Disclaimer: This article is inspired by the original article written at the below blog page. The entire content of this article is the result of hard work and research on the part of the author of this article. I take no credit for the content. It has been reproduced here in the hope that it may help the readers as it has helped me on my journey. The link to the original article is below:

https://journey2light.wordpress.com/?s=krishna&submit=Search

Good healthy relationships play a major role in ensuring a happy life. There are various kinds of relationships: blood relations which are dictated by the family we are born into, adopted relations determined by marriages, friendships we develop over lifetime, people we work with routinely, and so many people that we meet only momentarily or in passing.

Our mental and emotional health is affected to a great extent depending on how we manage our relationships and interact with people. Some of these relationships are supportive, some help us to grow as individuals, some just exist without having an affect one way or another, some may be challenging, and some may be detrimental to our mental and emotional health.

We are told that life on Earth is a school, a battleground for soul evolution. That is why we come across the different types of relationships. They help us to understand how we may successfully navigate the energies of each one of the relationships we get into, whether they are supportive or not.

What if we learn to characterize and categorize the energies behind the different relationship types, recognize the lessons that they have to teach and devise a formula to harness the energy such that it becomes a resource for happiness in our lives?

The story of Radha-Krishna is the story of the evolution of the soul. Krishna is said to have 16108 queens, 8 principal wives and one consort or twin-soul. Each of these relationships represents a different type of love-energy that we encounter over many lifetimes so that we may learn our lessons of soul evolution.

There are 16108 different types of people who will make a significant difference to our lives over many lifetimes. These relationships are relatively easy to manage.

There are 8 specific types of love-energies, which are sticky. We need several lifetimes to traverse these significantly strong love-energies. Out of the 8 main energies, 4 are sticky and disruptive and the remaining 4 are sticky but non-disruptive. It is important to have guidance so that we do not get ‘stuck’ in these 8 principal energies.

Once we have learnt how to traverse all 8 principal love-energies successfully, we meet our twin-soul. The real journey begins AFTER we meet our twin-soul. Then many births with our twin-soul will have to be dedicated to Earth-causes. At the same time, we purify ourselves to a greater and greater extent. Once this purification process is complete, then the twin halves may unite and become ‘One’.

The story of Radha-Krishna is the story of the evolution of the soul.

Raas-leela (raas = ras = essence; leela = story) is a folk dance, which portrays this story in art form.

Krishna dances with 16108 gopis in the outer ring. Each of the gopis is entranced and feels that Krishna is dancing only with them. The gopis are ecstatic. He plays skillfully with the 16108 gopis in the outer circle to enter the inner circle.

Each of his 8 principal wives plays with him in the inner circle and demands his full attention. They all want Krishna for themselves and do not let him out of their sight. Krishna’s challenge is to keep each one of them happy, and yet escape to the center.

In the center of the circle, his twin-soul Radha is waiting for him. Here, both Radha and Krishna dance until dawn, oblivious to all else and then they suddenly disappear. This is their ‘Union’, they become ‘One’.

Kundalini yoga is the method by which this ‘Union’ may be achieved internally by ourselves within ourselves. Within the human aura, our subtle body, there are seven force-centers called ‘chakras’ which line up along the spinal column. There is a ‘kundalini shakti’ or ‘serpent force’ lying coiled at the base of our spine. This serpent is lying lifeless. Love gives it life, it awakens the serpent. It hazily stretches itself whenever we emanate love. The stronger the love-force, the more alert the serpent becomes, lack of love makes it fall asleep again.

Radha and Krishna represent the 2 divided energies of the serpent, and the energy that activates the serpent is ‘Love’. The 2 halves rising from bottom to top are the Ida and Pingala channels. The 2 halves have to traverse through the 7 chakras, while simultaneously navigating 16108 channels. Radha-Krishna or Ida-Pingala will meet, after long wayward journeys, just before crown chakra. Then they drop down in unification back into the base chakra. The drop from the pre-crown chakra to base chakra happens via the ‘sword’ that is pierced through the center points of all 7 chakras. The sword is the Sushumna channel. When energies enter the Sushumna channel, its cleansing process begins. Progressive cleansing means progressive enlightenment. From the base chakra, they rise again in unification moving slowly upwards in a spiral. This journey is a representation of ‘twin-soul’ journey on Earth. The Ida and Pingala will continue their rise and drop till the Sushumna channel is totally cleansed. It is during these numerous journeys that Radha-Krishna or Ida-Pingala will make a significant difference and contribution to Mother Earth. At some point, they will finally make it to the crown chakra. This is Moksha, Oneness with God.

The Caduceus is the symbolic image of Radha and Krishna.

Radha and Krishna represent the feminine (Ida) and masculine (Pingala) energies respectively, both of which reside within us. Radha embodies softer, passive energies, her journey to the top is quicker; Krishna embodies harder, active energies, his journey is more arduous.

