As Hamlet said to Ophelia – “God has given you one face, and another you make yourself.” In the battle between these two halves of identity…Who we are and who we pretend to be, is unwinnable“. Just as there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every person. One that we reveal to the world and another we keep hidden inside. A duality governed by the balance of light and darkness, within each of us is the capacity for both good and evil.

Duality in Humans refers to the dual nature of human beings. This can be seen in everyday lives of people where at first they pretend to be friendly and caring, later they turn out to be manipulative and envious. This persona of their depends upon the conventional settings or surrounding as it has been observed is ‘social psychology. ‘The Power of the Situation’ which examines how beliefs and behavior of a person can be influenced and manipulated by other people and subtle situational forces for example- In an experiment conducted by psychology team half of the students were randomly selected to act as prisoners, and the other half to act as guards. As the days passed, line between roles and reality disappeared. civilized students became aggressive and savage guards, while the prisoners students became listless, disengaged and depressed after their trials. Some of the prisoners students Developed extreme stress and severe anxiety problems. This study resulted in proving the dynamics of environment and it’s effect on different people.

Psychology of Dual Nature

An American Neurologist, Sigmund Freud did a psychoanalytic investigation on this topic and postulated a theory which said that ‘human nature’ comprises of deep characteristics which he yearn to satisfy particular needs such as the ego that drives him towards pleasurable experiences, the desire of love and avoidance of pain in life, anger and aggression to protect themselves, when they are threatened by others. These impulses lead a person either towards good or evil, according to the nature of satisfaction they bring to an individual and community at large.

Society Dynamics. The nature of the society also impacts the personality development of a child for example- If the Society is barbaric and brutal, child will inherit these same characteristics traits. Contrary in a civilized and lawful Society, the same child will turn out to be responsible citizen upholding civil culture. Therefore the moral standards set by the society will influence the actions, reaction and thought process of a child.

Psycho-Sexuality of a child is also affected by the management of child sexual desires and aggression drives. If at the young age these desires are positively managed by the parents, it will lead to a healthy personality development of a child. Freud believed that sexual development of a child starts at a very young age where pleasure seeking energies are focused on certain erogenous zones. Theses zones are the area of body that is sensitive to simulation. There are basically 5 such zones classified by him;

  1. Oral
  2. Anal
  3. Phallic
  4. Latent
  5. Genital

If a person is not satisfied in any of these stagesit can result to fixation, depression, anxiety that would persist into adulthood and lead to mental disorder. For example- In our daily lives there are many cases which has shown the dual standards of a man or women who tend to be very calm, composed and respectable but in sexual settings they tend to become sexually aggressive and commit sexual assault and harassment. This type behaviour is a result of immaturity in sexual development of a child.

Complex Personality of human nature has more than a single component. In Psychoanalytic Theory of  Sigmund Freud, personality is composed of three elements known as- Id, Ego and Superego which work together to create a complex human behavior. Each of these three elements emerge at different points in life, and each component adds some unique features in developing human personality. But all three elements interact together to have a powerful influence on each Individual:-

ID- It is an primitive and instinctive component of personality. It is the source of all psychic energy making it a primary component of personality, which is present from birth and is entirely unconscious. It is the impulsive part of our psyche, which strives for immediate fulfilment of all desires, wants and needs. If these needs are not immediately satisfied, it leads to state of anxiety and tension. For example an increase in thirst and hunger will lead a person to eat and drink. However fulfilling immediate needs in not always practically possible and acceptable in society which leads to mental problems and complex human behavior.

Ego- Ego is the component of human personality which directly deals with the reality of life. Ego is developed from the impulse of ID, which endures that immediate needs of people are expressed in a manner expressed in a real world. Ego functions in the conscious and unconscious mind. Like ID, ego seeks pleasure to avoid tension, depression and pain, but it formulates plans and strategies to gratify all it’s need without having a negative impact on the Society. It is referred to as the decision-making component of personality. For example- A person is thirsty, but he know that the waiter will come and fill her glass, so she waited until then to get a drink. The above example proves that the desire of Ego is weak compared to ID. However, if the ego fails in its attempt to satisfy his needs applying the reality principles than anxiety and confusion is experienced.

Superego- It is the aspect of personality that incorporates moral values which are acquired from our parents, society and friends such as what is good and bad, right and wrong, acceptable and not acceptable. Superego begins to emerge at the age of five and provides guidelines for making judgments. Its function is to control ID’s impulses which are prohibited and unacceptable in society such as Sex and Aggression. Some of the examples are- A person is hungry and thirsty, he found a provisional store. However she is hungry and thirsty, but she knows stealing is a crime and against the moral standards of the society, therefore decided not to steal.  This behavior shows the governance of behavior by Superego.

Therefore, with so many distinctive personality traits and human behavior it is easy to see conflict arise among these three factors and as a result of these conflicts a human’s psyche is distorted and leads to dual personality. A person with good ego can effectively manage these dynamics while others with too much and too little become too unyielding and too disruptive.

Spiritual Understanding of Dualism

The darkness in human is real, it’s a part of us and not going away, but once we look at it, it becomes something else: the canvas upon which the cosmos are born. Choosing the good side and being half-humans means denying yourself the possibility of exploring the furthest reaches of universe.

Humans are said to be the beautiful creation of God and born with nine gifts of holy spirit, five of them are intellectual virtues such as Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude and Knowledge. Other four comprises of ethical characteristics such as- Fear, Piety, Love and Care. Hinduism says that Human Body is the manifestation of Soul and Mind and when they work in unison, miracles have happened. However the root of ‘Dualism’ also emergences from the concept of ‘Body’ and ‘Soul’.

