JINDE NDE

Several features typical of the Indian accounts can be seen in the following, given by a woman suffering from a fever for which she received no medical treatment. She recounted, “I was dragged ‘up’ by four yamadoots. I saw one door, and went inside. I saw my mother and father there. I also saw the Yama who was fat and had books in front of him. The Yama started beating the yamadoots for having taken me there instead of another person… . I was asked by my parents and the Yama to be sent back … and I was happy to be back so I could see my children.”4 As in the account given above, the Indian subjects frequently report being taken to the “other realms” by some messengers, where a man with a book consults some records, decides a mistake has been made—that the subject’s time has not yet come—and orders the subject’s return. This contrasts especially with Western cases, in which the subjects are usually not escorted by messengers and no mistake accounts for their return. None of the Indian subjects reported a panoramic life review. Although Osis and Haraldsson found several OBEs in their reports, Pasricha and Stevenson found only one case out of twenty-eight that contained this feature. Also, descriptions of tunnels are conspicuous by their absence from the reports of Indian subjects; not a single informant in these studies reported the experience of a tunnel. Nevertheless, we can also see that there are some striking similarities between Indian and Western accounts. In both cultures, experiencers frequently report meeting deceased acquaintances and otherworldly beings, usually in an unearthly realm. In both sets of reports, a decision is frequently made that it is not one’s “time to go.” Although the Indian reports lack a panoramic life review, the reading of Chitragupta’s book can be considered a form of life review, although one that is thought to be postponed until the actual day of reckoning.