The concept of karma and reincarnation is entrenched in Indian ethos. It may have emanated from the notion of 8.4 million yonis ( species) through which a soul is believed to pass before he can enter maanav yoni ( human species ), the highest stage of biological evolution. But even after entering human form a soul is believed to pass through an indefinitely long cycle of death and rebirth according to his karma. In Jyotish the horoscope is believed to be a balance sheet of one’s past karma. However , when a child is born we seldom think what karma he(she) might have done in the past life except when the child is seen to be far below normal ( say physically/mentally deficient at birth) or turns to be highly deficient/gifted in due course. We sometimes hear about normal and average children who remembered and narrated their past life incidents which were found to be true on investigation.

Some research has been done from time to time to study amazing stories of such children . The pioneer in such study was Ian Stevenson ( 1918–2007) who studied many cases of such children. Late Dr P.V.Vartak MBBS PhD(Litt), a famous siddhayogi, scholar and researcher of Pune has also given many examples in a book on reincarnation authored by him. In the recent past Dr Walter Semkiw , Member of the ‘ Board of Directors of International Association for Regression, Research and Therapies ’ has authored a book titled ‘Born Again’, containing past life details of not ordinary children but international celebrities. The spiritual classic ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ authored by Paramhamsa Yogananda (1893-1952) mentions that his Param Guru (Guru’s Guru) Mahayogi Lahiri Mahasaya (1828—1895) was a sannyasi (celibate) yogi named Gangadhar in his previous birth. In this article examples of three celebrities from Dr Semkiw’s book and that of Lahiri Mahasaya are presented with astrological analysis of their charts..

Example 1. Jawahar Lal Nehru : (14 Nov 1889 11.21 PM Allahabad.)

According Dr Semkiw, Jawahar Lal Nehru was the reincarnation of Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862), the last Mughal Emperor. The Birth and Shastyamsa charts of Nehru are given below followed by their analysis and the relevant history.

In the rasi chart , ascendant lord and Atmakarak Moon is placed in the ascendant, hemmed between Saturn and Rahu ,the former indicating people’s aspiration for independence and the latter , British rule. The ascendant , Moon and Sun are in sarpa dreshkan . In the shastyamsa chart , Atmakarak Moon is vargottam and under the influence of Rahu and Saturn which confirms Jawahar Lal Nehru’s karma inherited from the previous birth . In the rasi chart the lord of Arudh Lagna is Mars (power) whereas that of Ghati– Lagna is Venus conjunct with Mercury–prominent position in the field of literature.

The ninth lord is Jupiter conjunct with Ketu implying a soft but tactful Dharma (policy) and their placements in the sixth house indicate a non-violent form of protest (freedom struggle) as preached by his mentor Mahatma Gandhi. He followed the same policy as the Prime Minister of India , particularly the foreign policy in maintaining good relations with neighboring countries as well as both superpowers USA and USSR , who were very inimical in those days. During his tenure (1947-1964) Five Year Plans for India’s economic growth were launched and a number of new projects for India’s development viz Steel Plants , large dams like Bhakra, Hirakud, Nagarjuna Sagar etc. for irrigation and power, new engineering/medical colleges were taken up.

As mentioned earlier he looked at neighboring countries as friends and believed that they too would look at India as a friend. The slogan “ Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai” (Indians and Chinese are like brothers) was very popular in those days. But this belief was shattered by the most unexpected Chinese aggression in October 1962 . India’s defense forces were unprepared for that surprise attack and faced a humiliating defeat . Nehru and his cabinet colleagues had to face the ire of the public and politicians. V K. Krishna Menon, then Defense Minister, bore the brunt and resigned. All this had a debilitating effect on Nehru .

His health deteriorated and he passed away on May 27, 1964. Nevertheless, the debacle of 1962 did serve as a wake–up call for India’s defense preparedness. The defense sector was strengthened as a top priority. This was proved with India’s victory in the wars with Pakistan in 1965 and again in1971.

In the Shastyamsa (which shows past karma) the ascendant is Pisces( Kubera shastyamsa) aspected by Rahu ( Aardra shastyamsa) . Atmakarak Moon is in ( Maheswara shastyamsa –great lord) but conjoined with Rahu ( British rule) placed in the house of power , indicating the plight of Bahadur Shah Zafar ( 1775-1862) , the namesake Mughal Emperor whose rule did not extend beyond the Red Fort ! . The placement of Arudh Lagna and its lord Jupiter in the fourth house is fine but Ghati Lagna (power and authority) in the 12^th house shows that he wielded hardly any power . However , GL is aspected by Mercury and Venus being in trine with Mercury , made Zafar a poet of high standing. Atmakarak Moon has the aspect of Saturn ( Brahma shastyamsa) and argala of Mars (Vish–dagdha shastyamsa ) indicating . people’s aspiration for freedom from British rule , even if violence becomes unavoidable . The Badshah himself must have nurtured a longing to become a sovereign Emperor but was unable to fulfill it with his limited might. So , when the mutineers of 1857 requested him to give his leadership to the struggle, he might have been tempted to give his consent in that hope though he was 82 at that time.

