Is There Physical Evidence That We Live More Than One Life?

[THE FUGITIVE]

Not only do many world religions embrace the concept of reincarnation but New Age followers with no religious affiliations are increasingly adopting it into their personal philosophy of life. This means that around half of our planet’s inhabitants �" including Hindus, Buddhists and Jains �" believe we live more than one life on Earth. But where’s the evidence to support that belief?

It is surprisingly abundant, as I have set out to show in The Big Book of Reincarnation (Hierophant Publishing, June 2012). The book is the culmination of 50 years of study, during which I have not only researched the history of belief in rebirth but also met many individuals who are convinced they can recall one or more past lives. I’ve also interviewed most of the leading scientists involved in reincarnation research and twice visited Lebanon, during the making of a British TV documentary, to investigate cases within the Druze community, for whom reincarnation is the cornerstone of their religious beliefs.

There is no shortage of reincarnation cases to investigate if you know where to look. Nevertheless finding the perfect case �" one that satisfies the most diligent of researchers as well as hardened skeptics �" has been proven next to impossible, until now. There are some extremely impressive cases which, although not watertight, are very difficult to explain persuasively with any other theory.

Much of this evidence revolves around children who begin talking about a previous existence almost from the moment they can speak. Some chide their parents for not having things they enjoyed in the life they claim to remember: perhaps a car, servants, fine food and clothes or good schooling. A few even try to run away to find their past‐life family.

Toran “Titu” Singh, born in a village close to the Taj Mahal in northern India, was typical of such children. He began speaking at the age of one‐and‐a‐half, sooner than his five siblings, and early on he demanded, “Tell my grandfather to look after my children and my wife. I am having my meals here and I am worried about them.”

Asked by his mother who he was, Titu replied, “I am from Agra. I don’t know how I came here.” Later, he admonished his mother with the words, “Mummy, please don’t go out in these clothes. I feel embarrassed by them. My wife had beautiful saris.” He also told her: “Your house is dirty. I will not stay. My house is very big.” When expected to walk or take a bus, he complained, “I used to go by car. I will not go on foot or in a bus.” As he grew older, he would cry almost every day saying he wanted to “go home”.

There is no shortage of reincarnation cases to investigate if you know where to look. Nevertheless finding the perfect case �" one that satisfies the most diligent of researchers as well as hardened skeptics �" has been proven next to impossible, until now.

He recalled many details of a previous life when he was Suresh Verme and owned Suresh Radio, a shop in Sadar Bazaar in Agra. Suresh, who was also a noted smuggler on the black market, was shot dead on August 28, 1983. Titu’s memories were so accurate and detailed that his past‐life wife and parents accepted the boy as Suresh’s reincarnation. As a journalist, I realized when I encountered these stories �" minutely researched and carefully documented in scientific and parapsychology journals �" that they deserved a wider audience. I launched a magazine, Reincarnation International, in 1994 to share some of these reports with a wider public. The publication also examined the similar memories that are often recalled by adults under hypnosis, though I view these with far more skepticism for the simple reason that their minds have already been exposed to a wealth of information from books, movies and television that could influence or even produce the dramas they recall during a hypnotic regression.