The boy who gave up his Ferrari to become a Jain monk
A 12-year-old Gujarati boy has renounced a family life he believes is “full of sins at every step” and has become a monk. Bhavya Shah, the son of a diamond merchant, joined the order of Jain monks at a ceremony in Surat today in the presence of more than 7,000 people.
Photos from the ceremony showed Bhavya arrive at the ceremony hall dressed in a splendid sherwani and headgear before taking diksha, which is the ritual of initiation that marks the entry of an individual into the order of the monks. About 500 Jain monks were present during the ceremony.
Earlier, speaking ahead of the ceremony, Bhavya told news agency ANI, “I am happy to take the path of truth shown by God,” Bhavya Shah, who is giving up his family to embrace monkhood.
“I am deserting my mother and father as they taught me that this is the true path. My father and mother would also come on this path one day in future,” the boy added.
His father Dipesh Shah who is a diamond merchant, said, “Our family is extremely happy as Bhavya will take diksha.”
Asked if he is sad that his son would now leave them, the father replied, ”At the core I am very happy that two of my three children have adopted the path of truth. My third son is not ready for monkhood. But in future if he wants to, I would be immensely happy,’’ said Shah.
The father added, ”I and my wife feel like we have given away part of our heart. But their choices are right, deep down we feel happy.’’
On Friday, a 24-year-old chartered accountant belonging to an affluent Jain family from Mumbai embraced monkhood by renouncing his career and family business worth over Rs 100 crore
Mokshesh Sheth, who managed his family’s business for two years after becoming a CA, gave up all the earthly possessions and aspirations and became a Jain monk at a ceremony held in Gandhinagar, the capital of the western Indian state of Gujarat, his uncle Girish Sheth said.
From Friday, Mokshesh, the eldest son of Mumbai-based businessman Sandip Sheth, will be known as ‘Karunapremvijay Jee’, he said
In 2014, the Jain community was granted a national of minority status by the central government.
In Jain faith, Diksha is an initiation process in which a person renounces the worldly life and all the attachments to strictly pursue the path of Jainism.
