Following in the footsteps of their son and daughter, an affluent Gujarati couple has chosen to renounce the material world, as per an NDTV report. Businessman Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife donated ₹200 crore of their wealth and have adopted monkhood.
The Himmatnagar-based Bhavesh was in the construction business before taking this decision. Bhavesh and his wife were reportedly inspired by their 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son, who adopted monkhood in 2022.
According to the report, they donated their wealth in February this year and will officially become monks in a ceremony on April 22. They will have to sever all family ties and won't be allowed to keep any 'materialistic object' with them. They will only be allowed to keep two white garments, a bowl for alms, and a “rajoharan,” a white broom Jain monks use to brush insects away—a mark of the path of non-violence they follow.
Besides, NDTV reported that they will have to walk barefoot across India and survive only on alms.
The Jain couple and 35 others took out a procession in which they donated their phones, jewellery, other gadgets, and home appliances. The video of the procession showed the couple atop a chariot dressed like royalty.
Bhavesh Jain and his wife have joined a handful of other Jain people, such as Bhavaralal Jain, who renounced the material world. Bhavarlal Jain pioneered the micro-irrigation system in India.
Last year, Surat-based multi-millionaire diamond merchant Dipesh Shah and his wife, Pika Shah, embraced monkhood. They followed in the footsteps of their 12-year-old son, Bhagyaratna Vijayji. Their daughter had earlier adopted monkhood around 2009 and became Parathrekha Shriji.
In Jainism religion, taking "deeksha" is a ritual of renunciation.
According to a 2019 BBC report, professor Dr Bipin Doshi said that there used to be 10-15 deekshas a year earlier, but in 2018, the number rose to 250.
BBC reported that the rise in renouncing the material world among Jain people could be attributed to 'growing disenchantment because of the pressure of the modern world' and religious retreats that allow young people to experiment with monastic life.
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