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matched the child's statements and he also found a In her book The Unquiet Dead, noted psychologist Edith close correspondence between birthmarks and/or birth Fiore, PhD, wrote: "If someone's phobia is eliminated defects on the child and wounds on the deceased instantly and permanently by the remembrance of an person.” event from the past, it seems to make logical sense tha’ In India, Dr Satwant Pasricha, former professor and hat event must have happened."” chair, Department of Clinical Psychology at the Nationa As Adrian Finkelstein, MD, another well-known Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences psychiatrist and past-life regression practitioner, (NIMHANS), Bangalore, and current professor and chair, | explains: “Our world...is formed of various levels o Department of Clinical Psychology, Himalayan Institute | energy vibration. These vibrations rise from the gross of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, collaborated with Dr evel of our physical world to the highly refined plateau Stevenson for more than 30 years and has researched of thought—and ultimately spiritual consciousness. We over 500 such cases in India. Speaking about their cannot deny the existence of these higher levels o validity, she said: "In each case I recorded the testimony reality simply because ordinary methods fail to unlock of as many witnesses as were available. Also, heir secrets. Exploration of the mind and spirit is one conducted a second interview (or more). We did not give of the hallmarks of this New Age; a refusal to examine prior notice of our arrival." Moreover, Dr Pasricha new approaches to scientific truth is clearly opines that contrary to sceptics’ claims that such cases —_unscientific—and slightly foolish."”” gain from their fictitious memories, none of the cases The ultimate viewpoint of sceptics is: if it's not all over she studied in India gained when we die, then why do we monetarily or from the ensuing orget our past lives? In The Life publicity. More pointedly, she For diehard sceptics, Divine, Sri Aurobindo wrote: said: "You cannot teach a child . . “The law that deprives us of the o have birthmarks or birth Dr Pasricha points to memory of the past lives is a defects."* Evidently, these reported cases of xenoglossy aw of the cosmic wisdom and appen for other reasons. Se fee serves, not disserves, its For diehard sceptics, Dr = that Is, individuals who evolutionary purpose... A clear Pasricha points to reported . and detailed memory of the cases of xenoglossy; that is, suddenly start speaking a past lives, hatred, rancor, individuals who suddenly start language of which they have attachments, connections no prior knowledge. would be a_ stupendous inconvenience; for it would bind Uttara Huddar of Nagpur, in he reborn being to a useless central India, is one such case. repetition or a compulsory When she was in her thirties, Uttara became aware of her —_ continuation of his surface past and stand in the way o previous life as Sharada, a married Bengali woman. The __ his bringing out new possibilities from the depths of the memories emerged when she spontaneously went into spirit." speaking a language of which hey have no prior knowledge. rance and changed her personality, allowing her to Certainly, it would be more than a tad difficult to lead speak Bangla, a language that was previously unfamiliar a normal life if we remembered all or a few of our pas o her. When she thought of herself as Sharada, Uttara lives. But fortunately, not all of us suffer from deep- could not recognise her own relatives and the utility of | rooted emotional issues that we need help to remember gadgets she had seen and used all her life, such as gas __ our past incarnations. For those who do, however, wha stoves, electrical appliances and fountain pens. Instead, could be better than reliving the past and relieving she displayed knowledge of devotional songs, which she _ themselves of their suffering? © would sing to herself, of places in Bengal, of Bengali food and customs, and of the early-19th-century | About the Author: genealogy of the Chattopadhyay family of which Sharada — Charu Bahri is an author and freelance writer living in India. claimed to have been a part. She works part-time for a charity in the health sector, and Aan KAW. Dabur Lan atennah: adeiacnntan « ctesela Lanleb., En. For diehard sceptics, Dr Pasricha points to reported cases of xenoglossy - that is, individuals who suddenly start speaking a language of which they have no prior knowledge. About the Author: Charu Bahri is an author and freelance writer living in India. She works part-time for a charity in the health sector, and strongly advocates a simple, healthy lifestyle. Ms Bahri has contributed several articles to NEXUS: "Genetic Manipulations: An Engineering Disaster?" (17/Ol), "Carbonated Drinks: Poison in Disguise" (14/02) and "The Ugly Truth about Beauty and Hygiene Products" (14/Ol). Read more about her work at her website http://www.charubahri.com. Charu Bahri can be contacted by email at charubahri@gmail.com. Real Healing Suggests Real Memories Past-life regression research has come a long way since Bridey's case in the 1950s. Today, qualified and experienced medical professionals such as Dr Weiss have seen enough evidence to say, as he did on The Oprah Winfrey Show: "When symptoms disappear, that's usually not from imagination or something like that. It's usually from the real memory, the experience... Imagination doesn't cure symptoms."” 46 * NEXUS JUNE - JULY 2011 Endnotes on page 82 www.nexusmagazine.com