Thousands of years ago,
the ancient Egyptians believed that the soul continued
to exist after death then journeyed to another world. Yet some Egyptians
believe the soul returns to earth and reincarnates
in a new physical body. Is the current Dalai Lama
evidence of the rebirth of someone who lived before? Why was he chosen to become
spiritual head of one of the world's great faiths? Though it may have once
been central to Judaism and Christianity, the
idea of reincarnation was eventually stifled
by church and synagogue. After centuries of suppression,
the discovery of a skeleton buried in a basement in New York
state ignited widespread belief in reincarnation. In more recent times,
a Colorado housewife claims to have lived in a
foreign land hundreds of years earlier. More evidence exists to prove
the theory of reincarnation. Step back in time with us as we
follow those who've long asked one of the most profound of
all questions, is death the end or do we live again in
a new physical body? [music playing] It has probably happened to many
of us at some time or another. It is called deja vu. Suddenly, in an area
never before visited, there's an indefinable
feeling of familiarity. In some mysterious
way, there's a sense that you've been here before. Could this be possible? What about the person
with whom you've chosen to share your life, have
you known one another before? Perhaps, as some believe,
in a previous life? The human mind has grappled
with the notion of reincarnation for millennia. In some cultures, the idea
was often seen as a threat. Warning of dire consequences for
an unjust and dishonest life. Might evil deeds committed
in a present life lead to reincarnation on a
lower level such as an animal or an insect? On the other hand,
would a life of merit promise rewards in
the next incarnation? Is belief in
reincarnation a conviction as old as humanity's faith in
a divine force that creates and judges the world? The overwhelming majority
of the Earth's inhabitants believe in life after death. But a sizable proportion
also clings to the notion that the soul is not simply
destined for heaven or hell but returns to life in
another physical body. What evidence exists to endorse
this view, especially as most people probably have no
recollection whatever of their previous lives? CAREY WILLIAMS: Many people feel
that reincarnation can't exist because they don't
remember their past. And my answer to the
world is we do remember. We don't have the details,
but we have certain key hints as to who we are, the
type of music we like, the people we're most attracted
to, the types of food we like, the clothing we wear, certain
periods in history that we identify with. These are indications that this
is where we have been before. And so our present incarnation
or our present lifetime is a composite of all the
fruits of what we were before. LEONARD NIMOY: When did the
concept of reincarnation first take root? To probe the mystery, we
must embark on a quest deep into antiquity. For the ancient world
holds alluring clues to the earliest
stirrings of the idea that life may indeed
transcend death. It is a belief that may
date back to the stone age. Tens of thousands of years
ago, many primitive societies buried their dead
in a fetal position. Could this perhaps
suggest a belief in reincarnation, in which the
deceased was being made ready for possible rebirth? Today, India remains one
of the most vital links with the ancient past. Here, Hinduism is the
predominant pathway of faith. At least 5,000 to 6,000 years
old, much of its origins remain a mystery. But it is the oldest known
religion still practiced anywhere in the world today. Acceptance of reincarnation
is central to Hinduism. A person's rebirth in
a new physical body is believed to be a direct
result of how one lived in a previous life. Escaping the endless
cycle of birth and rebirth is fundamental to
followers of the faith. The process is known as karma. The ultimate aim is
to break the cycle. To allow the soul to
return to its maker, thus avoiding further
reincarnations. KYRIACOS MARKIDES: You escape
it, according to the theory, when you completely overcome
your egotistical desires, when you become compassionate
when your heart opens up to the whole world, and when you
are ready to join your maker. That's when you escape
that wheel of samsara, as the Hindu say. But as long as we have
desires, we'll come back time and again to satisfy them, or
as long as we have karma to pay. The law of cause and
effect will bring us down until our soul
matures to that state where it has no
longer any reason to come back to this world. LEONARD NIMOY: Among
the Hindus, the cow has long been held sacred. Why? Is there a conviction that
animals have souls too? If so, do they also conform
to the laws of karma? To the cycle of
birth and rebirth? JAMES SANTUCCI: And
in Hinduism, you can be reborn from human to
animal to even lower forms. It all depends on the actions
that you perform in the life. You can go up or down. You could be reborn
