My Past Life
The reason I decided to post ‘My Past Life’ on my website ‘True I’ is because I believe the origin of my strong longing to recognize the true I, and the reason I want to realize the true I, lies in my past life. Therefore, I considered it a starting point in creating the website ‘True I’ and decided to share it.
My past life was Karamchand Mohandas Gandhi.
My wife Naoko’s past life was his wife, Kasturba Gandhi.
This is perhaps the case, with almost no doubt.
However, my wife does not believe in past lives.
When the two of us met, we did not know or even consider the possibility of our own past lives. At the time we met, we felt something we had never felt before deep in our hearts. The meeting of two souls that had once been together brought me a clear and crisp emotion, but at that time, I had no way of knowing it was a meeting of souls.
I cannot prove that Gandhi was my past life. It’s also impossible to prove that my wife’s past life was Kasturba. Additionally, I cannot prove that the soul that was Kasturba and the soul that was Gandhi met.
Regarding the notion that Gandhi was my past life, and that my wife Naoko’s past life was Kasturba, Gandhi’s wife:
Various documents support reincarnation, and there are various proofs that past lives exist. There is no person without a past life, but knowing what one’s past life was like is difficult because the physical body is entirely separate from the past life, and memories from a past life are lost. If it can be proven that the character of the past life is carried over into the character of the present life, past lives exist. However, because the physical body is entirely different, proving it is difficult. Generally, it is said that the last thoughts in a past life are carried over into the next life.
Kasturba, upon investigation, passed away on February 22, 1944.
Gandhi was shot and killed on January 30, 1948.
My birthday is December 12, 1948,
Naoko’s birthday is July 6, 1945
There is a difference of about 3 years and 5 months between my wife and my birthdays.
So why did I think that Gandhi was my past life?
The accident on August 12, 1989, in which I sustained a cervical spinal cord injury, marked the beginning of everything.
When I sustained the cervical spinal cord injury, I realized that I didn’t know who I was, but why did I realize such a thing? Gandhi, on the brink of death, had knowledge of the Atman but regretted realizing that he did not have a genuine recognition of being the Atman himself. It is believed that this strong longing at that time was remembered in his spiritual consciousness, carried over into this life, and emerged into the current consciousness when, upon my cervical spinal cord injury, amid the abnormal situation of full-body paralysis, zero sensation from the neck down, and abnormal breathing, I had a strong feeling that I might die. While a physical body dies, all memories remembered by that body perish with death. However, it is believed that there is a memory that shall be carried over to the next life; the last thought one had just before death is carried over. However, under normal consciousness, one cannot recognize this.
I was in the ICU of Kyorin University Medical School Hospital for one week, and then I was moved to a general ward. However, right after that, I felt something inside my chest. I didn’t know what it was, but even though I wanted it to go away, it persisted, day after day. The situation, of having something unknowable inside my chest, was a source of anxiety and stress.
After receiving prayers at Jindaiji Temple in Chofu City, I felt that something less and eventually disappeared. The talisman from Jindaiji Temple at that time is still preserved. What that something was became clear afterward. In the midst of death approaching, Gandhi died physically amidst an inaudible scream wanting someone to take out this thing in his chest. The large mole on my chest, formed after I had the feeling that something was inside it, led me to think that it appeared in the form of a mole since it had been in the abnormal consciousness after the cervical spinal cord injury, where the scar where the fatal bullet was fired into Gandhi’s chest was.
Who am I, what kind of existence am I? I, who had never thought about such things, subsequently devoted myself to elucidating it. And finally, I came to gain a genuine recognition concerning my existence.
In this life, I have experienced many wonders. When I was in the 3rd grade of elementary school, I encountered a UFO. It happened when I was in my home garden. When I felt something above my head and suddenly looked up at the sky, it was floating right above me. It was a disc, and it had three round, frosted glass-colored protrusions. When I saw the disc, I had the feeling of being observed by it. After a few seconds, it disappeared the moment I blinked while looking up.
Two more wonders were experienced afterward. On the way home from elementary school alone, it happened. It fluttered down from the sky. It was a smoky silver, 2-3 cm long, about 5 mm wide, and a very thin substance that vanished as soon as it hit my body. It also fell to the ground but disappeared as soon as it fell. Afterwards, I experienced the same thing again. It happened when I was alone in my home garden.
I knew that such things as UFOs existed and was interested because articles were published in boys’ magazines, but I never thought that I would encounter one. However, I did not have a desperate desire to know about UFOs at that time. I started investigating UFOs after the cervical spinal cord injury in August 1989, thinking that if they had their scientific technology, they might be able to cure cervical spinal cord injuries. Regarding the substance that fell from the sky, there was no literature on such a substance or experience, so I did not understand.
While exploring the challenging question of who I am, I studied Indian religions and encountered the philosophy of the Upanishads. Its profound thoughts became a compass for understanding true existence.
During my study of the Upanishads, I came to know about Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
In July 1995, I visited Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram ‘Prashanti Nilayam’ in the village of Puttaparthi, India. Details of this visit are published on this homepage, ‘True I.’
