Evidence That the Conscious Self Can Function Independently of the Physical Body

Evidence That the Conscious Self Can Function

Independently of the Physical Body

Extrasensory perception (ESP)

There are two observations suggesting that ESP is not the best explanation for cases such as that of Gopal Gupta:

(1) As described earlier, when Gopal was between the ages of two and nine years old, he often exhibited behavior indicating that he considered himself to be Shaktipal Sharma. Gopal did not report that he was using ESP to acquire information about Shaktipal Sharma; Gopal experienced himself to be Shaktipal Sharma. Dr. Stevenson emphasized that such identification is a typical feature of his cases. The children do not claim that they are getting information about the previous personality by ESP: in each case the child claims that he is the previous personality. In many cases the children exhibit strong emotional responses appropriate for the previous personality, such as crying in happiness when meeting a person loved by the previous personality, or being angry at persons who were hated by the previous personality, or recoiling in fear when seeing the murderer of the previous personality. In well-documented cases of ESP, the person who receives information by ESP does not become illusioned in such a way that he falsely identifies himself as the person about whom he receives the information (see Appendix A and Gloor, 1969; Vasiliev, 1966; Stanley, 1909; Sidgewick, 1891-1892).

(2) The children do not exhibit independent ESP ability. Stevenson mentioned that he asked hundreds of parents about ESP ability in their children and, in the vast majority of cases, there was none (Stevenson, 1987, p.155).

Thus, it seems that ESP is not the best interpretation for these cases. Let us therefore consider three other interpretations:

(1) Intermittent influence by the previous personality on the mind of a child.

(2) Possession (the previous personality has taken over the body of the child and either overwhelmed and silenced the original owner of the body, or forced him to leave it).

(3) Reincarnation (the conscious self, after departing from his dying body, takes up residence in a new physical body; he is the first resident in this body).

If we accept any of these three interpretations, we are implicitly accepting the idea that the previous personality is different from his physical body and can operate independently of it, since his physical body is by that time dead and decaying.

Intermittent influence by the previous personality on the mind of a child

It would be very frightening to be intermittently influenced by another person. A child being influenced in this way would almost certainly tell his parents about it. Yet none of the children in Stevenson's cases report being sometimes influenced by the previous personality. From a very young age each child reports that he is the previous personality. Thus, we must reject the hypothesis of intermittent influence as an explanation for Stevenson's cases.

Possession

Stevenson has hundreds of cases in which there are distinctive birthmarks or birth defects on the body of a child that are very similar to wounds or scars on the body of the person he claims to have been in his previous life. In many cases, the wounds or scars on the body of the previous personality were acquired during life as a result of surgery or were inflicted at the time of death. Stevenson has numerous cases in which a child claims to remember having been shot or stabbed (as the cause of death of the body of the previous personality) and there is a birthmark on the body of the child in the same place and having the same shape as the fatal wound inflicted on the body of the previous personality. The fact that the marks are present on the child at the time of his birth and not acquired later implies that the previous personality entered the child's body before it was born. A kind of possession in which the invading person enters the child's body before birth is practically the same as reincarnation. The only difference is that in possession there would have already been a conscious self in the embryo, whereas in reincarnation the previous personality is the first conscious self to inhabit the embryo.

Possession does not seem to be the best explanation for the numerous cases in which the child clearly expresses his surprise or dissatisfaction with his new environment. Examples of this are the following. When a two-year-old Turkish boy named Celal Kapan first began to speak, practically his first statement was: "What am I doing here? I was at the port" (Stevenson, 1987, p. 105). He claimed that in his previous life he was a dock worker and he had fallen asleep in the cargo hold of a ship which was being loaded. He was killed when a large oil drum was unknowingly dropped on him. He felt he fell asleep in an adult body and woke up in the body of a baby.

The children in Stevenson's cases often act, and as far as possible speak, like adults who have been unfairly imprisoned in children's bodies.

