Without mentioning the most famous case, that of Dorothy Eady who claimed to have lived in ancient Egypt, there is the case of Shanti Devi, an Indian woman born in 1926 in Delhi, India, and died in 1987.
Already at the age of four, she began to speak of her past life, her husband, and her two children; she had lived with her husband in the city of Mathura where he owned a clothing shop, that her past name was Chaudine and she had died giving birth to her third child.
Her parents let her be, convinced that these were only the fantasies of a child. It was only when her statements about her past life became more persistent that they began to worry. Shanti often spoke of the foods she cooked for her family, the streets of Mathura, etc. The older she grew, the more Shanti told stories of her past life, insisting with her parents to take her to Mathura.
One day her teacher, intrigued, sent a letter to the address of her supposed husband describing the situation and, to his surprise, the man confirmed everything, from the wife's name to that of the children, the address and his relatives; everything said by Shanti corresponded, even the color of the house. The teacher asked Shanti's "husband," Pandit Kedarnath Chaube, to come to Delhi to meet her but the man, fearing a scam, sent his cousin asking to present himself with his name. When the man arrived at the station, Shanti was not deceived, recognizing her husband's cousin immediately and revealing further details of the house, her children, and her "husband."
Shocked, the man returned home and told everything to the cousin, convincing him to go to Delhi to meet her but Pandit was not yet fully convinced, so when the cousin knocked on Shanti's house door, he introduced him as his brother. This time too, the girl was not deceived and pointed out Pandit as her husband in the other life.
At dinner, she had Pandit's favorite dishes prepared and as proof of her reincarnation, she described the house and the place where she had hidden her personal jewels and a sum of money.
When Pandit and his cousin took the train to Mathura, the girl wanted to go with them but was not allowed. Later, she was invited by Pandit to visit his house with her parents and the girl made the journey without getting lost, proving she knew those streets well although it was the first time she visited that city.
Upon arrival, she recognized all her "neighbors" by name, although she had never seen them before, describing their houses and children, scolding Pandit because he had painted the house a different color, leaving the man once again astonished.
During the meeting, she recognized her children, including the one she had never known, telling things that only Pandit's deceased wife could know and describing the transition period between one body and another.
When it was time to say goodbye, she cried at the thought of having to leave her children again but always stayed in touch with her previous family.
The girl became very famous in India to the point of being introduced to Mahatma Gandhi and many members of the Indian Parliament. In 1935, a special commission of inquiry was established on her case, concluding that Shanti Devi was a true case of reincarnation.
This is the most documented past life case in history, not only for the investigations that have been done but because the subject did not describe a life in distant epochs but the one immediately preceding, providing at the same time testimonies and direct evidence.
