Talk:Identical Twins, Complementary Souls and Group Reincarnation
In most cases, twins exhibit different behaviors, abilities, temperaments, and likes. However, in rare cases, twins exhibit similar tastes in hobbies, likes and dislikes, behaviors, and so on. Does this mean that a single soul inhabits their different bodies? Or did a single soul split into two and animate their different bodies? These two options are rejected by Hindu scriptures, and even logically, a different explanation might be offered, reminding one of the Ashvins (the twin divine physicians) or the pair of Nara-Nārāyaṇa mentioned in the Hindu scriptures (in the second case, the two are not biological twins but inseparable pair of men who are closely associated with each other over several lifetimes, working together for their spiritual progress:
“It is also possible there is such a thing as “complementary souls” – souls so close in temperament and personality as to be almost carbon copies of each other – that choose to travel together through multiple incarnations, always manifesting through sets of identical twins (or even triplets). Considering the almost unlimited combinations of soul and body experiences possible in the spiritual realm, right down to the souls that travel like a pack of wolves – not to hunt down and destroy, but to facilitate and participate in each other’s spiritual evolution.”[1]
The concept of ‘complementary souls’ is reminiscent of ‘soul-mates’ discussed above. Twins (even conjoined Siamese twins) who are raised under identical conditions and have the same genetic heritage nevertheless tend to show very different personalities. E.g., the first pair of Siamese twins (Chang and Eng) showed very different personalities. One was sober, the other an alcoholic. One was aggressive whereas the other had a very docile personality. Likewise, there are numerous cases of triplets, quintuplets, etc. where individuals with the same genetic inheritance had different personalities and came to live different lives[2].
Another interesting situation is that of Group Reincarnation, in which members of the same group or community are reborn collectively, close to each other. The following example may be cited -
“Compelling cases of group reincarnation are also cited by regression therapists Janet Cunningham in her book A Tribe Returned (1994) and Marge Reider in Mission to Millboro (1993). In the former, Cunningham herself is also a member of a group of Native Indians known as the Oglala tribe in the Dakotas, who were massacred by white soldiers. They took birth in the 20th century to heal themselves of their past suffering. Incredibly, the soldiers also reincarnated and married members of the Oglala tribe to work out their guilt! Marge Reider cites the story of people in a town named Millboro in the state of Virginia during the American Civil War, who reincarnated and were related to each other. Rabbi Yonassan Gershom in his book Beyond the Ashes (1992), describes Jews who died in the Holocaust who have reincarnated in the US.”