Stevenson (1987, p.100) reported a case in which the mother of a deceased boy dreamed that her son came to her and told her: "Help! I have got myself in a poor family. Come and rescue me." From the dream she received enough information to identify a family that had a child with memories of the life of her deceased son. It seems that her deceased son was born in a family with much less money than he wanted.

Although in some of Stevenson's cases the child is pleased with the circumstances of his new life, in many cases the child is terribly disappointed and repeatedly complains about the impoverished condition or low-class habits of his new family (Stevenson, 1987, p.119). An Indian boy named Bishen Chand Kapoor, who claimed that he was a very wealthy man in his previous life, contemptuously rejected the clothes his poor parents offered him. He said that such clothes were so inferior that he would not have given them even to his servants, not to mention wearing them himself (Stevenson, 1987, p.116). Gopal Gupta contemptuously compared the Gupta residence with the large house he had owned as Shaktipal Sharma. In many cases the child rejects his parents, saying "you are not my real parents" and demands to be taken to another town where his "real" parents (the parents of the previous personality) live (Stevenson, 1987, p.118). A child's repeated criticism of his new family often gets him into trouble with the members of this family.

The above evidence seems inconsistent with the standard scenario of possession in which a discarnate person selects the body he wants and forcibly overwhelms its occupant. Instead, the evidence suggests reincarnation.

Reincarnation

Reincarnation seems to be the best interpretation for most of Stevenson's cases since it explains: (1) the knowledge the child has of the previous personality; (2) the child's unusual behavior (unusual for his family but perfectly appropriate for the previous personality); (3) the child's subjective experience (he claims that he is the previous personality and that he has somehow been put into a new body); (4) distinctive birthmarks on the body of the child that are very similar to wounds or scars on the body of the previous personality.

The frequency of cases suggestive of reincarnation

The idea that reincarnation is a natural process that all conscious selves undergo when their physical bodies die is supported by Stevenson's statements that it is easy to find persons who claim to remember a previous life in certain places such as West Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and the northwestern part of North America (Stevenson 1980, p.13; 1987, p.93). Stevenson said that in these places he has received so many reports of possible cases that he simply does not have enough time to investigate them all. It is important to note that cases of the reincarnation type are found not only in southeast Asia, but all over the world. Stevenson said: "Fortunately, many new cases are available, and as I mentioned in the General Introduction to this series, I should have no difficulty whatever in indicating places in several countries where an investigator can easily find more cases of this type than he could possibly study" (Stevenson, 1980, p.351).

Stevenson mentioned that he has also found and investigated many cases of the reincarnation type in the other parts of North America and Europe. The lesser frequency of reported cases in these countries is due to the fact that many parents ignore or suppress such cases, and hence they can not come to the attention of investigators like Dr. Stevenson (Stevenson, 1987, p.93-94).

Other scientists find evidence for reincarnation

Careful studies by other scientists have uncovered dozens of cases similar to those reported by Stevenson. See, for example, Pasricha (1990, 1992, 1998), Mills (1989, 1990), Haraldsson (1991, 1997), and Keil (1996).

Distinctive birthmarks related to the previous life

In 1945 a full-blooded Tlingit Indian named Victor Vincent informed a young friend of his, Mrs. Chotkin, that he will die soon and be reborn as her son (the Tlingit Indians are native American Indians who now reside in Alaska). He expressed the desire that in his next life as her son he would not stutter as he did in this life. He pulled up his shirt and showed her a highly distinctive scar on his back that was the result of a surgical operation performed several years earlier. It was undoubtedly the result of an operation because the small round holes of the stitches were visible. He also showed her a scar on the right side of his nose (near the eye) that was the result of a surgical operation there.

He informed her that in his next life as her son he will have the same marks on his body in the same places, and thereby she will be able to recognize him as Victor Vincent reborn.

A year later he died. Approximately eighteen months thereafter Mrs. Chotkin gave birth to a boy whom she named Corliss Chotkin, Jr. (after his father). She told Stevenson that on the body of Corliss at the time of his birth were the same marks in the same places as had been on the body of Victor Vincent.

