A Systematic Survey of Near-Death Experiences in South India

In order to determine the prevalence rate of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) in south India, the author systematically surveyed four villages with a total population of 6430 persons. Eighteen persons were reported to have died (or nearly died) and revived. Thirteen (72%) of them reported having had NDEs which is about 2 cases per thousand of the population surveyed. Eleven features of the south Indian cases are compared with the features of north Indian cases. Most of the principal features of the south Indian cases resemble those reported from north India. However, they also differed in the frequencies of four features; two of the features were reported chiefly by the north Indian subjects while another two only by the south Indian subjects. All these four features have been reported among American cases. The author suggests the possibility of a genuine phenomenon underlying the similarities of features among cases in two different cultures.