Rebirth - Real Cases from India and Sri Lanka

Article from Ms. Ching

I have always been fascinated about the myth on rebirth. As a Buddhist, rebirth is part of our religious faith. I am not going to stress out on religion, but I am going to present you to some of the most controversy real life stories and they are not related to Buddhism. They are just real events that had happened. Read some extraordinary and unbelievable cases in Asia describing child Prodigies and provide some insight into the subject ‘Rebirth’ you will have to judge for yourself.

The Case of Gnanatilaka
Gnanatilaka is her name. She was born on 14th February 1956 in Kotamale in Sri Lanke (Ceylon). The case started in 1960 when she was 4 ½ years old. Then she told her parents, “I want to see my father and mother.”

Gnanatilaka insisted that she know where her ‘real’ parents are and she will direct her parents to them. Her parents ignore her at first but as day passes, she would constantly pester her parents to bring her to her ‘real’ parents. As a result she led her parents to a tea estate near Talawakele, about 30 miles from where she lives now.

This story soon began to spread. A few professors from the University of Ceylon and Venerable Piyadassi Maha Thera came to know of this story. Hey decided to investigate. They listen to Gnanatilaka tell her story about the time when she was a boy whose name was Tilakaratna. They recorded everything in details and went with Gnanatilaka to visit the house where she described.

In the present life of Gnanatilaka, she had never visited the house or any particular area near this house. The two families also do not have any relation with each other and did not know of each other existences.

When Gnanatilaka enter the house, she pointed to her parents and introduces them to the professors. She gives the correct nicknames of each family member in the house.

The former life parents were interviewed; they described the character and habits of their son who had passed away on 9th November 1954. Gnanatilaka refuse to talk with her former younger brother. The former parents explained that the two brothers is always fighting and quarrelling with each other. Perhaps Gnanatilaka was still holding the grudges from her previous life when she was a boy.

When the local school head master heard of the story, he went to visit the house to see for himself. Gnanatilaka immediately recognized the head master. She was even able to describe the homework in detail given to her former life by the head master.

The story soon spread far across the world. A researcher who specified in rebirth cases, Dr. Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia, flew from America to Ceylon to investigate the case. After the investigation, he said that this case was one of the best in the subject rebirth, both in evidential detail and in psychological aspects.

The Case of a girl from Sri Lanka
A seven year old girl student of Sri Lanka won every prize for Indian Dancing. She displayed all the qualities of a professional dancer. When ask on her success, she describe that she learned the skills from her elder sister in India. She even gives vivid details on the place she lives in India.