli, he was overjoyed. He went straight into the house, and moved at ease as if it belonged to him. He encountered the zamindar’s widowed daughter, Fatima in it. Within a moment he rushed to her and holding her hand he said, “Oh Fatima! You are my wife, how is it you are here?”
The instant she heard him alling her by name, she was stunned. First, he freely went round the whole house visiting all the rooms without expecting any escort. When he entered his (past) wife’s-Fatima’s room he immediately occupied his usual chair (which he must have used in his previous birth) and addressed her father, ‘Abbajan’ according to his past habit.
When Fatima started folding her spicy beetle-leaf he said, “I also wish to chew the pan. Of course, you know how to prepare it for me. Don’t you?”
Fatima was astonished and stared at his face. She was aware of the period of five years passed since the death of her husband Farrak and wondered when she realised that Kareemullah also was just 5 years of age. The news spread among the neighbours and they crowded around Kareem. He talked of several events concerning his past birth. Some of the episodes were too personal and private only to be known by Fatima and her husband Farrak.
The boy continued his story of the previous life,” I had offered 6000 rupees to my brother living in Pakistan. 3000 rupees were credited in a bank. My brother is a businessman in Lahore. I also wished to join him there but nobody was allowed to know of my plan. Today only I am revealing it to you. The name of one of my brothers is Umar Adil. My father-in law was robbed of his gun.”
All the listeners were seized with a deep sense of mystery and wonder because what Kareem had told them had been the real events at that time. When Fatima was asked all that she could say was, “I don’t believe in rebirth, nevertheless when have actually realised the present event and agree with the particulars as truth, how can I challenge it or refuse to believe it?”
3. Marionette Theatre
Fielding Halls mentions a case of a girl, just 7 years of age. She spoke to the author of her past saying, “I was a male in my last birth and owned a theatre conducting shows at Marionette Theatre. I had married thrice in my life. I was murdered by my third wife, by fatally wounding on my shoulders with knife.”
The mysterious fact about this girl, as recorded by the author, is that even when she was only 3 years old, she possessed the art, without the help of any training and just natural of rhythmic dancing movements of the marionettes synchronising with apt speeches during the show.
Dr. Banerji mentions a Swedish lady he had met. She told him that she had lived in Banares in her previous birth and lived as a wife of some physician. She had narrated to Dr. Banerji several other episodes of her past life.
All these instances and episodes affirm the truth of the immortality of the soul. That is to say, life survives death. In other words, this our soul only exchanges old bodies for the new and starts or opens the new page in the series of life.
Child Prodigies
Those who are celebrated as child-prodigies, almost begin their life on this earth as of a common child of normal intelligence. Modern researches have revealed an interesting fact that some of them realized their power of speech very late in life.
Prof. Robert Toccwett of “The Paris School of Anthropology” has observed, “Such a child lives in its own dreams upto the age of three and is hardly aware of his surroundings. And then suddenly to the great amazement of its parents, his mental faculties explode with a brilliance of unusual powers.”
It will be, then, interesting to note the episodes about a few of such children.
1. SAROJBALA
A girl name Sarojbala, aged nine years and a half, had visited Dahod (to the north-east of Gujarat) and had kept thousands of her audience spell-bound with her accurate and flowing recitations, without reference to any books of Vedas, Puranas, Gita, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Upanishads, Smritis etc. And to the great surprise of her listeners, as soon as this little girl of nine and a half years climbed down the rostrum, she, like a natural child, mixed with those of her age started playing with them.
Sarojbala was born on 1–11–1956. She was hardly two years and six months when she had revealed “I was born into the family of a Brahmin in Rajasthan in a holy Ashram in my previous birth.” Her father ignored this information given by her in the beginning but she shocked him by reciting the ‘Gayatri Mantra’ with fifteen repetitions! Her father, who was stunned by this phenomenon, confessed that she was just introduced to the Gujarati alphabets at home and was not even admitted to any school!
2. KALPANA
This girl was born in the month of January 1953. She had revealed her extraordinary mastery of the knowledge of Vedas in her interview with the Governor of Rajasthan. It was found that she knew all the four Vedas and that she had a flowing delivery of the Vedic ‘mantras’ in her recitation even without a single error of pronunciation, in spite of the fact that she had no advantage of any schooling.
The Council of the learned Sanskrit scholars of Jaipur tested her by asking her to recite some unfamiliar and difficult ‘mantras” of the Vedic lore. She passed the test not only with correct recitations but by pointing out to her examiners the exact location of the ‘mantras” in the particular ‘Samhita’ (volume of compilations) of that specific Veda.
(Note: This story of Kalpana appeared in Gujarat magazine, ‘Shri Rang’.)
3. JACQUIS EI NODDY
An Italian child by name Jacquis Ei Noddy is also a prodigy of such a calibre who can complete vast calculations in a few seconds. For such children of mystic mental gifts, calendar-tests are just a play.
4. JEDDYDIAT BOXTON
This child-mathematician from England was wonderfully ignorant of even identifying the figures presented to him in writing. He was totally unfamiliar with the number and their digital positions. In spite of this amazing handicap, he could offer correct answers to the mathematical riddles presented to him.
Conclusion
The miraculous intellectual faculties of the child-prodigies and the story of reincarnation compel us to acknowledge the distinct and independent existence of the soul separate from the body.