at a lower form. Or you could be reborn as a god. LEONARD NIMOY: Of all the
religions in the east, none adheres more strongly
than Jainism to the belief that everything in
the world undergoes a process of reincarnation. JAMES SANTUCCI: In
Jainism, we find that the notion of the soul
appears, not just in humans, but in literally
everything that exists. In animals, in plants, in
what they call organisms, microorganisms, even
in rocks and stones. The soul can progress
from form to form. However, the human body
is the one body in which souls can become liberated. LEONARD NIMOY: So committed
are the Jains to a belief in reincarnation that to
avoid destroying even the most insignificant
creature, many of them wear face masks
to avoid ingesting the tiniest of insects. Insects, which to the Jains,
may once have been human. If they're
responsible for taking the life of another
being, they believe they will reincarnate again
to pay a debt for their sin. In neighboring Tibet, Buddhism,
originally from India, has been the national
religion for some 1,400 years. One of the central texts
of Tibetan Buddhism is the Book of the Dead. Once a person has died,
a Lama, or priest, will read passages from the book
to help a deceased soul choose new parents and a
suitable environment for his or her next incarnation. The prayers are
intended as a guide to help the soul prepare
for a new life in accordance with the deeds and
accomplishments of the life just ended. Nowhere does this belief
carry such importance as with the selection
of a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader,
the Dalai Lama. Ever since 1694,
all Dalai Lama's have lived in the Potala Palace
overlooking the city of Lhasa. In 1959, when communist China
invaded Tibet and imposed military rule, the current
Dalai Lama fled his capital and settled in India. In exile, he
continues to perform the function of religious head
of millions of Asian Buddhists. But how did he come to occupy
this revered and sacred role? When the 13th Dalai
Lama died in 1933, religious leaders
immediately began a search to find his successor. But he had to be a reincarnation
of all his predecessors. How was he to be identified? ROBERT THURMAN:
The usual procedure is that the old Dalai Lama,
before he gets near to dying, and usually they know
when they're going to die, they sort of write some letters
or they leave a testament or they give some clues
to their people and say, gee, I really like that area. I like that town. I like that family. They take those
clues into account. Then after they die, all the
local psychics, you know, the Gene Dixons of Tibet,
the professional psychics and astrologers
are all consulted. And then they say, well, I
think he's in the Northeast. And I think he lives
in this kind of a house and this kind of a family. LEONARD NIMOY: Deep in
the hills of Qinghai in China's remote Western
province, a young boy by the name of Lhamo Dhondup was
born to a poor peasant family in 1935. But this was no ordinary child. From his earliest years, he was
different from other children. Often even fantasizing that he
would one day travel to Lhasa in Tibet. A place neither he nor his
family had ever visited. When I was very young, I
think two, 1 and 1/2 years, or two years, three
years, during that period, I always telling my
mother I will go to Lhasa. That, and also whenever I
play, and also I play now I'm [non-english] I'm
now moving to Lhasa. News of the young Lhamo
Dhondup soon reached Lhasa. In 1937, a search party
of disguised high Lamas from the debate and government
set out for the tiny village to investigate the 2
and 1/2 year old boy that they had heard about. Could he possibly be the
reincarnated Dalai Lama? From an array of similar
items, the young boy was asked to pick out clothing
and religious objects that belonged to the
previous Dalai Lama. He unhesitatingly chose
every item correctly. At one point, he reached down
for the Dalai Lama's rosary and claimed that it
was once his own. Lhamo Dhondup was then subjected
to a physical examination in which his body was inspected
for certain marks traditionally associated with Dalai Lamas. These included large ears,
upward curving eyebrows, moles in certain
locations of the torso, and a palm print resembling
the design of a conch shell. Without exception, each
telltale sign was there. The reincarnated 14th
Dalai Lama had been found. Western belief in the
rebirth of the soul may already have been
well-established by the time of the ancient Egyptians. Pharaoh Amenemhat I
of the 12th dynasty ruled the country
during the period known as the middle kingdom
some 4,500 years ago. According to some scholars,
he was popularly known as he who repeats his births. Giving us tantalizing insight
into the possible widespread acceptance that the pharaoh
lived on after death. The Greeks and Romans attributed
belief in reincarnation to an Egyptian mystique
known as Thoth Hermes. THOTH HERMES: The