Note: Regardless of your gender, Krishna is the male half of your soul, Radha is the female half of your soul. They both exist 'inside' you.

In order to achieve Union with God, Radha and Krishna must meet and unite. In order for them to meet and unite, they must first successfully traverse the 16108 secondary channels and the 8 main channels. These are the various love-energies that we come across. Therefore, it is very important to recognize the type of energy we encounter and to stay connected with every energy we recognize. We may stay connected with them as a partner, friend, or guide. We must learn how to manage the love-energy, whether disruptive or non-disruptive, without killing it. We can examine Krishna’s relationships with his 8 principal wives to understand how to recognize the type of love-energy, its characteristics, and how to manage it successfully.

Note: To apply this to personal life, you are ‘Krishna’ regardless of your gender, and the other energies are represented by Krishna’s wives, regardless of their gender.

Krishna's 8 wives are Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jaambavati, Kaalindi, Mitravrinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadraa, and Lakshanaa.

1. Rukmini

Energy Type: Friend, philosopher, guide, peacemaker.

Personality Characteristics: She is simple, attractive, modest, and a good listener; Respects all your alliances, partnerships and relationships; Enjoys playing the role of counselor and peace-maker.

Management Tip: Use her energy to counsel and maintain peace among other relationships; a good talking-companion.

2. Satyabhama

Energy Type: Tantrums.

Personality Characteristics: She is proud, arrogant, domineering, self-centered, opinionated, condescending, demanding; Threatens to leave if you do not accede.

Management Tip: Play a supportive role; Mollify her tantrums in playfulness, yet do not succumb to them; Flatter her as her pride easily succumbs to it.

3. Jaambavati

Energy Type: Beauty.

Personality Characteristics: She is exquisitely beautiful, well-groomed, well-adorned at all times; Believes you are attracted to her because of looks; Makes special effort to showcase her beauty so she appears cut-above-others at all times; Believes beauty can reign you in; Confident about the power of her beauty; Vain, desires appreciation; Willing to share you with others.

Management Tip: Offer her rightfully deserved appreciation; Offer her limelight along with responsibility; Gently highlight her inner beauty and allow that to over-shadow her outer beauty.

4. Kaalindi

Energy Type: Games, nets, traps, lures.

Personality Characteristics: She uses connections or traps to gain entry into your life; Lays the trap, yet appears the victim; The excitement of trapping you into being with her is higher than the excitement of being with you; Enjoys competition, creates competition, enjoys winning over competition; Your desirability with others excites her; Enjoys catching you with your guard down, lures you into secret confessionals; Feels overpowered by others' secrets; Her energies mean alienation from loved ones to accommodate her; You may be forced to make a choice; Uses forbidden-love and guilt as weapons.

Management Tip: Do not empower her negatively; Do not succumb to guilt, playfully see through her game; Gently and lovingly hold your ground; She will always need you more than you need her.

5. Mitravrinda

Energy Type: Amiable, amicable, friendly, mischievous.

Personality Characteristics: She rarely takes offense to anything you say or do; Works hard to manage and harmonize your relationships; Closest confidante, her advice is usually selfless; Perfect host to your social circle; Closest confidante for your other relationships too, she offers a safe haven to share grievances; Companionable, conversational and mischievous; Usually lightens conflict with her naughtiness.

Management Tip: Offer her unconditional friendship; Give her responsibility.

6. Nagnajiti

Energy Type: Openness, truth.

Personality Characteristics: For her, love has to be an open book, diplomacy does not cut ice; Whatever is open is truth; whatever is hidden is false; She bares her soul and dares you to do the same; Conflicts center around your cleverness; Very blunt in her expression; Usually may help to convey hard truths to others; Can create conflicts in social and family circles.

Management Tip: Do not kill her true spirit; Appreciate her honesty but at the same time allow her to see that truths which hurt people cannot help them much; Channelize her truths into softer/gentler expressions; Offer a straight-forward and honest approach to love.

7. Bhadraa

Energy Type: Blending.

Personality Characteristics: She is happy to be what you want her to be; Chooses not to have a defined personality as it means separation from you; Gentle, subservient, unassuming, selfless; Places self last in priority believing this is love; Motherly, nurturing, nourishing, forgiving; Serves not only you but all your relationships dutifully; Usually the cornerstone that goes unnoticed.

Management Tip: Use care and sensitivity; Do not take advantage of her goodness; Ensure that she gets her due; Encourage her to stand up for self, by encouraging self-development through interests and hobbies.

8. Lakshanaa

Energy Type: Focus.

Personality Characteristics: For her, love is like a game of chess, move-countermove; Focused, goal-oriented; She plans and rehearses all her moves; Will always have 'Plan-B' in place; Feels inclined to checkmate you and win her rightful crown; All your other relationships are opposing pawns; Characterized by a strategic, methodical mind; Extremely logical; Every action needs to have a purpose; Less of disruptive and more of uninteresting; Her predictability overtakes creativity; Can be an extremely efficient partner, but her compulsive behavior can kill the charm.

