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Suhag Shukla, executive director, Hindu American Foundation
"In Hindu culture, there's an idea that you have a karmic connection with certain souls. In the Gujarati language, it's called lehnu: the link with another soul that causes you to keep crossing paths, positively impacting each other. It describes someone who helps you lead a life that serves a higher purpose.

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Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Buddhist nun and professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Diego
"Buddhists believe that we're reborn an infinite number of times, and that relationships can carry over from one lifetime to the next. In each, we've had parents, siblings, partners, teachers, students. The closest word for it is pratitya-samutpada: the idea that all beings are interrelated. Often someone walks into the room and we feel like we've known them forever. And it may be that we have."

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Rabbi Sharon Brous, founder of nonprofit Jewish community IKAR
"In Judaism, your bashert—a Yiddish word that roughly translates to 'bestowed'—is your destined partner. But I also like the Jewish notion of a hevruta, or learning partner. That's the person who pushes and challenges you. It's not about finding someone who completes you; it's about finding someone who gives you the opportunity to complete yourself."