As I learned about India, I came to understand the background and life of Mahatma Gandhi and why he was called so. Gandhi was shot by a handgun and met his end, but what was he thinking at his last moments? I imagine he was in a state of panic. The sudden event confused Gandhi; initially, he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. He wished someone could remove what had entered his chest, but he couldn’t vocalize it. He was conscious and, despite his chaotic thoughts, a calm self was present. He knew he was shot and acknowledged his impending death. Then, he thought of Rama and Atman. At that moment, he realized that he did not recognize his existence as Atman. Regretting recognizing this too late, even though he was well-versed with the Gita, he passed away with strong intentions to recognize that his existence is Atman the next time he was born. These were Gandhi’s last thoughts.
The thoughts that emerged when I sustained a spinal cord injury were unlike any experiences from this life, leading me to believe they might have stemmed from experiences in a past life.
My experiences at Baba’s ashram, Prashanti Nilayam, are shared in the testimonials on my website, ‘True I.’ Still, why did such mysteries happen to me?
Gandhi passed away without having met Baba.
I believe no one could fully comprehend the abilities and powers of Baba. As documented in my testimonials, why did Baba show me the manifestation of Vibhuti? Among the numerous miracles of Baba, it seems that no one has witnessed the moment of Vibhuti’s appearance. When objects fall, they drop downwards due to gravity. However, the Vibhuti emerged from a point within a light, defying gravity, falling in an inverted V-shape onto both of my palms. The Vibhuti was created within the light.
Various other miracles that I have experienced are also posted on my homepage. Although it’s not documented in the testimonials, every time I passed through the gates during my visit to Prashanti Nilayam, Baba’s voice echoed in my heart, saying, ‘You’ve done well to come. You’ve done well to come.’ Also, during a visit to Baba’s ashram, Prashanti Nilayam, when I was discussing past lives with two roommates, they simultaneously said the exact same words about my past life. Those words pertained to the cause of death in my previous life. They should have no way of knowing about my past life, and yet, both of them spoke the same words simultaneously. At that moment, I thought Baba was communicating with me through them.
While researching Gandhi, I thought that perhaps I was Gandhi in my previous life. This thought originated when I encountered the description of his death, and something deep inside me thought, ‘This is me.’
While I cannot prove that I was Gandhi in a past life, the series of events I experienced shortly after my cervical spinal cord injury are not within my current life’s experiences and memories. During those experiences, there was a sensation that they were not illusions but were occurring in the present.
Moreover, an article advertisement on the front page of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper about Gandhi stated that he forgave the person who shot him as he was dying. However, I intuitively felt that I had never said such a thing.
So, who is ‘True I’? I came to know it in this life through real, conscious recognition.
I ponder why Baba let me experience numerous mysteries. In my heart, I think it was not for me in this life, but perhaps for Gandhi in a past life. In this life, I’ve come to recognize the ‘true I,’ my true I, in response to the question of who I am, reaching my true purpose as a human being in this life. This is linked to the strong belief that Gandhi from my previous life would surely realize Atman (soul) in the next life.
These things have led me to conclude that I was Gandhi in a previous life. The vibhuti (sacred ash) I received from Baba stuck white to both my hands and neck and to my clothes when Baba gently stroked my hands repeatedly with his hands, but mostly disappeared when I left the Mandir (temple). I recalled a very thin, slender, smoky silver substance that fell from the sky and vanished swiftly upon attaching to my body and clothing, something I experienced after encountering a UFO when I was in the 3rd grade of elementary school. The common point between this substance and the vibhuti is that they both disappeared.
Weren’t each of these experiences more than mere coincidences? While they are experiences over time, I feel there is a connection.
After encountering a UFO and being showered with the smoky silver substance in the 3rd grade, my previously weak body, which had kept me absent from school for dozens of days each year, began to experience fewer absences. I think that being showered with the substance that fell from the sky might be one reason why my body got stronger. If it was they, related to the UFO, who let the substance fall, it’s clear they knew I was weak and, thus, why did they expose me to such a substance remains a question, with no answer available now.
When I received vibhuti from Baba, I was exploring who I am, and I think Baba, knowing this, granted it to me so that I could realize my true I.
I didn’t feel that the smoky silver substance or vibhuti were absorbed into my body, but considering the circumstances, I think it was definitely absorbed. I believe that the two substances continue to emit their respective vibrations inside my body.
The above is my speculation about the smoky silver substance and vibhuti.
Why have various mysteries occurred to me so far? I cannot understand. I do not know who I am. The idea that I was Gandhi in a past life, given that I’ve lived an ordinary life this time around, would not have been conceivable had I not suffered a cervical spinal cord injury. Due to the injury, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’ve lived two lives in this life. The second life has become a time to know the profound world of truth.
I’ve expressed my feelings about my past life, etc., but what’s mentioned here is my personal view. Reincarnation has not been proven in modern Earth human civilization and science. One should not deem things that are invisible nonexistent. Just as viruses, once invisible, are now known to exist due to scientific progress, I look forward to the arrival of the time when the existence of consciousness, an invisible world, is revealed.
translator：Makoto Ishii