Satwant Pasricha

Last updated
Satwant Pasricha
Known for Reincarnation research, Near-death experience research
Scientific career
Fields Clinical Psychology
Institutions NIMHANS

Satwant Pasricha is the head of Department of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences at Bangalore. [1] She also worked for a time at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in the USA. [2] Pasricha investigates reincarnation [3] and near-death experiences. [4] Pasricha co-authored the 2011 book Making sense of near-death experiences, which was Highly Commended in the Psychiatry category at the 2012 British Medical Association Book Awards. [5]

Contents

Work

Pasricha has investigated and participated in about 500 cases of reincarnation involving children (referred to as subjects) since 1973 who claim to remember previous lives. She became interested in working in parapsychology because she was not satisfied with the conventional explanations of certain paranormal or unusual behavior. [6]

Pasricha studies not just the characteristics of reincarnation prevalent in India, but also suggests ways they are similar or different from those of people in other countries. [4] She collaborated with Ian Stevenson in reincarnation research beginning in the 1970s. [7]

She joined NIMHANS (Deemed University) as a faculty in December 1980 as a lecturer in Clinical Parapsychology; and then was promoted to Assistant professor, Associate professor and Additional Professor of Clinical Psychology. She is also involved in clinical work such as patient care and teaching and research in the areas of her interest at NIMHANS. [6]

Prof. Satwant Pasricha of the Maulana Azad Medical College appreciates her work on the subject, but he also places not verifiable truth like "rebirth" and “reincarnation” out of the domain of the scientific knowledge. Many other scientists label them as a hallucinatory experience and as "a physiological state occurring within an oxygen starved brain." [8]

Selected publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parapsychology</span> Study of paranormal and psychic phenomena

Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near-death experiences, synchronicity, apparitional experiences, etc. Criticized as being a pseudoscience, the majority of mainstream scientists reject it. Parapsychology has also been criticised by mainstream critics for claims by many of its practitioners that their studies are plausible despite a lack of convincing evidence after more than a century of research for the existence of any psychic phenomena.

Parapsychology is a field of research that studies a number of ostensible paranormal phenomena, including telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, near-death experiences, reincarnation, and apparitional experiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Stevenson</span> American psychiatrist

Ian Pretyman Stevenson was a Canadian-born American psychiatrist, the founder and director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He was a professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine for fifty years. He was chair of their department of psychiatry from 1957 to 1967, Carlson Professor of Psychiatry from 1967 to 2001, and Research Professor of Psychiatry from 2002 until his death in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xenoglossy</span> Paranormal phenomenon involving unnatural foreign language ability

Xenoglossy, also written xenoglossia and sometimes also known as xenolalia, is the supposedly paranormal phenomenon in which a person is allegedly able to speak, write or understand a foreign language that they could not have acquired by natural means. The term derives from the Ancient Greek xenos (ξένος), "foreigner" and glōssa (γλῶσσα), "tongue" or "language". The term xenoglossy was first used by French parapsychologist Charles Richet in 1905. Accounts of xenoglossy are found in the New Testament, and contemporary claims have been made by parapsychologists and reincarnation researchers such as Ian Stevenson. Doubts have been expressed that xenoglossy is an actual phenomenon, and there is no scientifically admissible evidence supporting any of the alleged instances of xenoglossy.

Near-death studies is a field of psychology and psychiatry that studies the physiology, phenomenology and after-effects of the near-death experience (NDE). The field was originally associated with a distinct group of North American researchers that followed up on the initial work of Raymond Moody, and who later established the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) and the Journal of Near-Death Studies. Since then the field has expanded, and now includes contributions from a wide range of researchers and commentators worldwide. Research on near-death experiences is mainly limited to the disciplines of medicine, psychology and psychiatry.

<i>Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation</i> 1966 book by Ian Stevenson

Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation is a 1966 book written by psychiatrist Ian Stevenson on claims of spontaneous recall of information about previous lives by young children. The book focuses on twenty cases investigated by the author. It has been translated into seven foreign languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences</span> Mental hospital in Bangalore, India

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences is a medical institution in Bangalore, India. NIMHANS is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country. It is an Institute of National Importance operating autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. NIMHANS is ranked 4th best medical institute in India, in the current National Institutional Ranking Framework.

Erlendur Haraldsson was a professor emeritus of psychology on the faculty of social science at the University of Iceland. He published in various psychology and psychiatry journals. In addition, he published parapsychology books and authored a number of papers for parapsychology journals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godwin Samararatne</span>

Acharya Godwin Samararatne was one of the best known lay meditation teachers in Sri Lanka in recent times. During his teaching career he was based at his Meditation Centre at Nilambe in the central hill country near Kandy. After his death in March 2000 letters and tributes poured in as many people around the world attested to the impact that Godwin and his teaching had made on their lives.

Charles Bruce Greyson is an American psychiatrist and near-death experience researcher. During his research of near-death experiences, known as near-death studies, he has documented many accounts of near-death experiences, and has written many journal articles, as well as participated in media interviews on the subject, playing a crucial role in inviting broader cross-disciplinary scientific inquiry to the field.

