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What is Rupa Dhyana?
Rupa Dhyana is the least understood of all forms of meditation. In fact, for Kaliyuga, in my 35 plus years of meditation practice, nothing is even close to half of what Rupa Dhyana can do for us.
Rupa Dhyana simply means meditating on the form of the Lord. Rupa Dhyana can include the scenes of the Lord’s pastimes in our heart. It can also mean that we may be personally present in the scene which pictures the Lord and His eternal consort, serving them in various ways like pressing their feet, Offering them cool water, fanning them, offering Fruits to them and lovingly gazing at them, filled with emotions of love and extreme humility.
It can also include softer emotions of completely giving up our all in the heart and offering ourselves to the Lord’s needs, which he graciously performs for our upliftment. When one is adept in such finer thoughts of the Lord’s image or moving form of the Lord in the heart, as a result of intense love, that is Rupa Dhyana.
Connection of Bhagavat Nama and Rupa Dhyana
There is a direct connection between the Name of the Lord that is Nama and the Form of the Lord, Rupa. The Name of the Lord is an intrinsic aspect of the Form of the Lord. When one practices the Nama of the Lord under the benign care of a perfectly self-realized Guru, only then will the Form of the Lord shall reveal itself.
Just seeing the image of the Lord and practicing to see the Lord in one’s heart apparently looks simple, but it is not that simple. When one purifies the heart by following Guru’s instructions and chants the Nama of the Lord with dedicated practice and surrender, will the Form of the Lord reveal itself in the heart of the sadhaka.
Purification of the heart by constantly remembering Guru and Nama shall only fix the Rupa in the heart. This is the direct connection between Nama and Rupa of the Lord.
8 Questions from Sanatana Dharma
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What is the Purpose of Rupa Dhyana?
The fundamental purpose of Rupa Dhyana is for purification of the heart so that we become available to the complete Grace and splendor of the Lord. Just chanting the Names of the Lord, in my experience, is not sufficient.
This is because while chanting, our mind may fumble into unchartered terrains, not suitable for Sadhana proper. Doing sadhana under a Guru, one has to chant constantly and learn to meditate on the form of the Lord. When a person just chants the Nama of the Lord, our mouths may chant through practice, no doubt. We may do temple service, our hands and feet may be involved, our senses may be involved, but what about our minds? The final goal of Sadhana is the mind.
Unless the mind is suffused with the sweet visions or service of the Lord within, its core, purification of the highest kind does not manifest. Unless our mind is constantly thinking about the Lord’s stories, glories, service or His abodes, True Bhakti has never happened. Such service with the mind is termed as Bhagavat Seva.
Bhagavat Seva with the mind is the highest form of Bhakti. This is also known as Sadhana Bhakti, born out of applied practice and surrender to Guru. With Guru’s Grace alone can genuine Rupa Dhyana manifest and the mind is purged of all its deficiencies and attains its spiritual nature.
Problems with other forms of Meditation
Other forms of meditation are aimed at various types of material benefits. Some Gurus ask one to meditate in your mind visualizing “AUM”. Some ask you to visualize bright light or colored light. Some forms of meditation focus on freedom and emotions, while certain others take you to your past, in a bid to correct Trauma.
All these meditation forms may or may not be helpful and there are some experienced teachers who may have their own views. But whatever may be the case these options shall not give a person long term release because it is divorced from the Shastras and Bhagawan.
Anything in relation with Bhagawan such as Rupa Dhyana is transcendental in nature and can offer permanent solution, and can grant Moksha or perfect Liberation, making us a repository of Dharmic qualities. Other forms of meditations are mundane and have a very limited reach. This is my personal experience and realization.
Is the Form of the Lord Valid and how relevant it is?
The Form of the Lord, His Abode, Qualities and Pastimes are eternal and exalted, beyond the mundane plane of existence. When we perform Rupa Dhyana under a qualified spiritual master we invoke the causeless grace of the Supreme Being, who cleanses our heart with His form and seats Himself on the throne of the heart exuding His divinity through our persona.
Thus from a simple ordinary being, a sage emerges who is the only true well-wisher of the universe and exhibits genuine compassion towards all beings, without expecting anything from the world in return. A true meditator of Rupa, or a Rupa Dhyani is in direct association with Atman and only speaks what is beneficial and is a personification of Truth,
What can Rupa Dhyana do for us?
Rupa Dhyana is transcendental and does not relate to the material plane of exploitation, namely this planet Earth where Kali Maharaj is prevalent. A regular practitioner of Rupa Dhyana, with the blessings of his Gurudeva crosses over to the domain beyond life and death while leaving and by the Grace of Guru and Bhagawan attains Pure Bhakti and Seva. His life is dedicated to the Service of the Deity, in an unconditional manner.
He belongs to the world of Service or Seva although he apparently operates in the land of exploitation namely Earth. But one who is blessed with the capacity to be constantly in communion with Bhagawan through Rupa Dhyana, always lives in Satyuga. Kaliyuga can never enter the house of such a Bhakta of the Supreme Lord.
Can Rupa Dhyana bring about enlightenment?
Form Meditation finally takes us to the stage of perfect enlightenment whereby there shall remain no doubts on deep rooted questions such as “Why are we born?”, “Why do we suffer?”, “What does God get in troubling us?”, “Why are Bad people happy and Good people suffer?”, “Is the Law of Karma Truly working or is it really hearsay”, “Is Sanatana Dharma really scientific etc”. Rupa Dhyana, uproots these questions from the very root and gives us absolute clarity, without any shadow of doubt.
There is no residue of suffering to a person who has performed Rupa Dhyana under a qualified Spiritual Master.
Role of Guru in Rupa Dhyana
This is a vital question that many seekers have even by those who do not practice Rupa Dhyana. Spiritual Practice and Discipline rests on the backbone of Trust and Faith. Unless there is Trust and Faith, no spiritual journey can begin. We may see many fraud disciples and Gurus, agreed.
But even then Sanatana Dharma has its basis in Guru Parampara through the system of direct transmission of knowledge and divine intelligence through the process of Shiksha and Deeksha. Without these components Rupa Dhyana can never be genuine. The mind is like a torrential river and we as Jivas are like a piece of straw.
Unless there appears a Guru who can lock and build a bund or dam around the waters of such a river, the straw shall just be tossed to unknown and undesirable destinations. So, in short, Guru is indispensable.
Rupa Dhyana is especially mentioned in the Scripture of the Paramahamsas namely the Srimad Bhagavatham in Canto 3 Chapter 33, where Lord Kapila instructs directs his mother into Rupa Dhyana as a valid process for attaining Moksha.
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