A strange story about an Indian girl who remembers her past life

When she was just four years old, little Shanti Devi started telling her parents amazing details about her 'past life' life in a strange town, more than 100km away.

Shanti Devi recalls every detail of her previous life and her narrative has caught the attention of reincarnation researchers around the world.

Religion and philosophy have long discussed the existence of the soul, and the case of a girl named Shanti Devi, who lived in New Delhi, India in the 1930s is a compelling example of post-reincarnation. every life.

Soon after learning to talk, Devi stunned his parents with stories about his previous life in a town where no one in the family had ever set foot. Anything in the present life evokes memories of Devi's "past life". For example, a meal reminds her of the food she used to enjoy in the past, or while getting dressed, she tells her mother about the clothes she used to wear.

Devi even told her parents that her previous name was Lugdi, and that Lugdi had passed away after giving birth to a son in October 1925. She also told strange details about the labor pains as well as the surgical procedures Lugdi had to go through.

Obviously such truths cannot be conjured up by even the most imaginative child.

When Devi revealed the name of her "past-life" husband, her family was shocked to discover that he was still alive, and was staying exactly where Devi said she used to live. A historic meeting was arranged between them, and what happened left scientists really confused.

Shanti Devi appeared in a newspaper in 1937.

Memories of past lives

Born on December 11, 1926, Shanti Devi was a very normal baby until about the age of 4, when she started sharing strange stories about her 'past life' in the town of Mathura, a few miles away. house over 100km.

Devi recalls all the shops and streets in Mathura where she and her current family have never been. She talked about her ex-husband, a businessman, but when he was 9 years old, he revealed his name and features such as a mole on his left cheek and always wears reading glasses.

Hearing her daughter's strange memories, at first Devi's parents thought it was just a child's imagination. But when Devi revealed that her 'past life' husband's name was Pandit Kedarnath Chaube, sometimes referred to as Kedar Nath, a family friend decided to find out if what she was saying was true. are not.

The friend sent a letter to a merchant named Kedar Nath in Mathura asking about Devi's memories. And to his amazement, merchant Nath wrote back, confirming all the details Devi had given were correct. Nath also agreed to go with a relative to Devi's house to check on the situation.

To test Devi, a relative was brought by Nath to meet her and introduced him as her husband. Devi immediately denied it, saying that this was just her 'husband' cousin. To my surprise, Nath and the child he had with Lugdi, now 10, entered the house. When he saw them, Devi burst into tears.

Nath asked to speak to Devi privately, after which he claimed each of her answers to his 'test' questions were completely correct.

'He saw the correct answer and was moved to tears! It was as if his dead wife was speaking," one investigator wrote in a report of the incident in 1937.

In 1935, Indian leader Mahatma Ghandi sent 15 MPs, officials and the media to investigate Shanti Devi's case.

Shanti spent several days with Kedar Nath and his son before the two had to return to Mathura. Grief-stricken at having to part with her 'husband and children', the girl begged her parents to let her return to her old hometown. Devi promises to lead the father and son directly to their old home, even revealing that she once buried a money box in the house.

Devi's parents accepted, because when the story caught the attention of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, they had little choice. In November 1935, dozens of researchers and investigators joined Devi and her parents on a three-hour train ride to Mathura.

Back to the old house

One of the investigators recounted: 'When she got out of the station, the girl was put in the front seat and our car was ahead of everyone else. The driver was asked to only follow the route indicated by the girl'.

Devi easily brings the group to what she claims to be her old home. Along the way, she also noted many previously unpaved streets and buildings that weren't there in her previous life. The driver confirmed these observations to be true.

Upon arriving at the exact house where Kedar Nath and his son live, a member of the investigative committee ordered by the Ghandi leader to set up asked about the money box Devi mentioned. The girl immediately ran upstairs, went straight to a corner of the room and announced that the box was hidden under the floorboards. Kedar Nath opened the floor and found a small silver box, but the inside was empty. The husband later admitted to taking the money from the box after his wife died.

Devi's reunion trip to Mathura continues at her former parents' house. 'She not only recognized the house but was also able to identify her former parents among a crowd of more than 50 people,' one investigator wrote.

In its report, the investigative committee claimed there was "no reasonable explanation" for what they witnessed.

Shanti Devi (third from left) never married and lived with her parents until their death.

Experiencing death

Apparently, Devi not only remembers her life in a previous life, but also has an explanation for the way to the afterlife. In 1936 and 1939, the girl recounted her death experience to skeptics as well as hypnotists.

Devi said that at the time of her death she felt dizzy and was enveloped in "deep darkness" before a flash of light revealed four men in yellow underwear in front of her. 'All four seem to be in their late teens and their looks and attire are very bright,' Devi said under hypnosis. "They put me in a cup and took me away."

Devi said she sees the Hindu god Krishna showing each person a "record" of their good and bad actions while alive and telling them what will happen to them next. Devi was then taken to a golden staircase, from which she could see a river 'clean and pure as milk'. She saw there spirits flickering like "flame in lamps".

Years later, Shanti Devi appeared in a press interview in 1958. Shanti Devi was 32 years old then and never married. She lives a quiet, spiritual life in Delhi.

Shanti Devi died in 1987 at the age of 61. Her story is preserved through a book by Swedish author Sture Lonnerstrand written in 1994, translated into English in 1998.