Surat: A Jain family in Gujarat donated all their material possessions and chose the path of monkhood following the footstep of their children, where others strive to pile up wealth.
Bhavesh Bhandari, and his wife hailing from Himmatnagar, donated nearly ₹ 200 crore in a ceremony in February.
He has been into the construction business and decided to renounce worldliness after the couple’s 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son adopted monkhood in 2022.
Members of their community say Bhavesh and his wife chose to "renounce their material attachments and join the ascetic path" having been inspired by their children.
As they took pledge on April 22, the couple has to sever ties with family and will not keep any ‘material objects’
Now onward they will then walk barefoot across the country and survive only on alms, possessing only two white garments, a bowl for alms.
As part of practicing non-violence, they will also carry a white broom called ‘ rajoharan’ to brush away insects from where they sit.
The Bhandari family’s monkhood has invited attention to the couple from across state as they are known to be one of the wealthiest in the state.
They are now part of a handful others including Bhavaralal Jain, a pioneer in micro-irrigation systems in India, who previously renounced worldliness to become a monk.
After taking a procession with 35 others, the Bhandari couple donated all their possession which included even their mobile phones, air conditioners among others.
During the procession they were seen in videos atop a chariot dressed like royalty.
Taking ‘diksha’ in Jainism meant the individual will have to discard material comforts and live on alms, wandering barefoot across the country.
In similar renunciation last year, a multi-millionaire diamond merchant in the state chose monkhood after the couple’s 12-year-old son became a monk.
Their son rode a Ferrari for his diksha ceremony, where the couple drove a Jaguar for their initiation.
In 2017 a wealthy couple from Madhya Pradesh donated Rs 100 crore to become monks and left their 3-year-old daughter with her grandparents.