How should one constantly contemplate upon God?

For this, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj discloses a secret.  He tells us to chant the divine name of God with every breathe that we take.  Our mind needs a base to which it can get attached.  Otherwise, how will you attach your mind?  So the solution is to firstly, chant his divine name.  When you chant his name, your mind will naturally think about God.  So, chanting of God's name is a very good means of absorbing your mind in God.  Besides chanting, you can also visualize and meditate upon the divine form of God.  The third point is to think and sing the glories of God's qualities.  He is the friend of humble souls and purifier of sinners; He is the ocean of mercy and Grace, more beautiful than infinite cupids.  He is the soul of our soul.  By contemplating upon these qualities of God, we should divert our mind towards him.

You should think about the leelas (pastimes) of God - He is sitting, we are fanning him while he rests, he is sitting on a swing, etc.  You can imagine any leela of God as per your wish and meditate upon it.  In addition to the leelas, think of his divine abodes.  If you are unable to concentrate upon God then you can think about Vrindavan.  Think that the tree nearby is a divine tree from Vrindavan.  From every leaf, the sound of chanting of 'Radhey Radhey' is emanating.  Or, you can meditate on the form of the Guru.  The main point we have to remember is that God has infinite Names, infinite Forms, infinite Attributes, infinite Pastimes, and infinite Associates, and that are all one.  They all reside within each other.  Therefore, God's divine Names, Forms, Pastimes, Abodes, Qualities, and Associates, all belong to the divine realm of God.  By meditating on any of these areas, your devotion is strengthened.  This is the foundation for practicing devotion.  If you attach your mind to any of these divine attributes, it is divine and you will get the divine result. 

Tridha Bhakti - The Threefold Devotion Explained by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj

 

Tridha Bhakti - The Threefold Devotion

 

The threefold devotion is also called ‘tridha bhakti’ and it is because of its power that people engage in devotion day and night and experience the bliss of God.  Chanting, hearing and remembering the Names, Forms, Virtues and Leelas (pastimes) of God is the simplest and most powerful form of devotion in Kaliyug. Engaging in this threefold devotion cleanses the mirror of the heart and extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence.  This form of devotion is extremely sweet because it helps us to easily attach our mind to God.  We can chant the names of God, sing His glories, contemplate on His beautiful form for hours and hours.  On the other hand if we are asked to sit in a yagya, we get distracted in no time as we are unable to understand the mantras that the pundit recites.  But if we have to sing the beautiful kirtans of God or listen to a spiritual lecture by a God-realized Saint we will feel the inspiration to engage in it much longer.

As one engages in this threefold devotion, there is however an important point to keep in mind.  The heart and soul of tridha bhakti lies in the involvement of the mind in devotion.

Unfortunately in today’s world, external behaviour takes precedence.  We say many things, but we hardly feel them from within.  For example, we often say “thank you” and “sorry” to each other, but we rarely feel gratitude or regret from within.  This may be a trend in the material world, but God says that such craftiness and deception is of no importance in the spiritual realm.  God says, “I will only consider the feelings in your mind”.  Hence, you may think you are engaging in chanting and hearing really well, but actually you may be practicing devotion merely with your material senses.  You may be hearing the Guru’s lectures with your ears and reciting prayers with your lips, but your mind could be wandering elsewhere.   There is no benefit of engaging in such devotion.

Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj teaches us to meditate upon God, which means we have to meditate upon the form of God.  Along with this we can also chant His Divine Names and Pastimes and sing kirtans that will be helpful in the remembrance of God.  Thus, foremost we have to engage the mind in remembrance of God and then involve the material senses in devotion.