The unbelievable reincarnation of Gopal Gupta, who claimed to be Shaktipal Sharma in his previous life! The intriguing case was investigated and verified by none other than Professor Ian Stevenson, considered to be an authority on reincarnation research.

Born in Delhi on August 26, 1956, to Mr. S.P. and Mrs. Omavati Gupta, Gopal was just like any other kid of his age. However, something unexpected happened one day which startled his family. 

The family had some guests at their place. Water was offered to the guests, as it is customary in India. When asked to remove the empty water glasses from the table, Gopal retorted, “I will not pick it up. I am a Sharma!” (‘Sharma‘ is a Hindu Brahmins surname, who are at the top of the caste hierarchy in India and don’t do lowly jobs).  

Gopal’s startling claim of reincarnation – I am Shaktipal Sharma!

The family could not believe what Gopal was to say next. He claimed that his name is Shaktipal Sharma and he is from Mathura, a city in Uttar Pradesh. He talked of having a father and two brothers, one of whom shot him to death in his past life. He further said that he owned a medicine business in Mathura named, ‘Sukh Sancharak’ in his previous life.

Hearing Gopal’s strange utterances, his father, Mr. S.P. Gupta decided to investigate the truth with the help of his friends. One of Mr. Gupta’s friends informed him there is, in fact, a company named ‘Sukh Sancharak’ in Mathura. Mr. Gupta went to Mathura and spoke with the manager of ‘Sukh Sancharak’ to crosscheck the details shared by Gopal.

The manager at the company was fascinated with the similarity of Gopal’s claims to events in the life of Shaktipal Sharma. The manager confirmed Shaktipal was a former member of the company and had been shot and killed by his younger brother in 1948.

Shaktipal was married to Subhadra and had been a prominent personality in Mathura. He was also elected as the Chairman of the Mathura Municipal Board, a position comparable to the mayor.

‘Sukh Sancharak’ company was started by Shaktipal’s father. After his father’s death, the store was managed by Shaktipal and his younger brother. The youngest brother, Brijendrapal, was not involved in the business.

One day, Brijendrapal, who was in debt, requested Sahaktipal’s wife, Subhadra Devi to lend him 5,000 Rupees, as women took care of the household money in those times. However, Subhadra refused to give him the money. Brijendrapal, then, requested Shaktipal to help him with the money. Shaktipal in turn asked his wife for the money, but she refused him too. Shaktipal and his wife had a fight over the issue. 

Brijendrapal, upset over not getting the money, turned up at the company office and started a fight with his two brothers there. In a fit of rage, he pulled a gun and shot Shaktipal in the chest. Thus, Shaktipal was tragically murdered by his own brother, at the age of 25! 

More than eight years separated the death of Shaktipal Sharma and his alleged rebirth as Gopal Gupta.

When Gopal was about eight years old, Subhadra Devi and her sister-in-law (sister of Shaktipal) came to Delhi to visit the Gupta family. Though Gopal was very pleased to meet the sister, he did not interact with Subhadra and refused even to acknowledge her. 

Before Subhadra’s visit, Gopal had never mentioned having a wife to his parents. After Subhadra and her sister-in-law had left, his father asked if Subhadra had been his wife, but he replied, “I do not have a wife.” 

After a few days, his father asked him again and Gopal revealed that Subhadra had been his wife in the past life. Confused, his father asked, why he had not said this when asked earlier. To this Gopal replied, “I am angry.” Gopal said that he had been upset with his wife as she had refused to give him Rs. 5,000 that he had asked for Brijendrapal in his past life.

In March 1965, when Gopal was nine years old, he went to Mathura for the first time with his parents. They first planned to visit the ‘Sukh Sancharak’ company office. Knowing the way to the office already, Mr. S. P. Gupta asked Gopal to lead the way. To his parent’s surprise, Gopal reached the office without any difficulty.  

At the office, Gopal also correctly identified the room where he had an office as Shaktipal. He was also able to accurately recreate the scene of his murder in the office by Brijendrapal. 

Then they departed the office to visit the Sharma’s house, Gopal’s past life abode. This time, both, Gopal and his parents did not know the way. Gopal again led the way and, to everyone’s surprise, successfully located and recognized the residence of Shaktipal Sharma, saying, “This is my house.”

At Sharma’s house, Gopal correctly identified his bedroom. He also correctly recognized two of Shaktipal’s sisters, Shaktipal’s father and Shaktipal himself from the photographs. 

He also surprised everyone by playing the piano at the Sharma house that belonged to him in the past life, even though he had never learned to play the instrument in his current life!

As in the case of Shanti Devi or Manju Sharma, Gopal’s case offers similar verifiable evidence of past-life reincarnation.

We may or may not believe in reincarnation, but the astonishing real-life story of Gopal Gupta/Shaktipal Sharma is sure to shake up our logical beliefs! 

Source: Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. I: Ten Cases in India