How to do gazing on idol to praise a deity?

Question

I've heat that in some kind of advanced stage of gazing on Idols or Saints, the deities and saints are pleased with the sadhaka and that they help him in all ways.. How to do this??

Answer 1

The steps on how to gaze at a Deity is systematically described by Kapila Muni to His mother Devahuti in the Bhagavata Purana 3.28.. It can be practiced through a Deity seen in the temple.

Below verses are for meditation on Lord Vishnu but if someone is devoted to Shiva or Shakti, these principles can still be applied with reading their glories from the respective scriptures such as the Shiv Purana, Devi Bhagavata, etc.

Preparation (Texts 1 to 12): Performance of one's duties, leading a regulated life, practice of pranayama, etc. Sample verse:

स्वधर्माचरणं शक्त्या विधर्माच्च निवर्तनम् ।
दैवाल्लब्धेन सन्तोष आत्मविच्चरणार्चनम् ॥ २ ॥

One should execute his prescribed duties to the best of his ability and avoid performing duties not allotted to him. One should be satisfied with as much gain as he achieves by the grace of the Lord, and one should worship the lotus feet of a spiritual master.

Meditation (Texts 13 to 33): Description of the divine form of Lord Vishnu in minute detail for the Yogi to meditate on. Sample verses:

तस्मिँल्ल‍ब्धपदं चित्तं सर्वावयवसंस्थितम् ।
विलक्ष्यैकत्र संयुज्यादङ्गे भगवतो मुनि: ॥ २० ॥

In fixing his mind on the eternal form of the Lord, the yogī should not take a collective view of all His limbs, but should fix the mind on each individual limb of the Lord.

यच्छौचनि:सृतसरित्प्रवरोदकेन
तीर्थेन मूर्ध्‍न्‍यधिकृतेन शिव: शिवोऽभूत् ।
ध्यातुर्मन:शमलशैलनिसृष्टवज्रं
ध्यायेच्चिरं भगवतश्चरणारविन्दम् ॥ २२ ॥

The blessed Lord Śiva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord’s feet act like thunderbolts hurled to shatter the mountain of sin stored in the mind of the meditating devotee. One should therefore meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time.

हासं हरेरवनताखिललोकतीव्र-
शोकाश्रुसागरविशोषणमत्युदारम् ।
सम्मोहनाय रचितं निजमाययास्य
भ्रूमण्डलं मुनिकृते मकरध्वजस्य ॥ ३२ ॥

A yogī should similarly meditate on the most benevolent smile of Lord Śrī Hari, a smile which, for all those who bow to Him, dries away the ocean of tears caused by intense grief. The yogī should also meditate on the Lord’s arched eyebrows, which are manifested by His internal potency in order to charm the sex-god for the good of the sages.

ध्यानायनं प्रहसितं बहुलाधरोष्ठ-
भासारुणायिततनुद्विजकुन्दपङ्‌क्ति ।
ध्यायेत्स्वदेहकुहरेऽवसितस्य विष्णोर्
भक्त्यार्द्रयार्पितमना न पृथग्दिद‍ृक्षेत् ॥ ३३ ॥

With devotion steeped in love and affection, the yogī should meditate within the core of his heart upon the laughter of Lord Viṣṇu. The laughter of Viṣṇu is so captivating that it can be easily meditated upon. When the Supreme Lord is laughing, one can see His small teeth, which resemble jasmine buds rendered rosy by the splendor of His lips. Once devoting his mind to this, the yogī should no longer desire to see anything else.

Perfection (Texts 34 to 44): Description of the Yogi attaining success in their meditation by the grace of Lord Vishnu. Sample verses:

मुक्ताश्रयं यर्हि निर्विषयं विरक्तं
निर्वाणमृच्छति मन: सहसा यथार्चि: ।
आत्मानमत्र पुरुषोऽव्यवधानमेकम्
अन्वीक्षते प्रतिनिवृत्तगुणप्रवाह: ॥ ३५ ॥

When the mind is thus completely freed from all material contamination and detached from material objectives, it is just like the flame of a lamp. At that time the mind is actually dovetailed with that of the Supreme Lord and is experienced as one with Him because it is freed from the interactive flow of the material qualities.

सोऽप्येतया चरमया मनसो निवृत्त्या
तस्मिन्महिम्न्यवसित: सुखदु:खबाह्ये ।
हेतुत्वमप्यसति कर्तरि दु:खयोर्यत्
स्वात्मन्विधत्त उपलब्धपरात्मकाष्ठ: ॥ ३६ ॥

Thus situated in the highest transcendental stage, the mind ceases from all material reaction and becomes situated in its own glory, transcendental to all material conceptions of happiness and distress. At that time the yogī realizes the truth of his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He discovers that pleasure and pain as well as their interactions, which he attributed to his own self, are actually due to the false ego, which is a product of ignorance.

देहोऽपि दैववशग: खलु कर्म यावत्
स्वारम्भकं प्रतिसमीक्षत एव सासु: ।
तं सप्रपञ्चमधिरूढसमाधियोग:
स्वाप्नं पुनर्न भजते प्रतिबुद्धवस्तु: ॥ ३८ ॥

The body of such a liberated yogī, along with the senses, is taken charge of by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it functions until its destined activities are finished. The liberated devotee, being awake to his constitutional position and thus situated in samādhi, the highest perfectional stage of yoga, does not accept the by-products of the material body as his own. Thus he considers his bodily activities to be like the activities of a body in a dream.