How to be Lucky & Successful in life

Sumit Kumar Sirkar

Why some people are lucky and why some people are unlucky and how to be luckythe mystery is unfolded in this small handbook.

All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author. Sumit Kumar Sirkar Published by Sumit Kumar Sirkar sirkar@rediffmail.com Powered by Pothi.com http://pothi.com

Contents
What Is Luck? Answer one Answer two Answer three Answer four [5] [41] [53] [56] [58]

I Started Getting Some Answers [8]

Chapter 1

What is luck?
Why do I write on this subject? I felt like writing my real experiences, which have benefited me tremendously and I think they can also benefit readers, although they may appear fantastic and romantic - because my experiences have been quite strange and mysterious, which, may be, very blessed people can only have the privilege of having. So I write. According to me the definition of good fortune is: one who enjoys good health, has the physical and mental capabilities of achieving his goals in life, has good appearance, has happiness in mind and is not prone to accidentsI think such a person can be called a fortunate person. Whether anyone believes me or not, I have learnt from this life that each person is born with a balance of fortune or misfortune. I understood that sum total of a mans personality and life, depends upon three factors: one: GENETIC FACTOR, two:

How to be Lucky & Successful in life

ENVIRONMENT FACTOR and three: HARDWORK FACTOR. And all these three factors are not in ones hand. One cannot take birth with good genetic qualities of ones choice. One cannot as a child arrange a good environment for himself. He lives where he is born, in his family and goes to the school where his parents put him into and plays with such kids who are available. Ability to work hard also depends upon his genetic qualities and environments like his health, nutrition, and motivation and may be many other factors. But all such factors are not his choice but he has to live with them as chance grants him. So this chance is luck or fortune and some are fortunate and some are not fortunate. So the question is why some are fortunate and some are not. What can be done to become fortunateI have found the answer and so I write? I was born with very bad health. I suffered from congenital nystagmus, due to which I never enjoyed a normal vision. I suffered from hormonal misbalance in brain. Hormone called serotonin remained in abnormally lesser quantity in my brain due to which I suffered from acute lack of mental concentration, lethargy, lack of memory and also from chronic depression. My parents were refugees and not quite educated. My dad worked as a soldier in the Indian Air Force and earned a meager salary. My normal body resistance was also poor and I constantly suffered from various kinds

What is luck?

of infections. Hence could not do well in studies, games or in any other social activities, as the diseases I suffered from had no cure. And everyone condemned me as useless and good for nothing. So I called myself unfortunate. Because I felt I was unfortunate, I always searched answer to the question why is somebody fortunate and why is somebody not? My search went on. I even meditated for hours everyday and searched within to get the answer. After more than 34 years of search, I got some answers and so I write

Chapter II

I started getting some answers

I am writing the following lines only to inform readers how and where I gathered knowledge about luck and fortune, which need not be read with utmost seriousness, as they are not absolutely relevant and tangible in nature. Reading was almost impossible for me. With eye problem congenital nystagmus it was very slow and after sometime painful. And with hormonal misbalance of serotonin, mental concentration, retention and understanding were horrible. I was also constantly disturbed by unknown memories of war between armies and the soldiers of both sides were Indians and I had regular dreams of such kind. I was shown to a few doctors for my eye problem but they could not be of any help. So I was an utter failure in all the activities of life. Life was miserable. No one knew how I could be helped. My parents were not religious. My father did not practice any religious norms regularly and my mother

I started getting some answers

merely carried out routine worships that she had learnt from her parents. But somehow I came to know that there is something called God who is all-powerful and can help anyone. So not knowing what I was doing, I started praying fervently everyday for months and months. One day while meditating I got a clue that if I start running in the morning everyday then my condition would improve. Somehow I shook my lethargy and got up in the morning next day and went for running. I kept running for next few days in the morning. One day, strangely I felt better, mentally and physically and I found I was able to understand so many simple things, which were riddles earlier. I was feeling free from lethargy. I was able speak with confidence and was cheerful in mind. Depression was gone. During this time reading was much easier as I was able to understand quite a few things. But my nystagmus of eyes remained. But prayer and meditation became a part of my daily life. I also tried to do running and exercise regularly. Within a week I found with distress that my mental and physical condition that had magically improved once again became what it was. Again depression, poor understanding, no concentration, lethargy and all that. It was then I understood that I am having some physical illness that needs medical attention. Strangely after a week or so, again I started feeling fine, no depression, no problems of concentration or understanding etc. I was around 20 years of age at that time. I consulted a doctor who listened patiently and told me that it was all a psychological

How to be Lucky & Successful in life

problem and I must change my thinking habits. He also prescribed some pills, which did not work. So I continued my running and exercise, prayers and meditation. Days passed by and I used to feel fine for a week of so and remained unwell for another week or so. During the time I felt fine, I tried to study and do as many things as possible because of available mental and physical efficiency. But prayers and meditation became a regular habit. I started learning languages better and was also able learn bit of math. I started reading magazines and newspaper as well. The overall quality of my personality improved quite a bit. It was then someday I was clearly able to feel that there exists an eternal power which people call God, who is all powerful, friendly and wants to help the world. So my habit of prayer and meditation became more and more intense. And I started getting more and more clues and answers I got number of clues and answers and one of the most interesting clues that I got was that the mind is not the function of brain. Memory, intelligence, knowledge and attitude are not in brain. But they exist forever in an intangible form within an intangible being which may be called soul. It is an amazing storage system, which cannot be burnt, stolen, corrupted, infected with virus, pirated or crashed and it has unlimited storage space and serves for infinite time. Probably God collects data from all the souls. Soul is

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not a matter or energy. It cannot be touched, weighed or destroyed. It cannot be contained. A soul remains in contact with a body so long as the body remains alive. When body becomes unfit to remain alive the soul departs it and again comes in contact with a new body. Human brain only reads and reflects the soul to the extent it is normally capable of. Soul contains vast database of information. Soul has all the information; knowledge and wisdom of all the bodies it has been in contact with in the past with cent percent completeness and accuracy. But the body that is in contact with it now, can normally retrieve only the information that has been stored during the time this body remained in contact with the soul. Memory and wisdom does not lie in cerebrum or cerebellum or in the central nervous system as normally believed. In extraordinary cases soul is capable of networking with other souls and can also retrieve or read data from other souls. Not necessary that soul always contacts a human body only. It contacts all kinds of living beings. Only specialty of a soul, when it is in contact with a human body is, it enjoys some independence and liberty of action. Animals and other non-human living beings do not have that privilege. They are simply programmed in their respective DNAs and their life cycle materializes as programmed. In human beings, with the power of will, the programmed life cycle can be altered to some extent. So the human activities are not pre determined and options are available for choosing a better activity to some extent.

