Hi Readers,
Welcome to Pranav Reads!
In 2021 published actor Kabir Bedi his memoir titled Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life of an Actor. Thanks to a giveaway, I was lucky enough to get a signed copy of his book with a short video message from the man himself (attaching the video here because I wanna flex a little ;-)).
Stories I Must Tell is the unusually candid and compelling memoir of a man who holds nothing back, in love or in storytelling. Kabir Bedi was born in Lahore in the Punjab Province of British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan) on 16 January 1946. His father, Baba Pyare Lal Singh Bedi, was a Punjabi Sikh author, philosopher and a direct descendent of Guru Nanak. His mother, Freda Bedi, was an English woman born in Derby, England, who became famous as the first Western woman to take ordination in Tibetan Buddhism. Here is a short excerpt from his book where he explains Vipassana based on his experience of the practice.
Happy Reading :-)
The Vipassana Way
Vipassana is a way of raising your consciousness. It makes you more aware. You focus on the "rising" and "falling" of your breath, eyes half-closed, like the Buddha. As you do this, your thoughts interrupt you. You don't hurl them out. You note them, repeating to yourself three times, "thinking, thinking, thinking", then back to "rising, falling". Then your face itches, you don't scratch it, you note "itching" the same way. Then a dog barks, you note "hearing", and then back again to breathing. You realise how little control you have of your mind. Slowly, the gap between your thoughts, or sensations, increases. That is the pure state you seek to extend. In time, you're told meditation doesn't have to be practised cross-legged on the floor. You can lie down or walk too. But you have to be mindful of every action you do, feel or think. Then you meditate with compassion for the suffering of every living being. It's ethereal, elevating, energising.
- Kabir Bedi, Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life of an Actor