In 1962 Stevenson visited Alaska and personally examined the marks on the body of Corliss (who was 15 years old at that time). Stevenson reported that the mark on Corliss' nose was not very characteristic of the scar of a surgical operation. But Stevenson was strongly impressed by the marks on Corliss' back, which he described as follows: "The mark on the back of Corliss was much more characteristic of an operative scar. It was located about eight inches below the shoulder line and two inches to the right of the midline. It was heavily pigmented and raised. It extended about one inch in length and a quarter inch in width. Along its margins one could still easily discern several small round marks outside the main scar. Four of these on one side lined up like the stitch wounds of surgical operations. On the other side the alignment was less definite" (Stevenson, 1974, p.260).

Stevenson reported that Mrs. Chotkin is the daughter of Victor Vincent's sister. Could the marks on the body of Corliss be the result of genetic information passed down from Victor Vincent? According to modern biology this is impossible because surgical marks acquired during one's life can not be encoded in the DNA of one's germ cells. Biologists strongly assert that the only means whereby characteristics can be passed on to one's progeny is the expression of encoded information in the DNA of the germ cells. They do not recognize any evidence that characteristics acquired during one's life can be passed on to one's progeny. It is also worth noting that Mrs. Chotkin told Stevenson that no one else in their family had any marks in the places of those on the body of Corliss.

Stevenson tried to obtain independent corroborating evidence for the marks on Victor Vincent's body. He discovered that in 1938 Victor Vincent was admitted to the U. S. Public Health Service Hospital in Seattle where his right tear sac was removed in a surgical operation. The scar produced by this operation would be in exactly the place that Mrs. Chotkin said she saw a scar on the right side of Victor Vincent's nose. Thus, Mrs. Chotkin's testimony is corroborated on this point at least. But the mark on the nose of Corliss when he was examined by Stevenson in 1962 was not very characteristic of an operation scar. Hence the mark on the nose is not sufficient by itself to build a very strong case for the reincarnation of Victor Vincent as Corliss Chotkin, Jr. According to Stevenson, the mark on Corliss' back was much more impressive but, although Stevenson tried, he was not able to obtain independent corroboration of its presence on Victor Vincent's back. But Stevenson (1987, p.101) said that he has hundreds of cases of distinctive birthmarks on the bodies of children claiming reincarnation, and in about thirty cases he has obtained independent corroboration (in the form of medical records or autopsies) of similar marks on the body of the previous personality. These are described in Stevenson (1997).

Stevenson mentioned that he has many cases in which a child reported that he was violently murdered (usually by shooting or stabbing) in his previous life, and the child has on his body a birthmark of the same shape and in the same place as the fatal wound in his previous life. Stevenson wrote (1987, p.101): "Birthmarks and birth defects related to the previous personality seem to me to provide some of the strongest evidence in favor of reincarnation as the best interpretation for the cases. They are objectively observable (I have photographed several hundred of them), and for most of them the only serious alternative explanation that I can think of is a psychic force on the part of the baby's mother that influences the body of the embryo or fetus within her. However, this explanation, which is itself almost as mind stretching (for the average Westerner) as reincarnation, can be firmly excluded in about twelve cases in which the child's mother and father had never heard of the identified previous personality until after the child's birth."

As mentioned earlier, Mrs. Chotkin named her son Corliss and, as is natural for a mother, tried to make him say this name when he was asked what his name is. One day when Corliss was thirteen months old and his mother was trying to get him to say his name, instead of saying the name "Corliss" her son greatly surprised her by saying "Don't you know me? I'm Kahkody" (Stevenson, 1974, p.260). Kahkody was the tribal Tlingit Indian name of Victor Vincent, and Corliss pronounced it with a very good Tlingit accent.

