She told them that her name was actually Ludgi and her real home was in Mathura where her husband lived, about 90 miles from her home in Delhi, and that her husband owned a cloth shop. Her parents however considered it a child’s fantasy and took no notice.
They got concerned however, when she talked repeatedly about it and, over time, told them of numerous incidents connected with her life in Mathura with her husband.
On occasions at meals, she would say, “In my house in Mathura, I ate different kinds of sweets.” Sometimes when her mother was dressing her, she would tell what type of dresses she used to wear.
Aged 6 and discouraged by her parents refusal to take her seriously, she ran away from home trying to reach Mathura. Once back home, he now concerned and worried parents consulted their family physician, who was amazed how a little girl narrated so many details of the complicated surgical procedures.
The mystery, thus, continued to deepen, especially after she stated in school that she was married and had died ten days after having given birth to a child. Interviewed by her teacher and headmaster, she used words from the Mathura dialect and divulged the name of her merchant husband, “Kedar Nath”.
The headmaster located a merchant by the name of “Kedar Nath” in Mathura who had indeed lost his wife, Lugdi Devi, nine years earlier, ten days after having given birth to a son.
Kedar Nath traveled to Delhi, pretending to be his own brother, but Shanti Devi immediately recognized him and Lugdi Devi’s son.
The newspapers soon became interested and authorities as revered as Mahatma Gandhi were soon interested in Shanti’s case. When Mahatma Gandhi heard about the case, he met with her, and set up a commission to investigate. The commission traveled with Shanti Devi to Mathura, arriving on November 15, 1935.
There she recognized several family members, including the grandfather of Lugdi Devi. She discovered that Kedar Nath had failed to keep a number of promises he had made to Lugdi Devi on her deathbed. She then traveled home with her parents. The commission’s report concluded that Shanti Devi was indeed the reincarnation of Lugdi Devi.
Many researchers and scientists put her claims of reincarnation memories to the test, but no one was ever able to disprove her claims.
Shanti Devi never married, and passed away on December 27, 1987 at the age of 61.