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Each soul goes through evolution process. Some souls are superior in quality of intelligence than others. Soul when departs a body, carries with it all the experience of the body and when contacts a new body, that new body although cannot have access to all the experiences of the soul which it had in its contact with the previous body/ bodies, but unconsciously, however, the knowledge that soul has accumulated in its previous contacts manifests through the new body. The great scientists, inventors, prodigious children and philosophers are examples as they are superior species of evolution. Soul is very possessive about the body it is in contact with and remains with it as long as achievable. But when the body is no longer fit to live, the soul departs to find a new body as per it qualifies to deserve. After departing a human body, if the soul does not deserve a human body, it has to contact a non-human body like that of an animal or may be even reptile. These are all cycles of fortune and misfortune. It is after millions of reincarnations, a soul finds a human body, which gives it the independence and liberty of choosing activities in life. A soul during its contact with a human body, if attains perfection in its purity, it does not require to reincarnate. This soul then mingles with the eternal soul the Almighty forever. Further, soul not only carries the memory and experience of previous lives forever, but also carries the balance of fortune it has

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earned or lost during lifetime. Negative balance of fortune, if carried over, the new life would be full of misery. One can develop negative balance in ones lifetime as well, although he may have been born with a positive balance of fortune if he exhausts his balance by bad deeds. In that case he would start suffering misfortune in that life itself. Whatever I have realized about soul and mentioned above cannot be proved scientifically but I beg to challenge any scientist or physician or a rationalist to prove otherwise. I also got the clue as to what fortune and misfortune are. Every human being is born with a credit or debit balance of fortune. Anyone who is born with a massive credit balance of fortune enjoys life tremendously. That person is blessed with very good health, good looks and lots of wealth, mental and physical abilities to achieve his goals and enjoys happiness of mind and is not prone to accidents. A person born with massive debit balance of fortune, suffers ill health, is poverty stricken is mentally and physically incapable of achieving his goals in life, does not have happiness in mind and is prone to accidents. It is something like this. The soul carries with it the credit or debit balances of fortune like memory and experience. Credit balance of fortune can be increased during ones life and can be wasted as well. Although, the scientific findings about reincarnation, as has been recorded are as under, I quote:

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Past life regression is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or reincarnations, though others regard them as fantasies or delusions. Past life regression is typically undertaken either in pursuit of a spiritual experience, or in a psychotherapeutic setting. Most advocates loosely adhere to beliefs about reincarnation, though religious traditions that incorporate reincarnation generally do not include the idea of repressed memories of past lives. The technique used during past life regression involves the subject answering a series of questions while hypnotized to reveal identity and events of alleged past lives, a method similar to that used in recovered memory therapy and one that similarly misrepresents memory as a faithful recording of previous events rather than a constructed set of recollections. The use of hypnosis and suggestive questions makes the subject particularly likely to hold distorted or false memories. The source of the memories is more likely cryptomnesia and confabulations that combine past experiences, knowledge, imagination and suggestion or guidance from the hypnotist than recall of a previous existence. Once created, the memories are indistinguishable from memories

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based on events that occurred during the subjects life. Memories reported during past life regression have been investigated, and revealed historical inaccuracies that are easily explained through a basic knowledge of history, elements of popular culture or books that discuss historical events. Experiments with subjects undergoing past life regression indicate that a belief in reincarnation and suggestions by the hypnotist are the two most important factors regarding the contents of memories reported. Past life regression is mentioned in the Upanishads of ancient India, but is discussed in greater detail in the Yoga Sutras of Patajali. Writing during the second century BCE, the Hindu scholar Patajali discussed the soul being burdened with an accumulation of impressions that were part of the karma from previous lives. Patajali called the process of past life regression, pratiprasav (literally reverse birthing), and involved addressing current problems through memories of past lives. Prati-prasav is used today as a practice in some types of yoga. In the modern era, it was the works of Madame Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society,

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which brought it a new found popularity, especially in the West. French educator Allan Kardec also delved into past life regression in The Spirits Book and Heaven and Hell. Past life regression therapy has been developed since the 1950s by psychologists, psychiatrists and mediums. The belief gained credibility because some of the advocates possess legitimate credentials, though these credentials were in areas unrelated to religion, psychotherapy or other domains dealing with past lives and mental health. Interest in the phenomenon started due to American housewife Virginia Tighe reporting and recounting the alleged memories of a 19th-century Irish woman named Bridey Murphy; later investigation failed to support the existence of such a woman and the memories were attributed to Tighes childhood during which she spent time living next to an Irish immigrant. Past-life regression practitioners use hypnosis and suggestion to promote recall in their patients, using a series of questions designed to elicit statements and memories about the past lifes history and identity.Some practitioners also use bridging techniques from a clients current-life problem to bring past-life stories to conscious awareness. Practitioners believe that unresolved

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issues from alleged past lives may be the cause of their patients problems, Luis Cordn states that this can be problematic as it creates delusions under the guise of therapy. Memories can vary from harmless to actually increasing suffering in the patient or their families. The memories are experienced as vivid as those based on events experienced in ones life, impossible to differentiate from true memories of actual events, and accordingly any damage can be difficult to undo. The technique is not taught as part of any medical internships. Scientific consensus is that the memories are the result of cryptomnesia, narratives created by the subconscious mind using imagination, forgotten information and suggestions from the therapist. Memories created under hypnosis are indistinguishable from actual memories and can be more vivid than factual memories. The greatest predictor of individuals reporting memories of past lives appears to be their beliefs about the existence in reincarnation - individuals who believe in reincarnation are more likely to report such memories, while sceptics or disbelievers are less so.