Corliss identified strongly with Victor Vincent and was able to spontaneously recognize a number of people that Victor Vincent had known. Stevenson (1974, p.261) said that when Corliss was two years old he recognized Victor Vincent's son named William. Corliss spontaneously saw him on the street and said: "There is William, my son."

Corliss also spontaneously recognized (when he was two years old) a stepdaughter of Victor Vincent. He saw her at the docks of Sitka and correctly named her "Susie" (Sitka is the name of the city in Alaska where Corliss was living at the time). At that time he was being pushed by his mother along the street in a carriage. Stevenson said that Corliss exhibited great excitement when he saw her; so much so that he was jumping up and down. He said: "There is my Susie." Corliss also hugged her with great affection and said her Tlingit Indian name. Corliss recognized Susie before his mother had noticed her. Stevenson mentioned that Mrs. Chotkin did not go to the docks with the intention of meeting Susie. In a similar way Corliss, when he was three years old, spontaneously recognized and named the widow of Victor Vincent. He recognized her in a crowd of people before Mrs. Chotkin had seen her. He correctly named her "Rose." Stevenson reported that Corliss also recognized a number of other people that Victor Vincent had known.

Dr. Stevenson (1974, p.261-262) said that Corliss was able to provide a detailed account of certain events that had occurred in the life of Victor Vincent. Mrs. Chotkin believes that Corliss could not have known these details by ordinary means. One day Corliss related an experience of Victor Vincent when he was out on a fishing trip. The engine of Victor Vincent's boat had broken down and he was helpless in one of the numerous and hazardous channels of southeastern Alaska. Victor Vincent wanted to attract the attention of any ships that might happen to pass by but he thought that most crews would not take much notice of an ordinary Tlingit fisherman. It turns out that he happened to be a part-time worker for the Salvation Army and he had with him a Salvation Army uniform. He put on this uniform and rowed in a small boat to attract the attention of a passing ship named the North Star. He asked some of the crew members to deliver a message for him. Mrs. Chotkin heard this story directly from Victor Vincent himself when he was alive. She was sure that Corliss had not heard the story from her or her husband before he told it to them that one day.

On another occasion Mrs. Chotkin and Corliss were at the house that was previously owned by Mrs. Chotkin and her family during the life of Victor Vincent. Corliss pointed to a room in the house and said that he (as Victor Vincent) and his wife slept in this room when they visited the Chotkins. This statement is impressive since at the time Corliss was visiting the house, it had been reorganized and was being used for purposes other than an ordinary residential house. None of the rooms in it were recognizable as bedrooms. But the room that Corliss pointed to had in fact been occupied by Victor Vincent and his wife when they had visited the Chotkins.

Mrs. Chotkin told Dr. Stevenson that certain behavior patterns of Corliss closely resembled those of Victor Vincent. She mentioned that Corliss combed his hair forward over his forehead in the same way that Victor Vincent had done, although she had tried to train Corliss to comb his hair in exactly the opposite manner.

As mentioned earlier, Victor Vincent stuttered severely and told Mrs. Chotkin a year before his death that he hoped that he would stutter less in his next life as her son. Corliss also stuttered severely when he was young until he received speech therapy when he was around ten years old. Victor Vincent was a very religious Christian. When Corliss was young, he also expressed similar devoutness. Victor Vincent was very fond of handling boats and living on the water. Corliss had the same interest. Both Victor Vincent and Corliss were left-handed.

Could this case be a clever fraud by Mrs. Chotkin? According to Stevenson, there was no obvious motive for fraud, no evidence of fraud, and no evidence that Mrs. Chotkin was exploiting the case for her benefit in the community. In fact, according to Stevenson, Corliss Chotkin, Jr.'s sister and a number of other witnesses interviewed by Stevenson did not even know that Mrs. Chotkin believes that Corliss is Victor Vincent reborn! Mrs. Chotkin apparently spoke to practically no one about the case. One would think that if Mrs. Chotkin were exploiting the case for personal gain, her belief that Corliss is Victor Vincent reborn would be more widely propagated in the community.