You and I, Arjuna
Have lived many
lives.
I remember them all
You do not remember...
Krishna in Bhagvad Gita
For Dr Kirti Swaroop Rawat, born
Jan 7th 1936, the above is a divine truth. He also believes firmly
the ancient saying as recorded in the Rig Veda (10.6.35):‘When after death all
the five elements dissolve among themselves, the ‘Jivatma’ (individual soul)
remains and this Jivatma takes to itself a new body’.
In other words, Dr. Rawat
believes in reincarnation.
All his life he has been pursuing
the subject and although there are some who do not have the slightest belief in
reincarnation, this has not deterred Dr. Rawat in his efforts to substantiate
his beliefs through extensive scientific evidence. He is only one of a few
qualified persons to do so. Dr. Rawat did his Masters in Philosophy in 1959,
Masters in Sociology in 1961 and Ph.D. in Reincarnation in 1987. He is also
only one among two or three people in India who have done their Doctorate on
this intriguing subject.
When an eminently qualified man
like Dr. Rawat talks about reincarnation as a truth of life, one cannot dismiss
the subject out of hand, for his words are based on extensive research and
compelling facts. As he says, “ I do not accept anything unless I am thoroughly
convinced about the evidence.” Till date he has researched and documented more
than 200 cases of reincarnation. He insists, “ I am a researcher and a
scientist.”
At the same time he admits,
" Of course one cannot be hundred percent sure about such things but there
is enough evidence to take reincarnation seriously and justifies the need to
now explore other subjects related to it. In fact I am now in the process of
starting a branch of study to explore the relationship between astrology and
reincarnation."
How was he drawn to this
fascinating subject is a question that he comes across frequently. His interest
was aroused early in life after hearing stories about the psychic abilities of
his paternal grandfather, " My earliest childhood recollections are of
hearing about my paternal grandfather's (Ganesh Ram Rawat's) psychic abilities.
I learnt that when he was only 11 years old, once during a visit to a Sadhu
('Khaki Baba'), whom he often visited, the Sadhu told him that he would change
his 'chola' (body) after three days. He also said that he would reappear after
12 years as a king and that my grandfather would be his 'Dewan'."
" After 11-12 years a
council of ministers was formed in the Maharajah of Dungarpur's court to
overlook affairs of state since the king was still not of age. My grandfather
was appointed a 'Dewan', that is, council chief."
Dr. Rawat also remembers stories
about how when once his 28 year old uncle was on the verge of death with double
pneumonia, his grandfather had cured him just by putting his palm on the
uncle's forehead. The uncle went on to outlive all his five brothers. Ganesh
Ram Rawat was also said to have chosen his time of death. Four days before he
died he had confided to Dr. Rawat's aunt that he would like to die on the
fourth day which was an auspicious day.
These and other similar stories
of his grandfather's psychic abilities had a great influence on young Kirti but
it was not until 16th March 1967 that he really began his journey
into the world of the paranormal and the occult. After brief stints as a
lecturer of sociology in various colleges he was posted in a new college in
Neemkathana, Rajasthan, where he was made editor of the college magazine. His
search for a good press led him to Jaipur where he was introduced to Dr. H. N.
Banerjee, Director of Parapsychology at the Rajasthan University. "Yes,
Dr. Banerjee can be said to be my mentor. He invited me to his college where he
gave me a slim book called, 'What is Parapsychology'. You can say from then on
my life took its destined course."
It was not that Dr. Rawat's
interest was something new, "In fact I had started thinking deeply on
things like rebirth, karma, destiny and such things when I was 17 years old.
That was the time my father, a staunch realist himself, wanted me to be a
doctor. But after one year of study of science, I switched over to arts, with
philosophy as my major subject."
At a lecturer in Neemkathana,
with time on his hands, " I only had a few lectures", and the added
support in the form of Dr. Banerjee, Dr. Rawat started in earnest to do serious
research in Parapsychology including reincarnation. It is now 37 years since he
started his study of the paranormal and he says, " My wife Vidya has been
my co-worker, inspiration and living force. We got married on 15th
January 1963. You know I believe that a man can consider himself to be very
lucky if he has a good wife." He categorizes a man as 20% lucky if his
parents are nice, 40% lucky if he has a job to his liking, 60% lucky if he has
good friends, 80% lucky if he has a good wife and 100% lucky if he gets a
'paplu' in cards!
