Reincarnation

Reincarnation means that the soul is changing bodies. This change of bodies occurs not only at death, but throughout life; from boyhood to youth to old age, then to a baby's body.1 These moment by moment changes are too small for the person to be aware of; but when we consider greater amounts of time, then the change of bodies is obvious. The change of body known as death is the most apparent The Bhagavad-gita compares the change of body at the time of death to a person discarding old and useless clothes, and putting on new garments.2 Regardless of whatever plans and adjustments we make, our body eventually wears out, and we are obliged to accept a new one. Although everyone must die, still we are making plans as though death was not certain. Saints have described this as the most amazing thing in world. That is, even though we see that everyone is dying and getting old, we think that it will not happen to us, and we neglect the real purpose of human life: self-realization. One must inquire as to what happens at the time of death.

Although one may have the body of a man in this life, the soul may take the body of a woman in the next. One may have an oriental body in one birth, a western body in the next; or one may take birth in an animal or insect species as a result of one's activities and desires in this fife. It is important to understand how the soul transmigrates from one body to the next.
1. Bhagavad-gita 2.13
2. Bhagavad-gita 2.22