soul passes from form to form, from level to level. And the mansions of its
pilgrimage are many. Thou mortals put [inaudible]
thy bodies as raiments. Yet thou art from
old o soul of man. Thy soul art everlasting. Thoth Hermes. LEONARD NIMOY:
Thoth Hermes remains one of the most mysterious
figures in all antiquity. Was he a human? A god? Or a being of legend? He is sometimes depicted as
the ibis headed god of wisdom, justice, and writing. Whoever he was, he was to
leave an indelible mark on Western culture. Some scholars believe that
if Hermes were indeed human, he may have been the
original author of what is known as the Egyptian
Book of the Dead. Found in many tombs and
crypts, the hieroglyphs and art that constitute this
mysterious document often depict the soul as a human
headed bird called the ba. After 3,000 years of
reincarnating as plants or animals, some believed
the soul would eventually earn its right to be
reborn in human form. Let me have
possession of my ba soul and of my spirit,
wherever it may be. Observe thee my soul
o guardians of heaven. Cast my ba soul to find my body. The chapter of making
the soul join its body. The Book of the Dead. LEONARD NIMOY:
During ancient times, it was in Greece that
belief in reincarnation eventually became widespread. And at no time more so than
when Greek civilization was at its classical zenith. The goddess Psyche was
reputed to have been one of the loveliest beings in
the entire Greek pantheon of deities. Her beauty was so remarkable. But the name Psyche
was also used to describe one of nature's
most magnificent creations, the butterfly. But because the butterfly was
born of a lowlier form of life, the caterpillar,
the Greeks had yet another meaning for the word. Psyche also meant soul. Representing the ability
of a creature's spirit to migrate from a lower
order of existence to a higher, more perfect one. The Greeks saw great
symbolism in the transition. What may have given rise to it? ROBERT THURMAN:
It is intuitively natural to the human
being to assume continuity in everything. In other words, if you
look around the universe, there is nothing that you can
find in the universe that does not demonstrate continuity. When wood burns, it
becomes ashes and heat. When water flows,
it goes somewhere. You know, when water
boils, it becomes steam. In other words, in every natural
process, we observe continuity. And therefore, it is unnatural
that our consciousness alone or our soul, our deepest
level of consciousness, would be the one thing in
the universe that would not have continuity. LEONARD NIMOY: One of the
most ardent Greek believers in reincarnation was the
great philosopher Pythagoras. As a mathematician, whose name
would forever be inscribed in the annals of history. The school that he established
at Croton, on the mainland of Italy, taught mathematics,
astronomy, music, and architecture. Pythagoras was not only a
gifted and original thinker, but he was said to have
had mystical insight into the nature
and origin of life. He claimed to have
lived many times. It was believed that
Mercury, the god of wisdom, had imbued him with
the vision to see all his previous incarnations. His pupils were well versed in
the mysteries of reincarnation and were encouraged
to value life. They were taught to respect
the soul of all beings, to refrain from
killing any animal, and to adhere to a
strict vegetarian diet. Though a teacher, Pythagoras
himself left no writings. However, his belief
in reincarnation was expounded by three of the
greatest Greek philosophers who studied his teachings,
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. SOCRATES: Must not all things at
last be swallowed up in death? Yea. But I am confident that there
truly is such a thing as living again. And that the living
spring from the dead. The souls of the dead are
once again in existence. The concept that the human
soul experiences multiple birth and rebirth may seem
alien to Western thinking. Yet one of the most dramatic
examples of a reference to reincarnation is found in
a text with which many of us are familiar, the Holy Bible. One of the oldest examples
comes from the Book of Exodus. Led by Moses, the people of
Israel are at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Here, following
God's orders, Moses delivers the Ten
Commandments to them. When he reads the fourth
and fifth commandments from the tablets, supposedly
written by the finger of God, the people hear these
prophetic words. Thou shalt not make
unto the any graven image or any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above or that is in the earth
beneath or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow
down thy self to them nor serve them for I, the Lord
thy God, am a jealous God. Visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of those who hate me. Exodus 20:4. JOHN ROSOVE: This has
created a lot of questions for a lot of people. What can that possibly mean? Reincarnationists believe
that retranslate generation to incarnation. So the sins of the fathers