At the mutineers’ request he issued a Shahi Firman (Emperor’s decree) on 12 May 1857 exhorting Hindus and Muslims to join the revolt against British. During the initial few months, the mutineers had upper hand but in due course the tables were turned. When the victory of British became certain, Zafar and his close relations hid themselves at the Humayun Tomb. But they were compelled to surrender on 20^th Sept1857.

The next day his both sons were executed at the Khooni Darwaja near Delhi Gate. Later on , after a show of trial Zafar was exiled to Rangoon , Burma ( now Yangoon , Myanmar) in 1858 with his wife and some family members. He died there on 7^th Sept 1862. His wish to see India liberated from British rule and become her sovereign Emperor remained unfulfilled in his lifetime.

That is why Nehru was very eager to become and did manage to become Prime Minister despite Congress Working Committee’s full support to Sardar Patel Zafar was a person of sober temperament and a scholar. He was a noted poet and wrote many ghazals. His court was a home to Urdu writers of high standing like Ghalib, Dagh, Mumin and Zauq. Nehru too, was a soft natured person and a gifted writer. Whenever one thinks of him as a writer , his masterpiece work ‘Discovery of India’ comes to one’s mind.

In Rasi the lagna is occupied By Saturn . hemmed between Mars and Ketu , both being lords of fifth house of emotion / intelligence. Mars is yogakarak and the lord of both Arudh Lagna and Ghati Lagna ( placed the house of karma) and occupies the second house whereas Sun & Mercury are posited in the fifth house of emotion/ intelligence whose co-lord is Ketu. The fifth house has the aspect of the ninth lord Jupiter. The placement of Rahu in the sixth house indicates the tendency to deal with the opponents firmly without hesitation.

These features gave Indira Gandhi great courage in the discharge of duty and the reputation of being “the only man in the Cabinet !“ In the Birth chart lagna lord Moon is posited in the sign of Atmakarak Saturn , who in turn, is placed in the lagna . In the Shastyamsa chart Sagittarius (Bhrashta shastyamsa ) rises with Moon (Chandramukhi shastyamsa) in lagna whereas Atmakarak Saturn ( Amrit shastyamsa ) is placed in the third house of valour and the fifth house is owned and occupied by Mars ( Daavaagni shastyamsa).

These astrological features indicate that she had carried these qualities from her previous birth. She demonstrated her courage during the 1971 war with Pakistan which led to the creation of Bangladesh and again in 1984 during Operation Blue star, which was unavoidable for the integrity of India .But it infuriated Sikh hardliners and, unfortunately, she had to pay for this with her life when she was assassinated by her own bodyguards on Oct 31, 1984. In the Rasi third house from AL (which shows the circumstances of death) is occupied by Ketu and aspected by Venus (fourth lord in sixth house ) and Rahu clearly indicating death by treacherous act of her bodyguards posted at the residence. The sixth house contains Sagittarius sign owned by Jupiter ( Guru) implying that the assassins were Sikh – followers of Guru.

According to Dr Semkiw Nanasaheb Peshwa had reincarnated as Indira Gandhi. Nana Peshwa (born in 1824) was a prominent leader of the 1857 war of independence. Nana had succeeded in defeating British forces and taking control of Cawnpore (now Kanpur) for a short period. But in the end, the British regained control of their Indian territories and they were very brutal in seeking revenge for British deaths. However, Nana escaped death and was routed from Cawnpore. It is said that he had escaped to Nepal .

However , it is not known for certain when and where he died. Prof ( late) K. V .Belsare , a noted Marathi author of spiritual literature, has authored a book on Shri Gondavalekar Maharaj ( 1845-1913) of Maharashtra in which he states that Nana had taken to a spiritual way of life as advised by that saint and that Nana died in 1906 . Dr Semkiw states, analysis of facial features reveals that the facial architecture between Nana and Indira Gandhi is consistent. A review of their personalities indicates some common character traits. In particular, both Nana and Indira demonstrated a tendency to be authoritarian and to use military force. When Nana took control of Cawnpore he placed his foes behind bars , just as when Indira Gandhi called a state of Emergency in 1975, she had her adversaries arrested !

However, notwithstanding all this the fact remains that India had a great Prime Minister in her. But for the bold actions taken by her in 1971 and 1984 India would have suffered great miseries and probably Khalistan would have been carved out of Punjab as a separate nation .

In this way , two leaders of the First War of Independence reincarnated, as father and daughter, to be part of the attainment of Indian Independence in 1947, nine decades after the Sepoys initiated the process in 1857. This reminds the author of an incident in the life of Vasudev Balawant Phadke ( 1845 -1883) a firebrand revolutionary of 19^th century who fought against the British in Maharashtra in the post 1857 period. He had gone to Akkalkot ( a town in Maharashtra) to seek the blessings of Shri Swami Samarth Maharaj, a great sage of that time, for success in his mission . But the Sage did not bless him .

The Sage, who had attained the state of timelessness ,must have known that India was not destined to get Independence in near future. Some admirers of Veer Savarkar believe that Phadke had reincarnated as Savarkar to complete the mission of his life .