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"The soul reincarnates after death". The increasing mass of facts and evidences available now leave little scope for doubt in this regard. Apart from the views of atheists, Christian and Islamic beliefs too, have been acting as an obstacle in wide and ready acceptance of the theory of reincarnation. 
These two religions do not accept that the soul is reborn in a new body after the dissolution of the present body. They believe that first there will be a great deluge, then a new creation (srasti) will be manifested and only after that the soul would be able to get a new birth. The long gestation period in this scheme leaves the idea of rebirth peripheral, unattractive and as good as non-existent. According to this belief jiva (unredeemed soul) is not born again soon to reap the fruits of his past good or bad deeds. This lack of immediacy tends to generate pessimism about the plight of the soul lying in a long and lonely hibernation. 
The theory of rebirth reinforces the faith in the continuum of embodied life and in progressive advancement of human evolutionary efforts with only temporary lulls in between. Instances and evidences increasingly support the view that life continues even after death of the body. If this belief gets strengthened in the mass of humanity, it will have a very beneficial impact. Pessimistic thoughts of old age and death would not dampen peoples’ spirit. 
It would be possible for them to continue doing their duties with enthusiasm without being perturbed that their efforts would be rendered futile with the cessation of current life in this body. The theory of reincarnation also proclaims, as you sow in this life, so shall you reap in the next. A firm conviction in this law would deter man from indulging in evil deeds and suffering their consequences later on. Belief in reincarnation is thus absolutely essential for maintaining righteousness in human conduct and keeping alive a hope for the future. Time was when reincarnation was considered as belonging to the domain of religion and philosophy. Both these fields are faith-based. Faith needs no logic; it goes beyond the latter. In philosophical expositions rebirth is established by logical deduction. But such a reason-based proof would satisfy only the religiously inclined. For other hard-nosed inquisitive minds nothing short of concrete evidence would do. 
The concept of rebirth, which is the bedrock of Indian spiritual and philosophical edifice, has now been accepted as a subject matter of modern scientific investigation. Enquiry into reported incidences and direct evidences available so far are gradually clearing up the mist of skepticism on this count and replacing it with a more definite belief. In the face of verifiable proofs the atheistic cynicism is forced to tone down its preconceived notions and biases. An eminent psychiatrist Dr. Ivan Stevenson has led the team of researchers enquiring into the phenomenon of rebirth. He has written a book on this subject that is titled “Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation". One of the cases related to a Red-Indian native of the northwestern coast of America. He had made a correct prediction about his next birth. 
The incident is as follows: In the year 1949, William George Sr. was the leader of the fishing community of his area. One day he told his son and daughter-in-law that if reincarnation were indeed a truth, he would take rebirth as their son. He also advised them to take care of their son (George Seniors) body marks on the body of the newborn. 
If the marks matched, it would be proof of his reincarnation as their offspring. After some time George Sr. was drowned on a fishing expedition. Later his daughter-in-law gave birth to a son who was named William George Junior. 
As the boy grew up his parents became increasingly convinced that Junior exactly resembled his grandfather not only in his physical appearance but also in nature and behavior. There were many other surprising analogies. William George Sr. had once been hurt in a basketball game and walked with a limp. George Jr. too walked with a limp without any apparent cause. He also displayed same flashes of anger as his grandfather did while warning people of some danger. 
At a very young age, he began to display the same fishing skills as his grandfather possessed. His level of information about family-friends, relatives and acquaintances was quite high. `George Sr. had once presented a watch to his son. One day Junior George happened to see the watch among his mother’s jewelry. 
The moment his eyes fell on the watch he exclaimed, "This is my watch. Give it to me." His fondness for that watch remained until he was 19 yrs of age. It was only after he had entered his youth that George Juniors attachment with the memories of the previous life gradually faded away. On the basis of extensive case studies of more than sixteen hundred cases, Dr. Ivan Stevenson has drawn some remarkable conclusions. Some of these are:
(i)    The main period of interregnum between death and rebirth varies from place to place; it averages nine months in Turkey, twenty one months in Sri Lanka, forty five months in India, and forty eight months in Alaska. 
(ii)   Those who die a violent death or in stressful conditions return sooner than others and are inclined to take revenge. Such revenge-oriented rebirths constitute forty percent of the total in Sri Lanka and India, and eighty percent in Lebanon and Syria.
(iii)  Some cases involving change of sex have been observed, too. Generally in such rebirths, gender characteristics of the previous life appear between two and four years of age and subside by eight years. Dr. Stevenson has presented before the scientific world some concrete formulations regarding the phenomenon of rebirth. The occurrences of child prodigies cannot be satisfactorily explained on the basis of any socio-scientific formulation except the reincarnation theory. The linchpin of this theory is that sanchit karmas (accumulated imprint of past life); transmigrate to the next birth of the soul in the form of attached sanskars. Professor C. J. Ducas of Brown University has published a research paper titled: The Doctrine of Reincarnation in the History of Thought.