<i>Life Before Life</i>

Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives is a 2005 book written by psychiatrist Jim B. Tucker, which presents an overview of more than 40 years of reincarnation research at the University of Virginia, into children's reports of past-life memories. The book also discusses "birthmarks and birth defects that match those of a deceased person who is identified by the child". The foreword to the book is written by Ian Stevenson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim B. Tucker</span> American parapsychologist

Jim B. Tucker is a child psychiatrist and Bonner-Lowry Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. His main research interests are documenting stories of children who he claims remember previous lives, and natal and prenatal memories. He is the author of Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children’s Memories of Previous Lives, which presents an overview of over four decades of reincarnation research at the Division of Perceptual Studies. Tucker worked for several years on this research with Ian Stevenson before taking over upon Stevenson's retirement in 2002.

<i>Old Souls</i> (book) 1999 nonfiction book by Tom Shroder

Old Souls: The Scientific Search for Proof of Past Lives is a non-fiction book by journalist Tom Shroder. An editor at The Washington Post, Shroder traveled extensively with psychiatrist Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia, who conducted past life and reincarnation research in Lebanon, India and the American South. Shroder's journalistic experience makes this book a valuable review of an often disparaged subject.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. T. K. Chari</span>

C. T. K. Chari was Head of the Department of Philosophy at Madras Christian College from 1958 to 1969 and the most prominent among contemporary Indian philosophers who paid close attention to psi phenomena. Chari published extensively on extremely diverse topics, such as logic, linguistics, information theory, mathematics, quantum physics, philosophy of mind, and, of course, psi research.

Etzel Cardeña is the Thorsen Professor of Psychology at Lund University, Sweden where he is Director of the Centre for Research on Consciousness and Anomalous Psychology (CERCAP). He has served as President of the Society of Psychological Hypnosis, and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. He is the current editor of the Journal of Parapsychology. He has expressed views in favour of what he terms "an open, informed study on all aspects of consciousness" and the validity of some paranormal phenomena. The Parapsychological Association honored Cardeña with the 2013 Charles Honorton Integrative Contributions Award. His publications include the books Altering Consciousness and Varieties of Anomalous Experience.

<i>Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect</i>

Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect is a 1997 book by psychiatrist Ian Stevenson, published by Praeger. The book is about birthmarks and birth defects ostensibly associated with reincarnation. Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect is written for the general reader and is a condensation of a two-part monograph Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects.

<i>European Cases of the Reincarnation Type</i>

European Cases of the Reincarnation Type is a 2003 book by psychiatrist Ian Stevenson, who conducted research into claims of reincarnation. The work focuses on different reincarnation research case studies in a Western setting. It was Stevenson's last book before he died in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. Narayan Murthy</span> Indian psychologist (1924–2011)

Hosur Narayan Murthy was an Indian clinical psychologist, writer, philosopher, Sanskrit scholar and teacher who headed the department of clinical psychology at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) at Bangalore. He was born in the city of Bangalore in 1924 to Brahmin parents Hosur Ramaswamaiah Subba Rao and smt Rajamma. Murthy's father was an official at "Iron and Steel Plant" at Bhadravathi town in Karnataka.

Antonia (Tonia) Mills is a professor emeritus in First Nations studies at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada. Her current research interests include First Nations land claims, religion and law, and reincarnation research. Mills met Ian Stevenson in Vancouver in 1984 and was impressed with his reincarnation case studies. Since 1964, she has done field work with the Beaver Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganesan Venkatasubramanian</span> Indian psychiatrist and clinician

Ganesan Venkatasubramanian is an Indian psychiatrist and clinician-scientist who works as a professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore (NIMHANS). His overarching research interest to learn the science that will facilitate a personalized approach to understand and treat severe mental disorders like schizophrenia. Venkatasubramanian is known for his studies in the fields of schizophrenia, transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), brain imaging, neuroimmunology, neurometabolism and several other areas of biological psychiatry. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to medical sciences in 2018. He was also one of the collaborating scientists in the NIMHANS-IOB Bioinformatics and Proteomics laboratory of the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB) in Bangalore and NIMHANS. Besides, he is an adjunct faculty at the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) in Bangalore.

References

  1. K. Sekar, et al., Tsunami: Psychosocial care for individuals & families [ permanent dead link ], January 2005, p. 7. Accessed 2009-01-27.
  2. David Barker and Satwant Pasricha. Reincarnation Cases in Fatehabad: A Systematic Survey of North India Journal of Asian and African Studies , Vol. 14, No. 3-4, 1979, p. 231.
  3. NIMHANS doctor attempts to prove life after death, Rediff on the NeT, July 30, 1998. Accessed 2009-01-27.
  4. 1 2 M D Riti, To Hell, and Back, Rediff on the NeT, April 6, 1999. Accessed 2009-01-27.
  5. S Pasricha; DJ Wilde; M Perera; K Jagadheesan (2011). Making sense of near-death experiences: A handbook for clinicians. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN   9780857003423.
  6. 1 2 Satwant Pasricha, The Biographical Dictionary of Parapsychology. Accessed 2009-01-27.
  7. Ian Stevenson, Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect , Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997, p. 59. ISBN   0-275-95189-8.
  8. R. C. Jiloha (April 1, 2014). "Relevance of parapsychology in psychiatric practice: Response to Dr. R. C. Jiloha's comments". Indian J Psychiatry. 56 (2): 208. doi: 10.4103/0019-5545.130517 . PMC   4040079 . PMID   24891719.