A belief in the idea of reincarnation has been, and is, widely held across the world. Although a belief in this concept is usually considered only to be associated with that area of Southeast Asia where Hinduism and Buddhism are the major religions, in reality it is much more widespread than this. It can be found, for example, among the Shiite Moslems of Western Asia, the inhabitants of West and East Africa, the tribal people of parts of North America and a considerable proportion of the population of Brazil - as well as numerous other groups of people across the globe. A belief in rein-carnation is also steadily increasing in the West.

The concept of reincarnation or rebirth is directly related to the idea of the survival of death in that, depending on the different religious or philosophical systems which hold this belief, some aspect of the original individual has to continue through death and eventually be re-born in a new body as a new individual. The entity which survives death and is re-born as a new personality carries with it the good and bad ‘karma’ of the original person.

There are many books available which cover various aspects of the subject of reincarnation, four of which are suggested here for general reading and understanding of the subject. The first of these is:

Head, Joseph & Cranston, Sylvia (1977).
Reincarnation. The Phoenix Fire Mystery. An East-West dialogue on death and rebirth from the worlds of religion, science, psychology, philosophy, art and literature, and from great thinkers of the past and present.
Theosophical University Press, Pasadena. ISBN 1-55700-026-3.

Recently re-issued in paperback as:

Cranston, Sylvia (1998). Reincarnation. The Phoenix Fire Mystery. Theosophical University Press, Pasadena.

As suggested in the subtitle, this book is an extensive and detailed (620 pp.) review of the concept of reincarnation, moving from antiquity to modern times and quoting material from all aspects of religion, culture and science. It is encyclopaedic in its coverage but very readable and informative. The second book is:

Cerminara, Gina (1967). Many Mansions.
Neville Spearman, London.

Many Mansions is a straightforward interpretation of the spiritual philosophy behind the concept of reincarnation, based on the work of Edgar Cacey (see p. 32 , below).

A very recent text offering a straightforward introduction to the subject of reincarnation is:

Hall, Judy (2001). Way of Reincarnation.
Thorsons, London. ISBN 0-00-710290-9.

A very recent and useful introductory text on the subject of reincarnation. Although not as detailed as the above books, it covers most aspects of the subject in a way which is helpful to those wishing to explore the subject for the first time.

Although the concept of reincarnation has been considered by Western philosophers for at least two centuries, it is only fairly recently that it has become more widely understood by ordinary people. One of the earliest, well-publicised cases of an individual who was investigated for having claimed to remember details of her most recent life was that of Shanti Devi, an eight-year-old Indian girl born in Delhi who in 1935 claimed to be the reincarnation of a housewife who had died in childbirth in a small northern Indian town. In this, classic, case (described by Jeffrey Iverson, p. 6 above) Shanti Devi provided extensive detailed evidence - which she could not have known by normal means - about her previous family, none of which was shown to be false or mistaken. Cases like this led on to wide-ranging research during the second half of the last century. The leading figure in this field over the past 40 years has been Dr. Ian Stevenson, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, who has studied more than 2600 cases from all parts of the world and who has published his results in many scientific papers and several books. The quality of evidence in favour of reincarnation varies considerably from case to case, but Dr. Stevenson’s detailed and painstaking research has built up a compelling dossier of material in favour of reincarnation. As Iverson (see p. 6, above) has stated: "Dr. Stevenson considers fraud, hallucination and telepathy as options in every investigation. But the kernel of his work is the twenty-five cases he believes are so strong that reincarnation is the most logical explanation". Some of the key publications (books) produced by Dr. Stevenson are:

Stevenson, Ian (1966). Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. (Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research, Vol. XXVI, September 1966). American Society for Psychical Research, New York. Reprinted as:

Stevenson, Ian (1974). Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. 2nd. rev. ed. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville.
ISBN 0-8139-0546-X.

Stevenson, Ian (1975). Cases of the Reincarnation Type. Vol. 1, Ten Cases in India. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville. ISBN 0-8139-0602-4.

Stevenson, Ian (1977). Cases of the Reincarnation Type. Vol. 2, Ten Cases in Sri Lanka. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville. ISBN 0-8139-0624-5.

Stevenson, Ian (1980). Cases of the Reincarnation Type. Vol. 3, Twelve Cases in Lebanon and Turkey. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville. ISBN 0-8139-0816-7.

Stevenson, Ian (1983). Cases of the Reincarnation Type. Vol. 4, Twelve Cases in Thailand and Burma. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville. ISBN 0-8139-0960-0.

Stevenson, Ian (1987). Children Who Remember Previous Lives. A question of reincarnation. University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville. ISBN 0-8139-1140-0. (This is probably the best scientifically-argued account of the case for reincarnation).

Stevenson, Ian (1997). Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect. Praeger Publishers, Westport & London.
ISBN 0-275-95189-8 (pbk).

This last book is particularly interesting as it deals with evidence for re-incarnation which is based on physical manifestations, such as birth marks, that have been found to relate to experiences (often violent) remembered from a past life. It is a condensed and simplified version of a previously-published two-volume, medical monograph entitled Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects, also published by Praeger (1997; ISBN 0-275-95282-7).

Stevenson’s books are generally of an academic nature, being written largely for professionals and scholars. As such many of them are often not easy reading for a wider audience. Probably the most straightforward of his publications, and the nearest to a ‘popular read’, are Children Who Remember Previous Lives and Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect.

However, some of Prof. Stevenson’s work has been recorded in a very readable form in:

Schroder, Tom (1999). Old Souls. The scientific evidence for past lives. Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 0-684-85192-X.

Schroder, a sceptical journalist, persuaded Prof. Stevenson to allow him to take part in the latter’s field work in Lebanon, India and the American South. Old Souls consists of accounts of many case studies of children who clearly remembered details of their immediately previous life, providing evidence which convinced the author of the reality of reincarnation.

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