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Examinations of three cases of apparent past life regression (Bridey Murphy, Jane Evans and an unnamed English woman) revealed memories that were superficially convincing. However, investigation by experts in the languages used and historical periods described revealed flaws in all three patients recall. The evidence included speech patterns that were ...used by movie makers and writers to convey the flavour of 16th century English speech rather than actual Renaissance English, a date that was inaccurate but was the same as a recognized printing error in historical pamphlets, and a subject that reported historically accurate information from the Roman era that was identical to information found in a 1947 novel set in the same time as the individuals memories, with the same name reported by the person regressed. Other details cited are common knowledge and not evidence of the factual nature of the memories; subjects asked to provide historical information that would allow checking provided only vague responses that did not allow for verification, and sometimes were unable to provide critical details that would have been common knowledge (e.g. a subject who was unable to provide the name of the Emperor of Japan during the 1940s despite describing a life of a Japanese fighter pilot during World War II).

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A 1976 study found that 40% of hypnotizable subjects described new identities and used different names when given a suggestion to regress past their birth. In the 1990s a series of experiments undertaken by Nicholas Spanos examined the nature of past life memories. Descriptions of alleged past lives were found to be extremely elaborate, with vivid, detailed descriptions. Subjects who reported memories of past lives exhibited high hypnotizability, and patients demonstrated that it was the expectations conveyed by the experimenter that were that was most important in determining the characteristics reported by the patients during their memories. The degree to which the memories were considered credible by the experimental subjects was correlated most significantly to the subjects beliefs about reincarnation and their expectation to remember a past life rather than hypnotizability. Spanos research leads him to the conclusion that past lives are not memories, but actually social constructions based on patients acting as if they were someone else, but with significant flaws that would not be expected of actual memories. To create these memories, Spanos subjects drew upon the expectations established by authority figures and information outside of the experiment such as television, novels, life experiences and their own

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

desires. Jonathan Edelmann and William Bernet Setting Criteria for IdealReincarnation Research Attempts have been made to show reincarnation is a candidate for a scientific theory of consciousness on the basis of empirical evidence, such as the testimony paranormal of children who seem to have states, knowledge of a previous life and

the concomitant behaviour, emotional

and physical traits consistent with the alleged previous life (Stevenson, 1966; 1997a,b; Mills, 2004; Haraldsson, 2000a,b). There is a tradition of paranormal research within Western universities, of which Stevenson, Mills and Haraldsson are part.Deborah Blums (2006) recent book discusses the distinguished (and often neglected) band of men in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who also attempted to use a scientific method to study the supernatural. We find that William James conducted sances in Boston, that Henry Sidgwick, the Cambridge professor of philosophy, co-founded the Society for Psychical Research in 1882, and that the cofounder of evolution, Alfred Russell Wallace, used scientific methods to study the paranormal. Despite its eminent line of predecessors, parapsychology is

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very much a black sheep among academics, as the philosopher David Ray Griffin (2000, p. 195) has noted. One reason that parapsychological studies on reincarnation in particular may often be considered outside the pale of solid academic research is that reincarnation entails an ontology that deeply contradicts contemporary scientific (Angel, 1994, p. 295), philosophical (Edwards, 1996, p. 255), and Christian theological (Swinburne, 1986, p. 302) views of mind consciousness. If it were shown that a human mind or consciousness could reincarnate into another body after death, this would have a revolutionary impact on how we understand Journal of Consciousness Studies, 14, No. 12, 2007, pp. 92101 Correspondence: nathan.edelmann@theology.oxford.ac.uk mindbody relationships, the nature of human memory, and the ontology of consciousness, as would the studies done on neardeath experiences (Parnia & enwick, 2002). Moreover, reincarnation would rule out reductive materialism, and give some credibility to non-physical views of consciousness in Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Yet, is it possible to conclude anything substantive about reincarnation on the basis of empirical research? Many would dismiss the question as impossible to answer or irrelevant because neurology has shown

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the minds dependence on the brain (Churchland, 1999, p. 25). Recognizing how deeply a belief in reincarnation contradicts the ontology that contemporary scientists adhere to, the authors of the present paper have designed a very rigorous and largescale reincarnation experiment that would involve many teams of researchers and a series of protocols. In order to evaluate whether reincarnation can be argued for on the basis of empirical evidence, one must have some sense of what such empirical research might look like and how it might best be conducted. There are two types of reincarnation cases: spontaneous and hypnotic. In the latter, hypnotists gather information about a supposed previous life or supposed unlearned languages when a subject (usually an adult) is placed under hypnotic regression. The spontaneous cases occur apparently from no particular cause when a (usually young) child claims to remember a previous life. We shall only discuss the spontaneous cases in that we believe they are more amenable to scientific investigation for reasons that will become clear below. There are a number of weaknesses with the current methodology used by parapsychologists to study reincarnation claims,even though these studies have provided a wealth of interesting information and provided a much needed rationale for

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further study. Considering that many reincarnation cases occur in countries in which belief in reincarnation is part of the cultural matrix, the possibility of interpreting otherwise normal information in light of reincarnation is very strong. In most cases, the child was not interviewed so as to exclude the possibility of familial and/or interviewer suggestion, nor in such a way that allows other researchers to observe the interview itself. Generally, the child was present at the time his statements were validated at the designated household, thus introducing the possibility that suggestion occurred (Bernet, 2002; Edwards, 1996, p. 138; Rhine, 1966). Jim Tucker (2000) has demonstrated the manner in which the University of Virginia Division of Personality Studies has used the CRITERIA FOR IDEAL REINCARNATION RESEARCH 93 strength-of-case scale (SOCS) to document about 800 cases. The SOCS evaluates a reincarnation case based on four criteria: (1) whether it involves birthmarks/defects that correspond to the supposed previous life; (2) the strength of the statements about the previous life; (3) the relevant behaviours as they relate to the previous life; and (4) an evaluation of the possibility of a connection between the child (also Mills, 2004). reporting a previous life and the supposed previous life The SOCS is an important