Management Tip: Give her responsibility; Encourage creativity and spontaneity; Gently show her fun side of failures, inefficiencies and mistakes; Loosen her up.

Radha

In Radha, you can navigate all 8 forms of love with ease and expertise. You know every high, low, bend, curve, fall and illusion. With Radha, there is no conflict, no challenge, no doubt, no lack. There is just pure ecstasy.

Love is ‘Krishna’.

We invariably meet one or more of these sticky love-energies in our lifetime. We move from love-energies in reverse order, that is, channels 8 through 1 before we meet our twin-soul, Radha. We must navigate the 8 principal energies successfully before we can reach our ‘Radha’, our twin-soul.

Amongst the lower 4 channels, Mitravrinda (channel 5) is toughest to navigate. Channels 8, 7, 6 are relatively easier to navigate. Mitravrinda is so amiable, so companionable, so pleasant, so fit into our social setup, that we will not wish to leave her. Chances are that we will choose to navigate Mitravrinda's channel over and over again; she has that effect.

When we do choose to move beyond Mitravrinda, we enter the lowest of the upper 4 channels - Kaalindi (channel 4).

Amongst the upper 4 channels, Kaalindi (channel 4) is toughest to navigate. Channels 3, 2, 1 are relatively easier. Kaalindi holds us back with her traps. We may find ourselves navigating her channel several times over, out of guilt or fear. It is not easy to leave Kaalindi, she has her own charm. Sometimes staying put in her channel makes worldly life lot easier.

When we do choose to move beyond Kaalindi (channel 4), we find channels 3, 2, 1 will be fairly easy to navigate.

Once we reach Rukmini (channel 1), and she emerges as our main consort/partner, we know we have reached a comfort zone in evolution. In higher stages of soul evolution, energies 5, 6, 7, 8 may come back as siblings, friends, loved ones. Energies we have navigated well in past lives will return to us in purest platonic love. Blocking an already well-navigated channel (example: family/parents/siblings) will mean coming back in another lifetime and making another herculean effort to re-navigate it.

The journey becomes faster under expert guidance, or if we are lucky to identify our Radha-Krishna or our twin-soul; then the purpose becomes evident.

The hope of this article is to to examine the esoteric wisdom that lies behind the exoteric appearance.

Knowing who we are, where we come from, and for what purpose, empowers us to fly to greater heights with renewed love and strength.

May there be light and love!

Lyrics

Upon a darkened night

the flame of love was burning in my breast

And by a lantern bright

I fled my house while all in quiet rest

Shrouded by the night

And by the secret stair I quickly fled

The veil concealed my eyes

while all within lay quiet as the dead

Oh night thou was my guide

of night more loving than the rising sun

Oh night that joined the lover to the beloved one

transforming each of them into the other

Upon that misty night

in secrecy, beyond such mortal sight

Without a guide or light

than that which burned so deeply in my heart

That fire t'was led me on

and shone more bright than of the midday sun

To where he waited still

it was a place where no one else could come

Within my pounding heart

which kept itself entirely for him

He fell into his sleep

beneath the cedars all my love I gave

From o'er the fortress walls

the wind would his hair against his brow

And with its smoothest hand

caressed my every sense it would allow

I lost myself to him

and laid my face upon my lover's breast

And care and grief grew dim

as in the morning's mist became the light

There they dimmed amongst the lilies fair

there they dimmed amongst the lilies fair

there they dimmed amongst the lilies fair

The words of the song 'The Dark Night of the Soul' are based on the poem 'Dark Night' by St. John, arranged and adapted by Loreena McKennitt

*******

Dark Night

(Poem by St. John of the Cross)

On a darkened night,

Anxious, by love inflamed,

— O happy chance! —

Unnoticed, I took flight,

My house at last at peace and quiet.

Safe, disguised by the night,

By the secret ladder I took flight,

— O happy chance! —

Cloaked by darkness, I scaled the height,

My house at last at peace and quiet.

On that blessed night,

In secret, and seen by none,

None in sight,

I saw with no other guide or light,

But the one burning in my heart bright.

This guide, this light,

Brighter than the midday sun,

Led me to the waiting One

I knew so well — my delight!

To a place with none in sight.

O night! O guide!

O night more loving than the dawn!

O night that joined

The lover with the Beloved;

Transformed, the lover into the Beloved drawn!

Upon my flowered breast,

For him alone kept fair,

There he slept

There I caressed,

There the cedars gave us air.

I drank the turret’s cool air

Spreading playfully his hair.

And his hand, so serene,

Cut my throat. Drained

Of senses, I dropped unaware.

Lost to myself and yet remaining,

Inclined so only the Beloved I spy.

All has ceased, all rests,

Even my cares, even I;

Lost among the lilies, there I die.

*******