It seems that everyone and their brother was a famous person in a past life. The late and great are popping up out of the woodwork. Perhaps our future resumes will include our past incarnations: Emperor, Explorer, Saint.
In fact, this is one objection many people have to past-life recollections: that so many seem to recall famous past lives.
And yet, if we take the word of those who do past-life regressions, the percentages of those recalling having been famous and not-so-famous works out to be about right, historically speaking.
The thing is, we hear so much about famous past lives. But we must ask ourselves: how many people are going to stand up and proclaim, “Yes, it’s true! I was Farmer Brown (or Lisa the Housewife) in a past life!”
One reason why we hear so much of famous past lives is that they are the only past lives most people are interested in.
Just look at the magazines and tabloids. Most of the stories are about Brad, Angelina, and the rest. We like to read about famous persons and imagine ourselves in their places. The same is true for past lives.
On the other hand, is it likely that everyone who says they were Napoleon or Cleopatra truly were those people in a past life? Probably not. We have to respect mankind’s capacity for self-deception, as well as other motivations less benign.
Yet, is it possible that at least SOME of these people were who they claim to have been in the past? Certainly.
How can we judge? If we are not super-psychics or spiritual masters, how can we know who was whom in the past?
Well, for famous persons there is at least one criterion that can be applied pretty much across the board.