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contribution to creating an ideal protocol for studying reincarnation, but no attempt has ever been made to compare the childs score in describing the designated household with a control household. We are attempting to correct these weaknesses by providing a protocol that has yet to be employed. An ideal protocol would have the sort of evidence and employ the methods of research able to give substantive weight to a reincarnation hypothesis, even for those who have physicalism as a metaphysical bias and are therefore highly sceptical of reincarnation case studies. In order to have an ideal protocol for reincarnation research, the standards, acceptable practices, and methods should be carefully outlined and reviewed by professionals in fields as varied as psychology, psychiatry, parapsychology, forensic science, and anthropology. The group must hold varying degrees of sympathy and skepticism for the belief in reincarnation so as to add as much objectivity and balance to these standards and the discussion as Phase 1 possible. What follows is a step toward establishing methods. When a child spontaneously tells of a previous life he or she believes to have had, that data should be collected from the child in an individual interview by trained professional(s), A. The interview must be

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videotaped so that other people working on this project can determine the overall quality of the interview, both in its content and the manner in which it was conducted. This would allow other members of the project, as well as other scientists and scholars in the future, to make up their own minds as to whether the information could have arisen from normal means during the interview process, for instance, that the interviewer made suggestions or that the child was merely speaking 94 J. EDELMANN AND W. BERNET from rote memorization. Thus, close-ups of the child and interviewer, as well as a long shots of both, must be provided. As of yet, this practice has not been adopted by those studying reincarnation. Interviewer A must elicit from the child specific statements about the previous life, such as My mother, whose name was Mary, has red hair; There is a round window in the bathroom overlooking the garden; My house is surrounded by a stone wall, etc. Asmuch as possible, the interview should be nondirective. That is, A should proceed from very general questions (Tell me everything you can remember about the past life.) to more specific questions (Tell me the names of everybody who lived in the house.) to even more specific questions (How old was your younger brother?) so as to mine as many details as possible. If

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the child has not said anything about serious injuries or operations, A could ask a general question (Did you have any operations or injuries?) and then more specific questions (Were you ever stabbed?). Since the interview will be recorded, other researchers can determine whether the interviewer made suggestions as to the sorts of answers needed to prove reincarnation. The statements by the child must in principle be empirically verifiable, and they must be specific enough and numerous enough to eliminate the possibility of chance and/or common knowledge that any child might have. We suggest that A collect enough information from the child to make twenty discrete, independent descriptors of the former life. For example, My younger brother was 5 and He was in kindergarten only amounts to one descriptor, because almost all 5-year-olds are in kindergarten. However, My younger brother was 5 and He broke his left arm and had a cast constitute two descriptors.

Phase 2
A group of trained professionals, B, looks at the data collected from the child. Group Bs role is to make a critical evaluation of the interview as well as all possible information that can be gathered

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about the life-history of the child. Group B will collect information about the child by interviewing the childs parents and other relatives, reviewing school information, and reviewing medical and mental health records of the child. Their analysis will be handed over to the project director for further evaluation. Group B must be trained in psychiatric interviewing so they can discover any discrepancies in the interview of the child. There are two aspects to Bs project: (a) to show that the child could not have CRITERIA FOR IDEAL REINCARNATION RESEARCH 95 received the information through some normal means, or (b) to point out when or where the child did receive the information through normal means, e.g., from radio, television, the Internet, parents, an informant, suggestion by an investigator, etc. Regarding (a), it is entirely possible that B could provide mere approximations or probabilities,for instance, that it is highly unlikely the child could have obtained the information many through normal means or that there are

ways the child could have obtained the information through normal means such as the neighbour with him he spoke daily. Regarding (b), B may only be able to suggest possible situations that the child could have

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received the information normally based on what is gathered from the childs life-history, rather than a specific instance such as, On July 12, the child was in the house when people from his supposed former town came to his house. Since group B must have full access to the childs history, this would entail cooperation from the parents and other persons associated with the up-bringing of the child. Much of what B investigates regarding the childs life-history must come from the parents testimony since the child would not be a reliable source given she or he already espouses paranormal means of information transmission. As such, B must demonstrate either the reliability or unreliability of the testimony involved in the case; this may require psychological evaluation of key informants, including the child. Many of Stevensons cases occurred before people had access to modern communication technology and long distance transportation, but that is certainly changing quickly.With the tremendous amount of information children have easy access to today, group B may find it exceedingly difficult, perhaps even impossible, to rule out normal means of information transmission. Thus, it would be important that the child be very young (that is, 3 to 6 years old) so as to reduce the possibility

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of normal means of information acquisition, and ideally the child should have led a life that was tightly controlled by the parents. An analysis of the interview, the possibility of normal and/or paranormal knowledge reception, the life-history of the child, and the reliability of testimonials should be drawn up to be presented to the project directors. Also, B will create the list of the 20 descriptors elicited by the interview of the child, and will prepare definitions of what will constitute a hitwhen the next group of investigators, C, visit the supposed previous home or village and collect data to validate the claim of reincarnation. 96 J. EDELMANN AND W. BERNET

Phase 3
A third group of investigators, C, is sent by the project directors to the location of childs supposed previous life to collect data. C must not have been given any access to child or his/ her recorded statements, as this might influence their investigation of the location. C should be told to gather general information from the family at the designated household and the location in question. By general information, we mean they should be asked to describe the physical features of the mother if the child had spoken about the

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mother, to describe the bathroom in detail if the child had spoken about the bathroom, the describe the size, shape, colour and general condition of the house if the child had spoken about a house, etc. It will be group Bs job to formulate the types of information C is to gather in such a way that C is not led to a particular conclusion. C should also describe surrounding areas so that it can be seen if the information provided by the child is unique or common. For instance, if the child says, I had a blue house on a hill with a water-well in the backyard, then C should provide enough detail of the surrounding area to determine how common such descriptions are. Since much of the information gathered will depend on the testimony of neighbours, the reliability of this testimony must be determined, as in Phase 2. Aside from gathering information of the surrounding areas of the alleged past life, C should visit another household nearby that has been predetermined by group B, which serves at the control household. For instance, the control household could be at the same house number on an adjoining street or a comparable household in a nearby community. C must not know which is the designated house and which is the control house. In other words, the criterion for success is not that the child scored

