There was once the dialogue of Shahrukh Khan, we live once, die once, and love too happens once. But do we really live once and die once? Let's have a look.

Everyone ponders what happens after death. Death, being a mystery for every living creature on the earth, so is reincarnation. Most Hindus believe in reincarnation, which means that while one may enter bodies with birth and leave with death, life itself does not, precisely, begin or end. Death and reincarnation both the concepts are mysterious to our scientific world. Indeed, there are many stories across the globe where people claim that they are reincarnated and are aware of what happened in their past life such as the story of Swarnlata Mishra, Ryan Hammons, Semih Tutusmus, etc. One of amongst them was the thought provoking story of Shanti Devi. Shanti Devi, the woman who convinced Mahatma Gandhi of her reincarnation and remembering her past life. It was investigated by a committee of prominent members appointed by Mahatma Gandhi, who accompanied Shanti Devi to the village of her past life recollections and noted what they witnessed. While another report by researcher Bal Chand Nahata disputed it.

BACKGROUND

On 18 January 1902, a daughter was born to Chaturbhuj Chaubey and his wife Jagti Devi in the town of Mathura, and was given the name Lugdi. She was married at age of ten to Kedar Nath Chaubey, owner of a fabric shop. Their first child was stillborn. On 25 September 1925, from her second pregnancy, Lugdi gave birth to a healthy son by Caesarian section at the government hospital in Agra; he was named Naunita Lal. Nine days later, on 4 October, she died of complications aged 23. One year ten months and seven days after Lugdi’s death, on December 11, 1926, Babu Rang Bahadur Mathur of Delhi, was blessed with a daughter, whom they named Shanti Devi.

HER STORY

Shanti Devi was born on December 11, 1926, in Delhi. Apparently, being an infant she wasn't able to speak or even babble like other babies for 3 years. At the age of four itself, she began speaking, in a dialect different from that of the family. The little girl (Shanti Devi) started claiming that the home where she lived was not her real home and that her parents were not her real parents. And that's when she began to claim to remember details of her past life. Her real house is 160 km away from Delhi. The story doesn't just ends here. Shanti Devi also told her parents about her past life's husband and her child. 

We all talk about past lives now and then but have you heard someone talking about their past life with every minute detail. Shanti Devi told that her husband, who lives in Mathura, has a shop of clothes. She started to call herself Chaubain, which means Chaubey's wife. Now if any 4 years old ordinary child tells all these stuff you generally would ignore them. The same happened with Shanti Devi. But if a child consistently tells you about it, it becomes irresistible. Everyday she used to tell some or the other incident from her past life. For example, while eating, she used to say that in her house at Mathura, different types of sweets were prepared. Sometimes when her mother used to dress her (Shanti Devi), then she used to talk about her favourite dresses of her past life. With regard to fabric that was to be made into a sari for her, she told her mother the merchant had lied about its quality, which she knew because her husband owned a fabric store. Not only this, she also told about three unique features of her past life's husband. She told that her past life's husband was fair, there was a big spot on his left cheek and he used to wear glasses. This all might seem a coincidence, but what she told later was all more convincing. She told that her past life's husband had a shop of fabric which was exactly in the front of Dwarkadhish Temple. For almost two years she spoke about such things, which made her parents worried about her. They were tensed that how can a little girl talk about these events in detail and specific manner. 

