complained to his parents about the less prosperous financial situation of their home compared to what he was used to as a successful merchant. [*Parmod’s uncle had been temporarily stationed as a railroad employee in Moradabad when Parmod was very young. Because of Parmod’s interest in biscuits, his uncle had brought him biscuits from the “Mohan Brothers” shop. The biscuits had the shop’s name embossed on them, and although Parmod could not yet read, the biscuits might have stimulated associations for him. Interestingly enough, Parmod’s mother says that Parmod did not recognize the biscuits. His uncle had not been in Moradabad when Parmanand was alive, nor did he have any personal acquaintance with any of the Mehra brothers. He was not familiar with the family’s business affairs.] Parmod had a strong distaste for curd, which is quite unusual for an Indian child, and on one occasion even advised his father against eating it, saying that it was dangerous. Parmod said that in his other life he had become seriously ill after eating too much curd one day. He had an equally strong dislike for being submerged in water, which might relate to his report that he had previously “died in a bathtub”. Parmod said that he had been married and had five children – four sons and one daughter. He was anxious to see his fami-ly again and frequently begged his parents to take him back to Moradabad to visit them. His family always refused the request, though his mother did get him to begin school by promising to take him to Moradabad when he had learned to read. Parmod’s parents never investigated or tried to verify their son’s claims, perhaps because of the Indian belief that children who remembered their previous lives died early. News of Parmod’s statements, however, eventually reached the ears of a family in Moradabad named Mehra, which fit many of the details of his story. The brothers of this family owned several businesses in Moradabad including a biscuit and soda shop named “Mohan Brothers”. The shop had been named after the eldest brother, Mohan Mehra, and had originally been called “Mohan and Brothers”. This was later shortened to “Mohan Brothers”. This shop had been started and managed by Parmanand Mehra until his untimely death on May 9, 1943, eighteen months before Parmod was born. Parmanand had gorged himself on curd, one of his favorite foods, at a wedding feast, and had subsequently developed a chronic gastrointestinal illness followed later by appendicitis and peritonitis from which he died. Two or three days before his death, he had insisted, against his family’s advice, on eating more curd, saying that he might not have another chance to enjoy it. Parmanand had blamed his illness and impending death on overeating curd. As part of his therapy during his appendicitis, Parmanand had tried a series of naturopathies bath treatments. While he had not in fact died in a bathtub, he had been given a bath immediately prior to his death. Parmanand left a widow and five children – four sons and one daughter. In the summer of 1949, the Mehra family decided to make the trip to Bisauli to meet Parmod, who was a little under five years old at the time. When they arrived, however, Parmod was away and no contact was made. Not long thereafter, Parmod’s father took him to Moradabad to explore his son’s compelling remembrances first hand. Among those who met Parmod at the railway station was Parmanand’s cousin, Sri Karam Chand Mehra, who had been quite close to Parmanand. Parmod threw his armaround himweeping, calling Spirituality Studies 1 (2) Fall 2015 17 (15)
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