will be visited upon the third and the fourth incarnations. In other words, the soul
will come back in the sins that that soul in that former
life experienced or committed, will then have to be dealt
with in a karmic sense later on in the third and
the fourth generation. LEONARD NIMOY: Another example
of a passage that may refer to reincarnation in
the Old Testament comes from the Book of Psalms. Thou turneth man to
destruction and sayeth, return you children of men. For 1,000 years in thy
sight are but as yesterday when it is passed, and
as a watch in the night. Psalms 90:3. LEONARD NIMOY: One
interpretation of this passage comes from ancient Jewish
mystics who believed that there were 1,000 year cycles between
the physical incarnations of the human soul. One of the most mysterious
traditions of Judaism is an ancient body of
mystical beliefs known as the Kabbalah, a Hebrew
word meaning to receive. The basis of Kabbalah is
believed to have originally been given by God to
Moses on Mount Sinai. Then secretly passed down
from generation to generation. The central book of
Kabbalistic study is the Zohar. Meaning, splendor. It is a lengthy commentary
on mankind's relationship with the supreme being,
on reincarnation, and on the nature of the soul. JOHN ROSOVE: There are three
aspects of the soul, at least in the Kabbalah. There is the Nefesh, which
is the vegetative soul. There is the Ruach. Or otherwise translated
wind or spirit, which is more of a vital animalistic,
some say, emotional soul. And then there's the Neshamah,
the higher godly intellectual soul. At death, the Nefesh and
all three of those aspects have to go through a period
of purification, gehenna, and then they begin to separate. At that point, then the soul
prepares itself for rebirth. After it's gone
through this process. And according to some,
there are spirit guides that help it make decisions
as to where it goes next, which into what
body it incarnates and what lessons it needs
to fulfill in the next life. LEONARD NIMOY: The
study of Kabbalah reached its apex of popularity
in 15th century Spain. It was here where Jewish
acceptance of reincarnation became widespread. In 1492, the same year that
Christopher Columbus discovered the New World for Spain, King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issued one of the most
devastating proclamations to befall the Jews. En masse, they were
expelled from Spain. Many of the Jews would flee
to other parts of Europe. There, they kept their
religious traditions intact, where they flourish
for hundreds of years. But with the dawn
of the modern era, mysticism and belief
in reincarnation would largely be suppressed. BRIAN WEISS:
Reincarnation in Judaism did not go underground until
the early 19th century. And the movement to
the west, the urge to be accepted by
the more quote, scientific, unquote
establishment in the west. And then reincarnation went
underground in some circles. But not in the ultra
orthodox or Hassidic. And many, many rabbis have
called reincarnation gilgul, the cornerstone of Judaism. LEONARD NIMOY:
Christianity is enshrined in the books that make up the
New Testament of the Bible. Do any passages within these
texts hint at reincarnation? Let not your
heart be troubled. He believe in God,
believe also in me. In my father's house
are many mansions. If it were not so, I
would have told you. John 14:1. LEONARD NIMOY: Does the
reference to many mansions refer to the many lives were the
many incarnations of the soul? There are those who believe so. Jesus himself may
have been referring to his own previous
incarnation in this passage from the book of St. John. Your Father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him,
thou art not yet 50 years old and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them,
verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. John 8:56. [bells ringing] LEONARD NIMOY: Three centuries
after the crucifixion of Jesus, the Roman Emperor Constantine
embraced Christianity, declaring it the official
religion of the empire. In the year 325, he
convened the world's first ecumenical conference
known as the Council of Nicea. Though consolidating much
of the doctrine of the newly established church,
the gathering spelt the death knell of
belief in transmigration or reincarnation
among most Christians. ROBERT THURMAN: The
Christian patriarchs decided that this multi-future
life idea was not very good because it was a
little too loose. They would like people
to feel that there was only one future life. And the quality of that was
determined by how well they fit in with the church's orders. And so they had
banned, therefore, transmigration belief,
which was common in all of the Mediterranean cultures. LEONARD NIMOY: Though no longer
embraced by mainstream Judaism or Christianity,
reincarnation may once have been fundamental
to both faiths. Ever since mainstream Judaism
and Christianity had suppressed the concept of
reincarnation centuries ago, little credence was