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12 hits out of 20 descriptors, but that the number of hits for the designated household and village is significantly higher than the number of hits for the control household and village. Such numbers could be compared statistically to show how likely it is that the result did not occur by chance. Wherever possible interviews should be video recorded, and household objects, landscape and relevant artifacts should be photographed. As with group B,all of Cs instructions,collections,and evaluations must be saved so that future researchers can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. CRITERIA FOR IDEAL REINCARNATION RESEARCH 97

Phase 4
In this final phase the project directors, D, collect and assess the findings from groups A, B, and C. Group D must provide for publication a written review of work done in each phase to determine their overall quality, and their strength or weakness for paranormal activity. It is their job to ensure that all documentation and records are secured and organized so that other researches can view them in the future. D must determine whether the interview was conducted properly by group A; D must

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determine whether group B adequately addressed all possible natural sources of information; and D must determine whether group C had collected the relevant information from the alleged past life and the control site. Assuming that D finds the above satisfactory, the largest question D must answer is: Do the 20 (at least) descriptors provided by the child rule out chance as an explanation? Perhaps the child could construct a convincing reincarnation story with no paranormal knowledge based solely on facts gained from everyday experience. The results of the experiment proposed thus far in this paper can be analyzed statistically to see if there is a significant difference between the accuracy of the childs descriptors for the designated household and that for the control household. It is not possible to analyze a single case statistically, since almost any result in a particular case might come about by chance. For example, if a person were to flip a group of five coins, every so often all five coins will come up heads. In fact, this will occur on the average once in 64 trials: 1 2 1 64

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5_ __ _ __ _ In the proposed study, the experimenters will need to study a number of cases of alleged reincarnation and analyze them as a group. The null hypothesis is that there is no significant difference between the designated households and the control households. If the null hypothesis is disproven, we are left with the alternative hypothesis that there is a significant difference and that the reincarnation of the child is an explanation for this difference. In other words, one must rule out the possibility of chance statistically. Suppose the experimenters study several cases of alleged reincarnation. In each case, after the child designates twenty descriptors of the household of his or her former life, the experimenters will look for these descriptors in the designated household and the control household. For each case, this will produce two scores: the number of 98 J. EDELMANN AND W. BERNET correct descriptors or hits for the designated household (XD) and the number of hits for the control household (XC). These are called paired samples. The difference between these two scores is:

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XD XC = _ If the child made 16 hits on the designated household and only 10 hits on the control household, then _ = +6. If the child made 12 hits on the designated household and 14 on the control household, then _ = 2. In this design, the significance is determined by several factors: (1) The size of the average of _ (_ ave) for all the cases included in the study. If the _ ave is a large positive number, it is more likely there will be a significant difference between control the designated households and the

households. (2) The number of cases (n). The larger the n, the more likely it will be to find a significant difference between the designated and the control households. (3) The standard deviation ( ) of all the _ s. If this standard deviation is small, it is more likely there will be a significant difference between the designated households and the control households. If this standard deviation is large, it is more likely the scores for XD and for XC will overlap and there will be no significant difference between the ) of the designated households and the control households. The formula for the standard deviation ( differences (_ s) is: _

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_ _ _ _ _ _ ave n 2 1 The test statistic for the null hypothesis is: _ _ _ ave ave n n / _ To give a simple example of how this would work in practice, suppose the experimenters study 9 cases of alleged reincarnation. Assume that on the average, the children achieve 4 more hits on the designated households than on the control households. And assume the _ s are fairly tightly grouped, so the standard deviation of the _ s is 2. These assumptions are optimistic in the sense that they favour the rejection of the null hypothesis, but we do not wish to suggest that the actual results would necessarily be this way. Applying the test statistic to these data, the result would be: CRITERIA FOR IDEAL REINCARNATION RESEARCH 99

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94_ 2 _6 We use the one-tailed t-test because we are only interested in showing that the childrens scores for the designated households are significantly higher than those for the control households, not the reverse. Consulting a t table at 8 (n1) degrees of freedom, we find the probability (p) of this result occurring by chance is less than 0.001. If these were our actual results, we would reject the null hypothesis and adopt the alternative hypothesis that these children had knowledge of the designated households through reincarnation or some similar means. On the other hand, if the average of the _ s turns out to be a small number or a negative number and/or the standard deviation of the _ s turns out to be relatively large, the result would not allow us to reject the null hypothesis. A strong case for reincarnation would, on this model, require that at each and every phase the research was conducted without flaw. In other words, if the children were interviewed according to the above standards by group A, and if the children provided the necessary information; if group B was unable,

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I started getting some answers

despite their best efforts, to show how the childrens information was obtained normally;if the information gathered by C showed that the childrens statements regarding the designated households were significantly more accurate than when applied to the control households; if D could find no flaw in the overall quality of the research, then we would have a strong case for reincarnation. Lastly, the _ , or the difference between the results obtained from the designated house as opposed to the control house, must be a large, positive number. Such a result has yet to emerge, for none of Stevensons, Haraldssons, or Mills cases involve this large collaborative effort. We believe, however, that the work done by Stevenson and others provides a rationale for conducting further research in reincarnation. Furthermore, the vast implications of reincarnation for our understanding of mind, memory and consciousness suggest that such experiments could be beneficial to human knowledge. Although ideal reincarnation research has not yet occurred, it is in principle possible to achieve this goal. Acknowledgements The authors thank Mitchell Gail, MD, PhD, for helpful consultation regarding the statistical aspects of this paper. 100 J. EDELMANN AND W. BERNET

