Sthāpati, Sadhak, yantrā, music, painting & Devatā ḍhyān Malika of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III

Sthāpati, Sadhak, yantrā, music, painting & Devatā ḍhyān Malika of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III

Someone might wonder what is the similarity between a true Sadhak, and a true Sthāpati (Vāstu ṣastri). A Sthāpati uses amalgamation of metals (especially five) to create Godly icons. For this deva ḍhyān is important because you cannot conceptualize (give form) something you cannot visualize (imagine). Some Sthāpati in traditions are told to learn these Dhyāna mantras by heart. Now imagine, first they meditate on form and then they use a mixture of metal, stone or wood to create that form. Is it possible to design a ṃoorthi without first understanding the form and various attributes? Off course not. So one cannot create a divine aspect without this Dhyāna. Interestingly, the granthas mention different Dhyāna mantras for different deities which might have been forgotten today. For example, Siva has a form with red body, but usually we do not see Lord Siva in this form. It is usually designed with blue hues. Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar Specially composed ḍhyān Malika for this, using references from several sources.

In Sadhna or when we start prayers, we have Dhyāna mantras of deities. A sadhak should have strong visualization, so that he/she can create the mental form of devatā in heart. It is very important because we use the same panca ṭatva (like Sthāpati) to create a godly form in mind. Then we bring that consciousness (Brahmana) in body, worship it with upacāra and then dissolve the same consciousness with udvāsana. So a sadhak cannot do anything if he/she cannot first visualize the devatā through Dhyāna or he cannot offer manas Pooja without Dhyāna. Hence Dhyāna mantras prelude every kind of worship. It is important not just to recite Dhyāna of deity before every Pooja, this is not just a recitation, but it is done to conceptualize the devatā which is important for divinity in prayers. If you cannot visualize the ḍevthas, you won’t be able to offer anything in true divinity.

A true Sthāpati or a painter can bring prana in his creation if he can only visualize everything properly, same way a sadhak can bring a powerful deity by observing the Dhyāna properly. Both processes are processes of creation.

See the deity in the painting. The artist has really outshined the excellence in painting in this because he visualized the Devi in purest form and then was able to put the same power on sheet. This is not a mere painting and if you can sense it then this painting has got a power emanating from it. It is the same as with concept of writing yantrā. A yantrā is useless unless it is written with proper invocation and then designed. If done in a proper way the yantrā will carry the power of the deity and you will be able to feel that power. So painting, music, ṃoorthi etc. are just vocal or worldly unless they have that divine aspect. Without that divine touch they are no more than objects of beauty, they are prana hīna. If someone really wants to excel in these art forms, then they have to understand the divine aspects of these forms. That is the significance of Dhyāna in Sadhna and Dhyāna in other art forms.

Remember all art is useless without Dhyāna and all prayers or Poojas are useless without Dhyāna.