Gujarat: Wealthy Jain Couple Donates Rs 200 Crore To Become Monks (image: Pixabay)A wealthy Jain couple from Gujarat donated all their wealth and is all set to start their journey of monkhood. Bhavesh Bhandari, and his wife, comes from a prosperous family in Sabarkantha has gave their worldly possessions during a ceremony in February.
The ceremony was called Diksha where a person formally pledged to live an ascetic life. The couple have donated Rs. 200 crore to venture into monkhood leaving behind material prospects. Later this month, they will officially undertake their journey into salvation.
The couple got inspiration from their 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son who chosen monkhood in 2022. The Bhandari family’s decision received lot of attention in social media.
In the initiation ceremony involving a grand procession conducted in Himmatnagar, and the Bhandari couple, along with 35 others, took it for nearly 4 kilometers.
After the formal induction on April 22, the couple will have to cut all family connections and won’t be allowed to keep any ‘materialistic objects’. They will then walk barefoot across India and survive only on alms. Besides, they will be allowed to keep only two white garments, a bowl for alms and a white broom Jain monks use.
Bhavesh Bhai Bhandari associated with construction industry and managed projects in both Sabarkantha and Ahmedabad. The Bhandari family often engaged with monks and devotees.
Last year, a multi-millionaire diamond merchant and his wife in Gujarat made a similar decision and chosen monkhood following the footsteps of their 12-year-old son. In 2017, a wealthy couple hailing from Madhya Pradesh has also hit headlines when they distributed Rs 100 crore and left their three-year-old daughter to become monks, NDTV reports.