As Shanti Devi made such claims since her childhood, her school's headmaster, Lala Chand thought that he will go to Mathura and find the truth behind this. And guess what? He tracked a businessman in Mathura, whose wife Lugdi Devi, had passed away giving birth to a child. And not only this, that businessman also had those three features which Shanti Devi mentioned in her claims. After seeing all these incidents with his eyes, he thought that he will make Kedarnath Chaubey and Shanti Devi meet. Lala Chand wrote to Kedar Nath, and in time received an answer, followed by a visit from Kedar Nath’s cousin Kanji Mal Chaubey. The girl immediately recognised him as her past-life husband’s cousin, and began relating to him many correct facts of his own life, and hers. Convinced of her authenticity, Kanji Mal now arranged for Kedar Nath himself to visit her. To test the girl Kedar Nath pretended to be his brother Babu Ram Chaubey, and sought facts from her that only he and Lugdi had known. With him he brought Lugdi’s son Naunita Lal. Shanti Devi was not deceived. She pointed out that Kedar Nath still had the moustache and facial birthmark that she had described to her parents. She threw her arms around Naunita Lal and cried as she never had before, saying that her soul recognised his soul. She told every incident from her childbirth to her death. With this she gave a detailed description about all the surgeries she went through before her death. Everyone was shocked seeing a little girls telling about all the complicated surgeries and procedures with such details. So to be completely sure, Kedarnath Chaubey thought of talking to Shanti Devi alone. Two versions exist of this exchange: first, that she told him she was aware he had been unfaithful to her, as she saw glances shared between him and a nurse, and later caught them in a dalliance; and second, that she recalled the positions and procedures he and Lugdi had used while intercourse, as a means to procreate that overcame her incapacitation from arthritis. After that she asked him that why did he marry again, since they had decided that they would not marry someone else. Kedarnath was convinced that Shanti Devi was his late wife Lugdi Devi.

It was 1930s time, where whole country was going through the phase of independence. This was the only sanguine news among every negative ones. Hence, the news was spreading like fire. He was put to the ears of Mahatma Gandhi. Like others he was also curious to meet this lady. He met Shanti Devi at his ashram. And after talking to her, he made a ‘Committee of Inquiry’ of 15 members to prove the story of rebirth. These 15 members along with Shanti Devi accompanied by her parents went to Mathura on 15th November 1935. Right after getting off at the station, Shanti Devi immediately identified an unknown old man, wearing a typical Mathura dress.She touched the stranger’s feet with deep veneration and stood aside. On inquiring, she whispered in L.Deshbandhu’s ear that the person was her ‘Jeth’ (older brother of her husband). This left everybody stunned with surprise. The man was none other than Babu Ram Chaubey, who was really the elder brother of Kedar Nath Chaubey. After that Shanti Devi guided the tonga driver the way to her home by her own memory. Along with that she also spoke about all the changes that had been made there. All that was true. As soon as she reached her home, she touched the feet of an old man in the crowd, he came out to be Lugdi’s father-in-law and she recalled the exact words he had once said to her. Further to test her she was asked "Where is 'jajroo'?". To which she correctly pointed out the washroom. She also was asked the meaning of 'katora', at which she replied that 'katora' is a type of 'paratha'. These two words were not ordinary words because they were used only in Chaubey's family. Not only these things but also in her past the well she used to bath in was also shown by her. Along with this she also told the committee about a spot on second floor where she had hidden 150 rupees in her past life. When the committee reached the spot they saw a flower pot in the corner where she pointed out. They dig the spot deeper about a foot but there was no money. Later on Kedarnath Chaubey confessed that he took the money out from that spot after Lugdi Devi's death. After witnessing all the events the Committee published its report in 1936 in a 26-page booklet, concluding that Shanti Devi was the reincarnation of Lugdi. 

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Many people supported this and many denied. Many researchers, scholars and parapsychologists started studying the case. Speaking with Swedish author Sture Lönnerstrand, Shanti Devi identified Lugdi’s overwhelming desire to cling to life as the cause of her current incarnation. She stated, ‘I was not empty enough … I had so many desires and yearnings … I wanted to come back to Earth … If I hadn’t longed so desperately to come back, I would not have needed to incarnate again, but would have been reunited with Brahma and eternal life.’

Shanti Devi gave Lönnerstrand a lengthy description of the process of her death, which she described as being more gradual than it had seemed to observers. She also recounted having witnessed her own funeral, existing as a tiny speck while entirely discarnate, with no sense of time or space but with the feeling that all the universe and all her lives were contained within her. Then she felt herself ‘wedged in between something’ which she later realised was her mother’s womb. Shanti Devi dedicated her adult life to teaching Hindu religion and philosophy, sharing her experiences and spreading the word about reincarnation. She died aged 61 on 27 December 1987, four days after being interviewed by the Indian researcher Rawat.

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