This paper enumerates many examples of rebirth from the earliest times to the present. It includes the celebrated case of Edgar Casey whose claims led to wide dissemination of the theory of rebirth in America. Casey had claimed that he would compile all the cases of reincarnation right from the time of the Bible down to the present era. The available evidences have so far not been able to conclusively prove the rebirth theory on the touchstone of modern scientific parameters. But the growing number of supportive cases is definitely buttressing the belief in its validity. Presently two factors are considered responsible for a person’s personality make-up: One is heredity or genetic factor, the other is environmental influence. 
A third factor is now strongly indicated the law of Karma phala. The famous psychologist Carl G. Jung was once travelling in Africa. This was his first visit to the country. He saw an aborigine standing on a hillock. Instantly he had an uncanny feeling that the place was his motherland in some earlier life on earth and that the person was standing there for thousands of years and waiting for him. This sensation grew stronger upon his entering the village. He felt that he was very well familiar with its every nook and corner. Psychologists call this phenomenon Dj vu. Jung himself explains it as Reincarnation of the immemory zone. 
A study done by Bangalore National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences has found concrete proofs in forty-five claims of rebirth. It examined two hundred cases reported mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. About half of them claimed that they had died an unnatural death in their previous lives. All the narrators were below ten with girls constituting one-third of the total. In which yoni (life form) or in which surroundings the deceased will be reborn depends largely on the sum total of his acquired sanskars. 
A person’s aptitude, likes-dislikes, habits etc. collectively orient the soul in a particular direction and the soul picks up corresponding surroundings for its rebirth. To take an example, a bee sits on flowers while in the same garden the dung beetle searches out the dung heap. This value orientation is sanskar. Besides this factor, good or bad results of sanchit karmas, too, pull the soul in their directions. The jiva, bound by these control-strings, is able to find out the appropriate place for his next rebirth. The scriptures have the following to say in this regard- 
               Mansedam sariram hi vasnartha prakalpitam |                Krami kosa prakaren svatmakosa ivasvayam || Yoga Vasisth 4/11/19 
               Karoti deham sankalpatkumbha kari ghatam yatha | Yoga Vasistha 4/15/7 
[The silk worm makes its cocoon with its own body secretion likewise the soul has created its body with its resolve in the same way as the potter makes a pot.]
               Bhavitakar vantam vasina kaliko dayat || Yoga Vasistha, 6/1/50/39 
[Jiva acquires form to satiate carnal desires and for this purpose keeps on changing bodies.] 
There is a moving and instructive story in Shreemad Bhagvad about a Jivas worldly attachment and Devarishi Narad’s repeated but futile attempts to wean him away from it. Once Narada saw the beloved ones of a person weeping around the latter’s dead body. Narada urged the jivatma to free himself from worldly attachments and accompany the former to enjoy the freedom from the cycle of birth and death. But the Jiva was still in emotional bondage of the lamenting relatives. He paid no heed to Naradas counsel and his subtle body kept hovering around the place. In due course, he entered animal form (yoni) and began to serve his farmer son as an ox. After some time Narada revisited the Jiva who was now encaged inside an ox's body. 
He again made the same entreaty. The ox replied- Bhagwan (O lord!) my son's financial position is bad. How can I leave him just now? Narada went away disappointed.
The Jiva suffered beatings at the hands of his son but his attachment for the latter continued and remained undiminished even at the time of his death. So he was reborn as a dog and continued guarding his son's property. Even severe scolding and beatings did not make him leave his sons door. Devarishi Narada came again. 
The dog again advanced a similar plea. Bhagwan (O lord!) don't you see? Thieves and robbers have an eye on my son's property? How can I leave him? Narada said- Son! You look upon this gross body as a source of happiness. But it repeatedly fails you. Why do you still keep chasing this mirage? But how was a mere dog to comprehend? Even humans are unable to realize this stark truth. The Jiva ultimately got angry at his sons behavior and in order to take revenge became a rat. Only the nature of his attachment had changed. Earlier it was affection now anger and revenge. Attachment per se remained and consequently the birth-death cycle continued. Even at this stage Narada tried, but to no avail. Enlightenment did not dawn on the Jiva. Meanwhile, fed up with the rat, the farmer son used poison and killed it. This made the Jiva still more vengeful. It now got snakes body. 
But the moment snake ventured out of his hole to settle scores, inmates of the house killed it with lathis and stones. Now Naradaji stopped visiting the Jiva. He had realized that in its mania for revenge the Jiva would continue on its reincarnation spree becoming in the process a fly, an ant, a mosquito and what not. A book titled After Death was published in 1897.Since then twenty editions of this book in many languages have come out.
It contains a touching account of Julia. She was a beautiful, romantic girl, and had many friends. She would often tell her friends that even after her death she would keep meeting them. On December 12, 1891, Julia died. True to her word, her disembodied soul kept wandering about to meet the friends. This phenomenon was confirmed by her friends and acquaintances.

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