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

References
Angel, Leonard (1994), Enlightenment East & West (New York: State University of New York Press). Blum, Deborah (2006), and Ghost Busters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death (New York: Penguin Press). Bernet, William (2002), Book Review of Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation, Revised Edition by Ian Stevenson, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41 (8), August, pp.102223. Churchland, Patricia (1999), Toward a Natural Science of the Mind, Consciousness at the Crossroad: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science & Buddhism, ed. Alan Wallace and Robert Livingston (New York: Snow Lion Publication). Edwards, Paul (1996), Reincarnation: A Critical Examination (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books). Griffin, David Ray (2000), Religion and Scientific Naturalism: Overcoming the Conflicts (New York: SUNY Press). Haraldsson, Erlendur (2000a), Birthmarks and claims of previous life memories I. The case of Purnima Ekanayake,

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I started getting some answers

Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 64 (858), pp. 1625. Haraldsson, Erlendur (2000b), Birthmarks and claims of previous life memories II. The case of Chatura Karunaratne, Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. 64 (859), pp. 8292. Mills, Antonia (2004), Inferences from the case of Ajendra Singh Chauhan: The effect of parental questioning, of meeting the previous life family, an aborted attempt to quantify probabilities, and the impact on his life as a young adult, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 18 (4), pp 60941. Parinia, S. and Fenwick P. (2002), Near death experiences in cardiac arrest: visions of a dying brain or visions of a new science of consciousness, Resuscitation, 52, pp 511. Rhine, Louisa E (1966), Book Review of 20 Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation by Ian Stevenson.,In The Journal of Parapsychology, 30 (4), December, pp 26372. Stevenson, Ian (1966/1974), 20 Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation, 2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia). Stevenson, Ian (1997a), Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects,

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

Volume 1 (Connecticut: Praeger). Stevenson, Ian (1997b), Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects, Volume 2 (Connecticut: Praeger). Tucker, Jim (2000), A scale to measure the strength and weakness of childrens claims of previous lives: Methodology and initial findings, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 14 (4), pp 57181. Swinburne, Richard (1986), The Evolution of the Soul (Oxford: Clarendon Press).Paper received October 2006

Criteria For Ideal Reincarnation Research 101.U

Unquote. However, a person can endeavor to increase his credit balance of fortune. How? I have got that clue also. I am revealing the answers one by one.

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Chapter III

Answer one:
This was the most important and useful knowledge that I had gathered, which had really helped me immensely to improve my luck and readers are recommended to read with utmost seriousness. One who does all his legitimate duties prudently, completely and honestly increases his credit balance of fortune and one, who does not, decreases his balance of fortune, because God deputes every soul with human body for some purpose. Hence, one must try to keep oneself fit to perform his duties successfully. We all want to function at the best level of efficiency, both physically and mentally. And many of us know heart by heart that we are not doing so as certain elements are preventing us from leading the kind of life we really want to lead, within the available resources. That is to say, we are not making the best use of our available resources and the

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

elements that come in the way to our functioning at the best possible manner, are also not unknown to us altogether, but we do not find ourselves strong enough to see them with an open eye and take measures for their elimination. In a way, we are escaping from the reality. That is to say, we are failing in one of our duties in life. Let us, nevertheless, try to examine, what elements prevent us from functioning at our best. The elements are: worries, ill health, depression, fear, sorrows, regrets and such other undesirable feelings. There is only one reason for our worries, anxieties, ill health, depression, sorrows, fear and any other undesirable feelings and that is: failure to perform our legitimate duties. One who performs all his duties properly and completely is a blessed individual and has no sorrows in life. Let us examine this fact closely; A school child, whose duty is to study his lessons and complete his home work, if does not perform them, has all the problems in the world, when he goes to school next day. He worries; he suffers and sometime undergoes punishments. An employee, who does not perform his work properly, has problems from the employer, results in worries, anxiety, reprisals and sometime loss of employment. If the parents do not perform their duty towards their children, then children get spoilt and give them all the sorrows of world. And if one does not perform

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Answer one:

the duty of taking reasonable and prudent care of ones health, then again he has all the problems. Thus, there is not even a streak of doubt left that all our problems, worries, sorrows, unhappiness stems from only one reason and that is: failure to perform the legitimate duties prudently and completely. Duties that apply to almost all of us are: 1. Duties towards oneself e.g. taking due care of ones health and hygiene etc: Taking due care of health includes few essentials like: regular exercise, healthy and digestible food cleanliness. One should develop the habit of regular exercise. It can be brisk walking, jogging, running, bicycling, aerobics, yoga or any sports or outdoor games. Whatever suits the individual! In food one should try to include lots of seasonal and colorful vegetables, fruits, nuts, milk etc. Surroundings in living place must be kept clean and body parts especially hands and feet germs. 2. Duty towards others, i.e. family, relatives, friends and society as a whole: One has to look after his family members well and feel responsible about them. Children need special psychological and must be frequently washed with soap and water and kept free from

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

physical care in growing stage. And the relatives and friends cannot and should not be ignored. Social contacts must be respected and good relationship in society helps a lot in life otherwise one may develop secret jealousy among people in society who can be potentially harmful. One should remember that every person in society could be useful and helpful in some way or the others at a given point of time. 3. Duty towards ones job/occupation/profession etc.: What ever be ones job, it must be performed with full enthusiasm, honesty and best of ability. A cobbler or a teacher should try to be the best cobbler or teacher in his city. 4. Duty to maintain good human relationship with all people who come in touch or contact: Good human relation always pays and bad relation always harms. Often-good relations result in change in fortune for better. This is quite important and essential. So one should smile heartily while greeting friends, relatives and other contacts, refrain from criticizing them, genuinely appreciate their good qualities, remember their names, dates of birth, marriage anniversaries, speak politely, use pleasant sense of humor and all such good human relation techniques.

