# Has Anyone Claimed to Be The Reincarnation of MK Ghandi? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774 "2016-01-21T13:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![botsgotme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@botsgotme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/botsgotme)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/1 "2016-01-21T13:32:27Z")
It has been 70 years…of course, as a superior soul, Ghandi probably earned a rest from reincarnation…for a while. At any rate, has anyone claimed to be him? With 1.5 billion people, the odds ought to be pretty good that someone has claimed this. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/2 "2016-01-21T13:58:04Z")
That would be M.K. Gandhi, I presume. I’d also be interested in an answer, also regarding the general case: Are claims of knowing whose reincarnation you are actually made by Hindus/countenanced by other Hindus? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/3 "2016-01-21T14:20:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Are claims of knowing whose reincarnation you are actually made by Hindus/countenanced by other Hindus? No; memories are not said to follow the soul from one life to the next. In any event, in Hindu thought the souls of those who do much good (or bad) in a lifetime get to go to heaven or hell for a while before the next mortal life, so presumably (if you believe in such things) Gandhi’s still on soul holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/4 "2016-01-21T14:38:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No; memories are not said to follow the soul from one life to the next. In any event, in Hindu thought the souls of those who do much good (or bad) in a lifetime get to go to heaven or hell for a while before the next mortal life, so presumably (if you believe in such things) Gandhi’s still on soul holiday. Ah, but it depends on how gullible you are, doesn’t it? Just look at the schism when Satya Sai Baba claimed to be the direct return of Shirdi Sai Baba. I mean, he straight up said he was the new reincarnation. And he has about a bazillion followers, minus a few boys he touched inappropriately. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/5 "2016-01-21T15:26:49Z")
True. I was going to mention that there has been the occasional nutter/conman claiming to be the reincarnation of someone-or-other, but those are common to all faiths (even the ones that don’t have reincarnation as part of their dogma). ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/6 "2016-01-21T16:53:21Z")
It’s definitely been done. Here’s an [article](http://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/jones-is-the-reincarnation-of-gandhi/story-2C7D4gQManJNTHPcgbLXFJ.html) about a “past life researcher” who claims to have discovered a reincarnation of Gandhi. And here’s a [messageboard post](http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Believe-In-Reincarnation/441806) from someone who claims to have been Gandhi in a past life. ---
**Author:** ![newme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@newme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newme)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/7 "2016-01-21T16:55:27Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > It has been 70 years…of course, as a superior soul, Ghandi probably earned a rest from reincarnation…for a while. At any rate, has anyone claimed to be him? With 1.5 billion people, the odds ought to be pretty good that someone has claimed this. I hereby claim that I am the reincarnation of MK Gandhi _and_ MK Ghandi. The answer to the OP is “YES.” My post is my cite. QED ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/8 "2016-01-21T17:02:49Z")
Good username/post combo. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-claimed-to-be-the-reincarnation-of-mk-ghandi/743774/9 "2016-01-21T17:46:38Z")
I just looked up Satya Sai Baba on a whim and I was reminded that he predicted his own reincarnation: that he would come back as Prem Sai Baba in Karnataka. Let me be clear, “Shirdi” Sai Baba is a reference to where the first Sai Baba came from. “Satya” Sai Baba means “True” Sai Baba, like I really really am, you got to believe me! He came eight years after the previous dude died, and while I was less than respectful in my original post, the fact remains he really seemed to have done a lot of good in poor parts of India. But it’s kind of like Mother Theresa - sure, helped lots of people, hurt some. I guess we all leave legacies like that…minus the sexual abuse, we hope. Anyway, the next one will be Prem Sai Baba, which means “Love” Sai Baba.