Dr Rawat also considers himself
somewhat of an authority in palmistry and numerology. "My number is 7 and
this number gets along well with other 7's as well as with 2's. As luck would
have it, my father, elder brother, wife and son (Dr. Bharat Rawat) are 2's
while my other brother and daughter are 7's." His other son Jai Rawat is
in California working as a software engineer. His daughter is named Bharati,
"You know, Jai, Bharat Bharati!"
About astrology, he says, "
Although there have been many cases where astrological predictions have been
amazingly accurate, there also have been times when astrology has failed
miserably." As an example he remembers the day Indira Gandhi was
assassinated, " Although there are some astrologers in India who make
predictions of famous people on a day to day basis, none could predict her
death."
Dr. Kirti Swaroop Rawat resides
in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and divides his time between Indore, Nepal, America
and any place where his investigations takes him. He is fond of saying,
"As a drunkard goes to his bottle, so do I go to my cases." He
further adds, " I consider myself to be fearless and am willing to travel
anywhere in the world to pursue my research."
He is at present the Director of
International Center for Reincarnation and Survival Researches that is based in
Indore and has addressed several international conferences all over the world
as an authority on the subject. He has worked alongside many international
researchers including the famous Dr. Ian Stevenson of Virginia University who
is considered a leading authority on the study of Parapsychology. Dr. Rawat has
researched and documented more than 200 cases and claims not to accept anything
unless convinced with the evidence.
Dr. Rawat believes that 'work is
worship' and thinks that there are many things in religion that is pure
baloney. At the same time he does not think that his being of a particular
religion has influenced him in the matter. Even Dr Stevenson has declared,
“…everyone outside the range of orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam and
Science…the last being a secular religion for many persons… believes in
reincarnation.”
He is a music lover and informs,
"I have a collection of 400 CDs and listen to everything from K.L.Saigal
to Baba Saigal!" He himself plays the flute and likes to paint but is
especially fond of writing. He has written three books, "Paramano Vigyan'
(1984), 'Alaukik Kahaniya' (1987) and 'Punarjanam' in 2002.
" Dr. Dhruba Chandra Gautam
is translating 'Punarjanam' into Nepali. I am also writing another book, '
Reincarnation-how strong is the scientific evidence?' which is co-authored by
my Dutch associate at the International Center, Drs. Titus Rivas." Dr.
Rawat has also written more than 200 articles on his subject as well as some
poems.
He believes himself to be
independent, generous, and tolerant and says, " I'm incapable of even
thinking of harming anybody." His first visit to Nepal was in 1988 and
since then he has been visiting Nepal almost two times a year. He says, "
Nepal is a beautiful country and I have found Nepalese people to be polite,
helpful and courteous. I have yet to come across a Nepalese who behaves
aggressively." He is planning to set up a branch of his Center in Nepal in
the near future and reveals, " I have started research by recently
interviewing a 3 year old boy of Gyaneswar." Dr. Rawat adds that even
though extensive research into reincarnation is being done by investigators in
places like Burma and Sri Lanka, Nepal has up to now not been included in their
field of research.
It is interesting to know that
the earliest case known of a child recalling his past life, in which some
investigation was done, occurred 300 years ago. The incident is described in
the book, ‘ Khulasa Tarikh’, written by Munshi Subhan Rai in 1753 wherein, a
village headman, Rawat Sukha, dies due to injuries on the back and at the root
of the ear. A few months later his son in law has a son born with similar
injury marks and the whole village believes that Rawat Sukha has been
reincarnated. The boy, when older,
starts declaring that he is Rawat Sukha and gives details that further
substantiate the villagers’ belief.
Perhaps it is only a coincidence
that Dr. Kirti Swaroop is also a 'Rawat' as is the name of the earliest
recorded person to have undergone reincarnation, 'Rawat' Sukha.
Perhaps not?
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