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Answer one:

While talking of duties, let us remember the magic maxim: Wisdom knows what to perform, Skill knows how to perform, And virtue performs it. Above formula, to attain happiness and to function at the best appears very simple. Yes, indeed it is quite simple. All problems stem from failure to perform ones duties. Why then one fails at all? One fails to perform ones duties only owing to either one or more of the following reasons: 1. LETHARGY; 2. FEAR AND 3. MISCONCEPTION. Let us now discuss these three reasons in brief: LETHARGY: This is the main reason for procrastination. Opportune moments slip out because of laziness and one fails to derive the fullest benefit of opportunity. Lethargy stops one from pro-active preparations, which are important requirement for developing good luck. FEAR: Fear in mind is often real or unreal. One must know the reason behind ones fear and find out whether the underlying reasons and their worst possible consequences, behind the fear are justified or not. Unreal fear makes an

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

easy task appear difficult and something that could be easily achieved goes unattempted. MISCONCEPTION: This bottleneck can be removed by gathering all possible relevant facts and data on the subject matter of work. Knowledge is power and one should work hard to acquire maximum possible relevant information and knowledge about the subject matter of work to be achieved. In life, we all have tasted failure sometime or the other. It really tastes bad. If we analyze, as to why did we fail, the answer would be either the failure was directly or indirectly attributable to fear or lethargy or some kind of inherent misconception. How then can one remove these three evils from ones system the lethargy, the fear and the misconception? requirements: 1. Unity of thought, speech and action and 2. Faith in the system of universe or nature (or whatever one may call) or the Supreme Power. Let us discuss these two requirements in a better detail: Unity of though, speech and action: When one fails, what one usually says? One says, failure is due to some reasons beyond his control. He looks for excuses. He blames either Quite simple there are only two

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Answer one:

others or circumstances or sometime his fate. But he never comes out with the real reason for his failure that is his lethargy, fear or misconception. But in his inner judgment, he knows the real reason he knows that the failure is because of one or more of the three evils in his system lethargy, fear or misconception. So there is no unity of thought and speech. Instead, if one makes an honest confession regarding the reasons of ones failure, one makes a psychological gain out of it. When one confesses ones weaknesses honestly and openly before others, one automatically builds up a mental resistance within, against those particular weaknesses. The chances then become lesser for him to repeat such failures due to those particular reasons, which he has openly confessed before others. Thereby, his power of will becomes stronger and stronger and the weaknesses like fear or lethargy or even misconception, which are basically mental blocks, start diminishing gradually and in course of time, they even get eliminated. The Bible says: confess your sins and repent. These ancient words still hold good in modern times. Thus in this manner, one develops unity of thought and speech. Thereafter, having confessed that real reason for ones failure, one should then think and declare as to what actions should be taken so as not to recur failure again and immediately start working on them. Thus, there will be complete unity of thought, speech and action. The

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

result will not be instant. One has to constantly hammer and forge in order to build up a stronger character. Then sooner or later, one will realize that the failures are really the pillars of successes. Faith in the system of universe or nature (or whatever one may call) or Supreme Power: Some people find it difficult to believe in the existence of a Supernatural Power that governs the marvel of entire universal system. They argue that the whole system of universe, the solar system, life cycle, all creations of natures wonders are all a mere chance and that no supernatural power is governing all these. They are the people without faith. People without faith are at tremendous psychological disadvantage, as they constantly suffer from an inner feeling of insecurity. May be there are a few exceptional individuals, who are although non believers and yet they are of strong characters and are quite successful in life. But decidedly, such individuals are negligible in number. The main reason for their success, if examined, would be perhaps, their conscientious performance of all their duties. exceptions do not prove the rule. The greatest scientist of 20th century, Albert Einstein had said: God is not playing at dice. He had said this after making a detailed examination of the physical laws that govern the universe. He had realized that the whole system But the fact remains:

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Answer one:

of universe is so meticulously planned, with foresight of millions of years, which is possible only by an intellect of supernatural kind. Many years before, I had read some part of a book, written by an American author named Dale Carnegie, which had helped me a lot and I had jotted down that part of the book in a piece of paper, which I am rewriting below. Those days are gone, when people debated about the conflict between science and faith in Almighty. One of the most modern sciences, the Psychiatry, is teaching what the ancient holy books taught. Because psychiatrists know by research that prayer and a strong faith in Almighty will banish the worries, anxieties, the strains and fears that cause more than half our ills. Dr. A. A. Brill, an American psychiatrist said: Anyone who is truly religious does not develop a neurosis. Mahatma Gandhi had confessed: without prayers, I should have been a lunatic long ago. Dr. Alexis Larrel, who was honored with Nobel Prize, said in a Readers Digest article Prayer is the most powerful form of energy one can generate. It is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a physician, I have seen men; after all other therapy had failed, lifted out of disease and melancholy, by the serene effort of prayer prayer like radium is a source of luminous self-generating energy in prayer human beings seek to

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

augment their finite energy by addressing themselves to the infinite source of all energy. When we pray, we link ourselves with the inexhaustible motive power that spins the universe. We pray that a part of this power be apportioned to our needs. Even in asking human deficiencies are filled and we arise strengthened and repaired - whenever we address God in fervent prayer, we change both soul and body for the better. It could not happen that any man or woman could pray for a single moment without some good result; Therefore, should we not accept a belief in God, because we need such belief? Call it God or Allah or Paramishwar why dispute with definition as long as the mysterious powers of nature take us in hand. If one does not know how to pray, then one should just sit down in a comfortable posture, close the eyes and take little deep breathing through nose, so as to attain a composed state of mind. Then with faith in the potency of Almighty say in mind the following words: O ruler of this gigantic universe, bless me with your love, so that I remain happy and comfortable. Give me courage instead of fear, make me dynamic instead of lethargic and make me clearly understand so as to remove all my misconceptions, so that I perform all my legitimate duties properly and completely. While aspiring to perform our legitimate duties, we should

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Answer one:

not become duty crazy and so at the same time also remember the following prayer: God give me courage to change what I can; Serenity to accept what I cannot change; And the wisdom to know the difference. Regular prayer of this kind automatically transforms one in to a stronger character, his abilities, his power of will and determination enhances day by day. Magical effect of prayer becomes visible sooner than one can imagine. Leading a systematic life: Having mastered the above principles, one should then try to make his day-to-day life a little more systematic. After all, the essence of life is performance of ones duties. And one can perform his duty only at present, and not in the past or in future. Therefore, the concentration should be on present day TODAY. If we live perfectly today only today because we cannot possibly live perfectly in yesterdays or in tomorrows then our yesterdays become perfectly lived ones, and there is every hope that our tomorrows shall also be well lived. Therefore, prepare for TODAY. One should make a Master list of all the tasks and duties that one thinks has to be performed in ones life. Then each morning, he should see the list and make few additions, if found required. Then the list for TODAY should be prepared

