Shree Krishna is himself God Supreme. His Avatars or incarnations are Rama etc. Meditation upon such incarnations or forms (either as picture form or statue) should be performed. However Bhaktas with supreme knowledge, who claim they are Brahmroopa (form of God), should never be meditated upon.
The reason for this is that they are Jivaroopa - a being, whose body is made from the Panchmahabhutas (five elements), therefore, none, other than God himself, are worthy of meditation. Only God himself can bestow the grace of salvation and so ultimately he alone should be the only refuge. Bhagawana Dhaaranashreyaha - ‘God alone is the only refuge or support.’
Even meditation upon Brahma, Sanakadika etc is forbidden; never mind the impostors of today who claim to be God! Shatanand futher explains that Murtis where Bhaktas are pictured in the service of God may be meditated upon as such depictions show merely the Bhakta-Bhagwan relationship.
In this age of Kali, it seems that the Lord Swaminarayan spoke with prior knowledge of this act to deter people from falling into this vortex of ignorance and misdeed. It seems that in this age, many are that much more foolish as they are accepting the Godhead of others such as Gurus and holy men. Distinction between Bhakta and Bhagwan has to be preserved so that the true God is alone the source of our refuge. Only God can bestow the favour of salvation and so only he should be worshipped as God. There is no point worshipping other Gurus with such faith, as they cannot deliver the fruit of Moksha. Nor should such figures be meditated upon as God as it serves no purpose. Dhyana should be performed of those who are Purna - complete with righteous qualities. Thus God is such as he is Purna with the greatest qualities. By performing Dhyana of God we also adopt his supreme qualities. Thus one should not perform Dhyana of others who are imperfect, as by doing so we will inherit the unrighteous qualities and imperfections of that person. Indeed our Sinhasans should be kept free of any other picture other than God’s Murtis, as many have a tendancy of putting pictures of their parents, Guru, saints etc.
A Guru can aid in helping a Jivatma to become God-Realised but such a Guru can never take the place of God and become the object of devotion. To do so is sinful to both the devotee and the devoted.
It seems ironic that Lord Swaminarayan wrote this Shloka blatantly forbidding worship of a Guru, Saint or Bhakta and yet two hundred years on, Satsangis continue to be fooled into worshipping a Guru etc through cults, thus disregarding Lord Swaminarayan’s explicit wishes!
A saint or Guru, however much knowledgeable he is, or profound in devotion he may be, cannot and must not take the place of God or Leader. It is the explicit wish of Lord Swaminarayan that the Leaders of this Swaminarayan Sampradaya are the two Acharyas of Ahmedabad and Vadtal. Yes, the saints or Gurus may be great souls but such greatness has to be put into context when reading about Rishis such as Saubhari and Chavan who performed great penance for sixty and twenty one thousand years respectively. Also Dhruva, who at the age of five, performed intense physical austerities and was able to have Darshan of God. They were great, yet they were never worshipped as God, nor did they claim to be God.