Historians Point of View

In the classical and mediaeval period, there was contention amongst various scholars and thinkers. Plato being a dualist believed  that Human Body is not the true substance and is ephemeral, but soul is immortal and lives forever. The materialistic body has its beginning and will have its end. Therefore, bodily demands are irrelevant and soul and mind should be the governing factor in satisfying needs. He classified them into two different identities, independent of each other.

However Aristotle’s theoretical concept of body and soul differs from that of Plato’s. He believed that soul and mind are not distinct from each other, and not immaterial agent acting upon the body. He says that soul gives power to all the living beings including Plants and animals like the power of growth, nutrition, reproduction and power of perception and locomotive. His belief was that the needs and desire of mind and soul are inter-related with each other and in order to maintain the equilibrium both must work in unison.

Understanding Our Dual Nature

The very first thing we need to understand that, one should never underestimate humans capacity to do good and bad. Even the most noble man has the ability to bring sorrow and destruction upon the society, whereas the most degenerate man can bring peace and happiness to the world. Such hypocrites & Sanctimonious creatures we are as humans. However this ability comes from the decisions and experiences we make for ourselves. If we somehow are able to go deep into our subconscious mind and face off the enemy residing within us, coming to an agreement with him and gain control over the urges and selfish desires, only then we could truly learn to bring peace and prosperity for ourselves… let alone the life around us.


Of all life on Earth, Humans are the only one capable of such extreme behavioral changes. We tend to create war, take life’s, destroy buildings and properties and pollute the environment. On the contrary humans give birth and create life, prevent wars, build buildings and infrastructure and preserve our environment. Lord Krishna in Bhagwat Gita (Indian Holy Book) talks about Spiritual Awareness, he believes that physical part of human experience is glorious and wonderful and it brings great pleasure to mind and body like food, drink, sex, dress and ornaments, the five senses of physical body gifted by God also brings great joy of enjoyment. However above all these physical and materialistic pleasures, there is something important in human known as soul. A person should be spiritually aware, to keep physical desires in control and in balance.

Lord Krishna says “Soul is a higher power and is the key to overcoming excess addiction to desires and pleasures of Flesh” For example- An enlightened  person will be able to control his desire for hunger and be able to maintain a diet and exercise his body, but an ignorant fool will not be able to satisfy his voraciousness.


Emotions are the biggest challenge in the life of a man. All humans are emotional beings and have a particular set of emotions which he experiences such as Pain, Love, Hate, Anger, Jealousy, Happiness and Sadness etc. Human beings are also referred to as ‘Dual Face’ beings, capable if expressing two different emotions at the same time. There is a saying that  “Sweet takers are often most bitter”, therefore believe someone whose actions and mouth speak the same truths.

Lord Krishna has again inspired Wisdom on human beings and laid emphasis on spiritual strength which give support to transcend fears and most unpleasant and painful emotions. With strengthening our own thoughts with co-relating with our mind and divine forces we can overcome our weak emotions and gain control over them. For example- We feel pain and anguish after we loose someone dear to us, these strong negative emotions can easily decay our mental, physical and emotional strength. But if we our able to generalize the death of our loved one as a natural phenomenon, we will be able to overcome our sorrows and hollowness.

In psychology also the concept of Emotional Intelligence plays an important role in overcoming and strengthening our Personality as a whole. Without any restraint on emotions people are bound to be destroyed. For example- A person commits suicide because he is depressed and in pain.

You have to grow from the inside out, None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your soul.

Swami Vivekananda


It is a form of a philosophical thought that hold matter or physical nature as the most important part of human consciousness, whereas mind and soul are by-products of human consciousness, and without physical body they can not exist. This school of thought is what arrogant and non-spiritual mind can think of.  To be simply put, Soul and Mind are the mechanics which govern the entire Physical Body and without them it’s just an empty machine without any gears. Most of the people in today’s time consider materialistic pleasures of supreme importance, ignoring the spiritual and mental pleasures. But when they are forced to follow the norms of the society, they pretend to be spiritually aware. This pretending nature results in creating a ‘Different Personality or Dualistic Nature’ For example- A money minded business man seeking for material glory, goes to temple and pretend to be spiritual, to maintain an good image in the society.

The Angels Wisdom teaches us that both the materialistic pleasures and spiritual awakening can be experienced together, if human beings are able to maintain an equilibrium In life. A being living such equilibrium life is subjected to immense happiness and pleasures which people can only dream of.

Vasili Alexandrovich- Savior of World

During cold war, United States and the Soviet union were poised to destroy the world with their nuclear weapons. During Cuban missile crisis both sides were ready to “push the button” and spark World War III. Many of the Soviet Submarines were attacked by US destroyers, as a result of which one of the captain ordered to launch their nuclear torpedoes. This would have resulted in another nuclear launch as a response by US Army. Despite the situation and stress of spending hours in submarine kept his calm and cool composure and vetoed against the captain’s order and prevented the destruction of the World.

Vasili Alexanderovich wasn’t different from the captain and crew, he was also an officer fighting alongside others. He also had signed up for patriotism which is a quality that leads to both courage and Cruelty. He was also fighting the enemy and was being shot at, bombarded and abused at. He was angry, murderous and wanted to kill take revenge and it would have been easy for him to “press the button” and be over with it. But he realized that safety of the World was bigger than his personal ego and anger. He acted In his good faith to save humanity and prevented countless death, destruction and misery. He won over the bad side of his dual nature of mankind and created history in which we live in.


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