given to it in the West. But by the 19th century, all
that was about to change. The place was upstate New York,
about 20 miles from Rochester. The year was 1848. The sleepy little
Hamlet of Hinesville was as quiet and uneventful a
place as a small American town could be. However, in the home of
John and Margaret Fox and their young daughters,
Kate and Margaret, a series of strange events
were about to unfold. Beginning around
the middle of March, the family began to be
disturbed by strange noises. Then, on March 31st, the
youngest daughter, Kate, challenged the
strange unseen force. In response to the loud
thumping noises that she heard, she snapped her
fingers in reply. Over the next few nights,
she and the mysterious entity worked out a form
of communication. [snaps and thumping] Then, the elder
daughter, Margaret, began asking questions
of the spirit force. If your answer is yes,
knock twice she said. If no, knock once. [knocking and snapping] And so, over a
period of evenings, it was learned that
the spirit in the house once belonged to
a man who'd been murdered in one of the bedrooms
and buried in the cellar. When the floor of the
cellar was dug up, a human skeleton was
found and buried there, confirming the story. Though the murderer
was never found and the case remained
unsolved, what the incident did was to ignite public interest
in the survival of the soul after death. A fundamental tenet in
belief in reincarnation. Suddenly, spiritualism
and the possibility of communicating with
departed souls became popular. [snapping] Additional impetus
behind the awakening of a belief in reincarnation
came from the other side of the world, from the
daughter of a Russian colonel. Born Helena Hahn in
the Ukraine in 1831, she, more than any other, was to
challenge the conventional view that the soul does not
incarnate again after death. JAMES SANTUCCI: She was born,
according to her relatives, with an air of mystery
surrounding her. She would often talk about
things that were, for the most part, mysterious to the family. They didn't quite know
what she was talking about. And she would talk
about adventures that she had that everybody
knew did not happen. But with such a conviction
that it was actually, to her, the real thing. LEONARD NIMOY: In
her late teens, Helena Han married a military
man more than 20 years her senior. He was General
Nikifor Blavatsky. Thus it was that the
simple Helena Hahn would become better known
to the world as Madam Helena Blavatsky. Eventually, to be one
of the most influential forces behind a
popular rekindling of belief in reincarnation. Desperately unhappy
with her marriage, Madam Blavatsky
deserted her husband, and immediately began
traveling the world in search of adventure. Her driving quest
was to investigate the religious
doctrines of the east. JAMES SANTUCCI: She traveled
throughout the world, including North America, Europe,
Egypt, the near east, India, Tibet. The purpose of her
traveling was to try to find the wisdom, the ancient wisdom. And what she did was to collect
this wisdom that she studied from books and from elsewhere. And she synthesized
it to teach what she called the secret doctrine
or the wisdom of the ages. What she claimed was that
this was the primeval religion of humanity and the truth. That the wisdom somehow
was corrupted or lost by other religions that
retained at least part of it. And what she was trying
to do was to rediscover what this truth was. LEONARD NIMOY: In
1873, Madam Blavatsky arrived in the United
States, and found the country in the grip of a
spiritualism craze following the strange experiences of the
Fox family in upstate New York. Anxious to share the mystical
experiences she had in Egypt, Tibet, and India, and so offer
insight into those cultures belief in reincarnation,
Madam Blavatsky attended a spiritualist
meeting at a remote farm near Chittenden in Vermont. There she met Colonel
Henry Steele Olcott. The two struck up an
immediate friendship. In September 1875,
Blavasky and Olcott formed the Theosophical Society,
an organization dedicated to the study of occultism,
ancient religion, and the process
of reincarnation. Madam Blavasky was a prolific
writer, expounding her beliefs in reincarnation in monumental
works such as "The Secret Doctrine" and "ISIS Unveiled" Madam Blavasky and
Colonel Olcott eventually moved their Theosophical
Society to India where they could be nearer
to the Hindu Masters from whom they
wished to learn more. In 1884, they
relocated to Europe. Seven years later
on May 8, 1891, Madam Blavasky died
in Surrey, England. What is her legacy today as one
of the first Western exponents of reincarnation and the
transmigration of the soul? Every single writer who
speaks on reincarnation probably owes a depth of
gratitude towards Blavasky. It's Blavasky who gives
the definition of what reincarnation is. It is one of the
greatest of all mysteries and one of our oldest quests. Have we lived before? And following death, do we
