Hi,
“These details may not be necessary. But the consistency of it all leads to confidence in Buddha Dhamma. What the Buddha taught was not speculation (like philosophers have their own theories today). He experienced all that.”
Absolutely, otherwise i wouldn’t be here.
Now as for the previous closest rebirths it’s not about any kind of ESP – extra sensorial perception.
It’s about simple intellectual knowledge;let’s call it Kammic Astrology. Based upon one’s birth date it’s possible to get quite accurate info on one’s previous human bhava in terms of gati.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karmic_astrology
AS FOR THE ETERNAL CONTROVERSE ON ASTROLOGY VALUE, the Wikipedia article it’s quite good: