You all might remember Barkha Madan as the actress who starred opposite actor Akshay Kumar in the Bollywood movie, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi. Go google her now and the Wikipedia will show you a different name. It did, right? Well this is because the actress and model has now become a monk at Sera Je Monastery in Tibet. Here are some more details
Actress & Model Barkha Madan Becomes A Monk
Barkha Madan who previously worked as an actress and model became one of the first non-Himalayan Indian Tibetan Buddhist nuns in FPMT. FPMT is the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. Barkha Madan has been a dedicated follower of the Dalai Lama and was very much impressed by his ideologies. She began understanding Buddhism and was thoroughly impressed. It was in the year 2012, in the month of November that she decided to become a Buddhist nun. On November 4th, she was ordained at Sera Je Monastery, under the supervision of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Barkha changed her name from Barkha Madan to Ven. Gyalten Samten. She mentions this ordainment as the best and the most important decision of her life.
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No Time To Prepare For Ordination
Barkha Madan distributed food and water to the poor just as things were returning to normalcy after the pandemic. Her story of how she became a monk is very surreal. She had written a letter to Lama Zopa Rinpoche requesting ordination and he granted it to be the very next morning. Barkha was very much baffled by this news because she thought she would get time to prepare. She was concerned about informing her family and also the promotion of a movie that was to happen soon. Sleep deprived that night, the next morning she called her mother and told her everything. Her mother asked her what she was waiting for and that was her green signal. She considers this moment of her life as her rebirth.
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Cover Image Courtesy: Website/FPMT