The Story Of Starbucks And Samadhi

What connection could there possibly be between Starbucks and Samadhi?

At the chanting workshop I wrote about earlier, Sri Narasimhan told us that he was very fond of coffee. Actually, he admitted that he was addicted. Which was quite nice, since the goal of yoga is to become detached from everything that binds us!

Because of his love for coffee, he had a story about how to explain the different stages between dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (enlightenment), using the analogy of finding a good cup of coffee.

Imagine that you are driving around looking for a coffee shop. Well, not just any coffee shop, but Starbucks, because they serve Indian coffee! The only thing you are concentrated on seeing is a Starbucks shop. This is like dharana. The you enter the coffee shop, and you look at the menue. They serve many things there, but you see only the coffee menue. Everything else on the menue is shut out. This is like dhyana. Finally, you get your coffe, you drink it with full attention, and you are fully in the experience of drinking the coffee. This is Samadhi! Yeah, I like that one!

A more common explanation I´ve heard is that of likening it with water. Water dripping is like dharana. Each drop is a point of concentration. You continuously put your attention back on the object of meditation. Then the dropping becomes a flow of water, this is like dhyana. Constant concentration on the object. Samadhi is like the ocean. There is water everywhere, and you are one with the water. You ARE the water, the water is you.

Both are nice analogies, but the Starbuck one is my favorite!