Fortean Times – September 2019

Claims of

Reincarnation

An Empirical Study of Cases in

India

Satwant K Pasricha

White Crow Books 2019

Pb, 304pp, bib, ind, £14.99, ISBN 9781786771032

There have not been many

serious studies of ‘reincarnation’

since Professor Ian Stevenson’s

prolific output through the

late 1970s and 1980s, which

built upon his acclaimed 1966

studyTwenty Cases Suggestive of

Reincarnation(revised in 1974).

Dr Pasricha, a leading clinical

psychologist at the Himalayan

Institute of Medical Sciences,

here inherits Stevenson’s

mantle. It is the first book with

a systematicfocus upon classic

cases of the Indian typefor more

than 30years. First published

in 1990, itexpands her 1978

doctoral thesis (which set outa

methodologyfor in vestigating

andevaluating cases) witha

further 15-yearresearch period

in which she interviewed

“hundreds” of subjects, mainly

from northern India.

For those interested in what

she learned, the case material

is fascinating indeed. Stevenson

himself acknowledges that they

“may seem difficult to believe”,

especiallyfor a reader new

to the subject, but offers his

unequivocal endorsementfor the

fidelity ofPasricha’swork and

her professional opinion. She isa

curious scientist labouring at the

coalface of what seems to bea

genuinemystery.

It is all carefully presented,

with an introductorychapter

whichreviews the history of the

subject, and others outlining

her methods of interviewing

andevaluatingresponses.The

results ofover 300 interviews (of

varying thoroughness) conducted

by herself are sampled – with

more attention to 45 cases which

provide extra details or more

confirmatory data – andfollowed

by an equally interesting

chapterexploring the effect

of the circumstances upon the

behaviour, psychology and

beliefs (religious and otherwise)

of the claimants and their

families.

The Indian cases are also

compared to cases fromTurkey,

Sri Lanka, and the North

American tribes of Tlingit and

Haida. Sceptics will shudder at

the discussions of associated

paranormal phenomena that

Dr Pasricha encountered in the

lives of her interviewees – many

of whomwere children in often

poorfamilies – but she felt, to

her credit, that she could not

ignore or censor their accounts.

In conclusion,Pasricha discusses

various associated theories and

explanations.

Up to now, the subject of

reincarnation in particular

seems to trigger the outrage of

militantrational sceptics.The

claim that distinguishing marks

and scars from a ‘past life’ have

shown up on the new incarnate’s

body, for example, a subject that

interested Stevenson, has been

dismissed as quintessentially

preposterous because there is

no known physical or genetic

mode of transmission.While the

sceptics draw their line there,

Dr Pasricha freely admits that

much about the subject is still

mysterious.

In contrast, she ismuch more

adventurousabout testing

alternative and ‘paranormal’

theories against her data.The

moremundaneexplanations

involve suggestion, fraud,

fantasy, cryptomnesia and

paramnesia.The more

complicated psychological cases

involve explanations based

upon ESP and ‘personation’,

hypnoticregression, near-

deathexperiences andeven

‘possession’.

Sheexamines her

case material to show

how these typeswere

identified andrejected,

and feels justified in

proposing that the

remainder support the

theory ofreincarnation.

In this, she crosses the

limit imposedby sceptics

and bravely tackleshypotheses

which seem to arise out of the

otherwise unexplained data;for

example, some psychicalform

of transmission that transcends

time and space, or someform of

psychosomaticexpressionby the

old ‘soul’ in its new body.

Heryoung and often poorly-

educated communicants go on

to tell of stranger things, such

as theirexistence beyond death

and how theyreturned to a new

life.These ideas, while heretical

to Western medical science,

heave beenfamiliar to all classes

of Indian society (and to some

other cultures aswell) as part of

theirreligious and philosophical

traditions.

Anyreader who is unfamiliar

with the Hindu andTheosophical

literature on karma and

reincarnation willwelcome her

chapters on this background

which informs her conclusions.

Sceptics will, no doubt, condemn

this as a backward and non-

scientific step, yet shefaces up

to the prospect of such criticism

by resting her case material ina

clear and logical presentation of

the phenomenology derived from

a statistical analysis of her cases.

One complaint might be

that her presentation of her

case material is not clinically

detached or laid out to academic

standards... but then, this is

not a thesis, and her interviews

clearly reveal DrPasricha’s

sympathetic treatment of her

‘cases’ asreal people.

It also makesfor easier

reading.

Here, then, is the

result of arareand

sober investigation

which deserves

to beread by all.

It would be quite

‘unscientific’ to shun Dr

Pasricha’sresearch as

‘unbelievable’, fraud or self-

deception.

She pleadsfor further

investigation and consideration

of herwork and the subject

itself, and that should be the only

intelligent and matureresponse

from the Establishment.The

generalreader will findmuch in

this careful and impressive study

to stimulate their astonishment

andwonder.

It seems to me to bea

groundbreaking book with

far-reaching implications. Dr

Pasricha has dared to ask honest

questionsabout a subject

scornedby the arrogantly

ignorantfor too long.While

she might not have any solid

and satisfying answers, she

is definitely asking the right

questions.

For thesereasons, I heartily

recommend it.

Bob Rickard

HHHH

“The subject of

reincarnation seems

to trigger the

outrage of militant

rational sceptics”

FT383 63

Who wants to return as a can of milk?

The author of this study does not censor the accounts byyoung and poor claimants; however, it is

aiming not at academic purity but at reflecting theexperiences of the real people she interviewed

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