come back and live again? One of the most compelling
cases of a vivid remembrance of a past life took the world
by storm in the early 50s. Colorado businessman and amateur
hypnotist, Morey Bernstein, was popular among his
friends and associates for his ability to lull people
into a trance-like sleep and coax them into recalling
incidents from their past, often even as far back
as their childhood. However, in 1952,
he did not suspect that one of his
subjects, Virginia Tighe, would graphically
recall incidents from a previous lifetime. When news leaked out that the
29-year-old mother of three was able to recall
a past incarnation, Bernstein gave her the
pseudonym of Ruth Simmons to preserve her
identity and protect her from an increasingly
curious press. Under hypnosis, the young
woman identified herself as Bridey Murphy, born in the
city of Cork, Ireland in 1798. These are actual recordings made
during her hypnosis sessions. MOREY BERNSTEIN (ON RECORDING):
And what is your name? BRIDEY MURPHY (ON
RECORDING): Bridey. MOREY BERNSTEIN (ON
RECORDING): I see. Why did they name you that? BRIDEY MURPHY (ON
RECORDING): Oh, they named me after my
grandmother, Bridget Bridey. MOREY BERNSTEIN (ON RECORDING):
Do you always live in Cork? BRIDEY MURPHY (ON RECORDING):
No, I go to Belfast. MOREY BERNSTEIN (ON
RECORDING): You go to Belfast. BRIDEY MURPHY (ON
RECORDING): Mm-hmm. MOREY BERNSTEIN (ON RECORDING):
What is the name of the priest? What is the name of the father? BRIDEY MURPHY (ON
RECORDING): Father John. Father John. LEONARD NIMOY: At times while
under hypnosis, Tighe's voice developed an unmistakable
Irish brogue. While never having traveled
outside of the United States, she recalled details
of her home in Ireland, her family, and the
town in which she lived. When journalists investigated
the area mentioned by Tighe, they found her descriptions
to be uncannily accurate. Shops and streets were
just as she recounted them. Because thousands of people
share the name Murphy in Ireland, It was
impossible for them to find exact records
of her and her family. Was it all a hoax? Or as many believe, did
Virginia Tighe genuinely recall a past life nearly
two centuries earlier? I'm holding on to my brother. We-- we can't find our mom. We don't know where our mom is. LEONARD NIMOY: Today in some
scientific circles, techniques known as past life
regression have become a legitimate recognized
field of research. What have these
sessions revealed? I think the great lesson
for me of all of my research and studies is that we do not
die when our physical bodies die. A part of us goes on. Whatever you want to call this
part-- consciousness, soul, spirit-- it does go on, and so
that we are eternal. And I believe that a famous
mystic summed this up centuries ago by saying, we are not
human beings here having a spiritual experience. But we are spiritual beings
having a human experience. Get a bed down there, please. [inaudible] OK. LEONARD NIMOY: During
clinical death, many have described being
able to view their own body from the outside as though
it were a separate entity. Some have even described what
happened in the hospital room while their hearts had
technically stopped beating while they were, to all
intents and purposes, dead. And they can tell you things
that happened in another part of the hospital, or
another part of the city, or another part of the world . And, in fact, it is verified. Like a woman, for example,
but during her near-death experience, she
would tell them what they were talking about when
they were signing the death papers. So this is one example of a
scientific kind of research that may suggest continuity
of consciousness after death. [music playing] LEONARD NIMOY:
Despite such evidence there are those who
find reincarnation impossible to accept. The reason most cited is
that few, if any of us, are able to recall
a previous life. BRIAN L. WEISS: Although
it may seem helpful if we could remember
our past lives, I think there is a very
compelling reason why we do not. And that is to see if we have
really learned our lessons. This is a big school,
this earth, this planet, in which we live. And if we behave because
of reward or punishment, that wouldn't be enough. We have to see if it's
really in our heart, not because we know that
we've been punished for this in the 15th century or rewarded
for it in the 17th century. But is it really in our heart? And, of course, the other
reason is it would just be too much to carry around
all the time and knowledge of perhaps hundreds
of past lives. We would never be
able to function. LEONARD NIMOY: We may
never know the answer to what happens to us after we
die until death itself claims us. If we are to heed the evidence
and consider the documentation passed down through
the centuries, perhaps the riddle
of life after death may not be as obscure
as many deem it to be. Perhaps death may not be the
end, but merely the beginning of yet another cycle in the
ongoing process of life itself. [music playing]