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

i.e. out of the Master list, which of the tasks that can possibly be accomplished today and required to be performed today, should be listed and then GO AHEAD AND ACCOMPLISH THEM. Next morning again review the Master list, delete the items that have been accomplished, add if any new items come in mind and then prepare the TODAYS LIST and so on. This practice does not require much time but on the contrary saves lot of time and confusion, because one knows clearly what is required to be done TODAY ONLY. So to conclude, let us all function well, perform well and lead a blessed and enjoyable life. I feel, the political leaders are born with massive balances of fortune. Most of them are not performing their duties honestly and sincerely and yet they are enjoying life. But as per my realization they are steadily exhausting their balances of fortune and they may end up very unfortunate or may be reborn as very unfortunate or their off springs may have to pay the price. I humbly beg to suggest them to try honestly to do their best for the people.

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Chapter IV

Answer two
We must try to maintain the credit balance of fortune, which may diminish if we do not follow the rules of Eternal Soul the Almighty. So the second answer that I got in this regard is that we must not hurt any soul. We hurt a soul and we get a debit entry in our fortune balance. And when we make a soul happy, we get a credit entry in our fortune balance. It is not quite difficult to understand as how can we make a soul happy or unhappy. Give food to a hungry person, we make a soul happy. Treat people well and we make the soul happy. Insult a person, we make a soul unhappy. Scientists are doing great job to make many souls happy. They invent new drugs, which heal sick people. They are inventing new gadgets that give comfort and happiness to people and also solve their problems. So are physicians, teachers and so many such people engaged in the services

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

of mankind? Even without being a scientist or a physician, one can give happiness to souls. So many poverty stricken people are seen all around. Try to give them bit of food, clothing and shelter, according to your capability. Give people right information that can benefit them. When you work in your office, do you really help people when they come to you? What I have seen in many government, public utility offices and courts, the clerks sitting in such offices, try to harass people as much as possible to extract bribe. And their officers are also least bothered as they are busy in their own ulterior motives. They dont know how quickly they are exhausting their balances of fortune. Soldiers have to kill at times while performing their duty and if such killing were done purely out of duty, as not avoidable, then would not amount to a debit entry in fortune balance. Same soldier, in times of natural calamity, gets the opportunity to help people in distress. Judges have to pronounce even death sentences and punishments but that is performance of legitimate duty and does not amount to any debit entry but a credit entry when done with full honesty. The question is often asked-is it wrong to enjoy sex with a person who is not married to me? Enjoying sex is not a sin. It satisfies two souls at the same time. But what is essential to find out honestly whether such enjoyment is hurting any

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Answer two

soul, a third person, a child or a section of society? If it so, then it is wrong and harmful for the balance of luck. Making a soul happy is one of the easiest ways to increase the balance of fortune but most people waste their balance of fortune by hurting and hating people. It is quite easy to remain fortunate indeed.

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Chapter V

Answer three
Another simple answer that I got for reducing balance of misfortune or increasing the balance of fortune is: be truthful always. Being truthful means, not only telling the truth but also be honest, refrain from doing anything dishonest, harmful, adulterating, damaging etc. Some industries are making money by making spurious drugs. Some are making baby food, which are made from cheap and harmful material. Now people have even started making artificial milk, called the synthetic milk. Also illegal weapons are being made used for criminal acts and all these are done for making money. People for fulfilling needs and to get happiness and satisfaction in life require money. But this kind of money diminishes fortune balance and misfortune is not far away, because credit balance of fortune is not inexhaustible. Life is not as short as we think. Misfortune may strike in this life itself and if not, all balances of fortune and misfortune are

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Answer three

carried forward with meticulous accuracy to next body that your soul shall be in contact with. So dont cheat, dont defraud and dont commit a crime. And also dont be arrogant. It sounds difficult to remain absolutely truthful. Try for sometime and see what happens. Nobody will starve to death or be destroyed by cruel world, if one is truthful, as most people think. In this very world, there are numerous people who are truthful and also good to others. At least I dont find any of these kinds of people suffering in any way going by my definition of fortune. My life started with great misery and by believing and adopting these answers, I am quite a happy person now. I am leading a reasonably decent life and I have never lost anything by being truthful. Anyone is welcome to verify the facts in my case.

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Chapter VI

Answer four
This chapter is important for those readers who desire to attain spiritual development. A soul, when attains perfection in its purity, does not require contacting a new body. Such soul mingles with the Eternal Soul - we call the Almighty. How can a soul attain perfection in its purity? Simple. Anyone who performs all his legitimate duties to the best of his ability, prudently, honestly and completely and never hurts any soul, instead makes other souls happy and is completely truthful is a soul in its perfect purity. He is equal to God. God is the king of Universe - none can reach beyond that height. All that I have written may appear like a fairy tale to many because there is no immediate and tangible evidence available in their support. Therefore, do not believe blindly all what I have written, instead, practice for a couple of

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Answer four

months at least and figure it out for yourself what you gain or what you lose? Phone: +919839204783 E-mail: sirkar@rediffmail.com

ALL ARE WELCOME TO CONTACT ME

Useful links: http://www.parapsychology.org/ http://www.med.virginia.edu/ http://reincarnationcafe.com http://allfaith.com/Mystory/dream.html h t t p : / / w w w. a l l e x p e r t s . c o m / e p / 3 2 8 4 - 1 0 3 3 8 2 / Reincarnation/SUMIT-KUMAR-SIRKAR.htm

My Address Flat No. 73, Ratan Mahal, Civil Lines, Kanpur 208001

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How to be Lucky & Successful in life

If you wish to master the principles advocated in this book, please record your findings here: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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