Rupadhyana.. Loving Remembrance...

"O Arjuna Constantly remember Me. Attach your mind and intellect to Me alone." The five jnanendriyas, the gross senses - the eyes, nose, ears, skin and tongue - cannot practice meditation. The eyes ee, the ears hear, the nose smells, the tongue tastes, the skin feels touch. So who practises rupadhyana: the mind. when the mind is involved in devotional practice that is considered to be true devotional practice. so you have to lovingly remember God. Don't listen to, read, think or do anything else. If you do read, listen to or do something additional, then also rupadhyana of Shri Krishna is a must. First of all, conceive the beautiful divine form of Shri Krishna, then sing the glories of His names, forms, abodes and qualities. Most of the time you do it mechanically, merely with your tongue. However, you should always, first meditate lovingly upon God. There is no harm if you engage your senses also in devotional practice, but mere engagement of the senses will amount to nothing unless the mind is also engaged. It would be like multiplying zero by one million. The result will be zero. First do rupadhyana, then engage in any devotional practice. Rupadhyana alone is considered to be true devotion.

Rupadhyana is the most important aspect of sankirtana. It is absolutely essential for a devotee. Until he reaches an advanced stage of practicing rupadhyana he will not be able to restrain his mind and consequently will not experience the bliss. without any actual experience, the devotee becomes exhausted with his effort and starts losing hope. Thus, becoming dejacted, he once again gets inclined towards worldly pleasure.

While performing your worldly duties, repeatedly remind yourself that God is with you. practice rupadhyana and visualize, "Yes, He is in front of me." There are two benefits to this. Firstly, you will progress in your devotional practice. Secondly, because you experience that God is personally present with you, you will not be undisciplined and thus will be saved from committing sins. If the mind is given the slightest freedom. it will naturally be attracted towards the material world.