A 12-year-old Indian boy who stood to lead a life of luxury and inherit millions has abandoned the high life for an austere, spiritual existence as a monk of the Jain religion.
Bhavya Shah hails from a wealthy family of Indian diamond merchants in Gujarat and was said to be obsessed with sports cars and expensive designer labels before declaring that he wanted to trade it all in for a monastic existence.
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“Life is full of sins”, he told reporters in his home city of Surat. “My parents have taught me that one should lead a life of truth. For the same, I am happy to renounce the world. I also know that my parents are happy with my decision.”
The Shah family are regulars on local media due to their many businesses, community work and lavish tastes – Bhaavya was often seen in opulent attire on TV. He rode in a chariot, bejeweled and bedecked in finery, on his way to change into a plain white robe to take his vows, as a symbol of his move from one life to the other.
The central tenets of the Jain faith include the belief that animals and plants also have souls, pacifism, the rejection of status possessions, and “pure” vegetarianism – strict followers do not eat eggs or root vegetables such as potatoes or onions, and will not eat anything cooked in a kitchen that has had meat in it.
Footage and photos from the ceremony showed Bhavya arrive at the ritual in a glamorous sherwani [full-length traditional robe] and headgear before taking “diksha” – the rite of initiation marking entry into the order of the monks. About 500 monks and several thousand onlookers, many of them Jains, were present during the ceremony.
Four years ago, Bhavya’s elder sister too had renounced the material world to become a Jain nun. Bhavya hopes his parents will follow suit one day.
Bhavya’s father, Dipesh, said: “At the core I am very happy that two of my three children have adopted the path of truth. I and my wife feel like we have given away part of our heart. But their choices are right, deep down we feel happy.”
Jainism shares many similarities to Hinduism and Buddhism, except it does not depict deities or have official priests. There are around 4 million Jains in India.