All of 12 years, Bhavya Shah isn’t like the other boys his age. For, at a time when he should be enjoying the simple luxuries of life like any other kid, Bhavya has decided to give up all the worldly attachments, including his family and embrace monkhood. On Thursday, Bhavya Shah, who hails from Surat in Gujarat, will become a Jain monk at a ceremony. The young boy is elated as he is giving up material possessions and taking the big step towards monkhood. As per ANI report, Bhavya said that he is happy to take the path of truth shown by God. He added that he is even deserting his mother and father as they taught him that this is the true path. He said that his father and mother would also come on this path one day in future.
Bhavya’s family has lauded his decision of embracing the role of a Jain monk and quit the luxuries of a material life. Dipesh Shah, a diamond merchant and Bhavya’s father, said that the family is extremely happy as their young son will take Diksha. Asked if he is sad that his son will leave him after becoming a monk, Dipesh Shah said that he is happy as his daughter did the same four years ago when she was 12 years old. Meanwhile, Bhavya will take Diksha in the presence of around 400-450 Jain monks and around 7000 people.
This isn’t for the first time that young children from Gujarat have given up materialistic needs to become Jain monks. In 2017, 17-year-old Varshil Shah, who scored 99.99 percentile in the Class XII exam of the Gujarat state board and topped the Commerce stream, decided to become a Jain monk. He is now Muni Suvirya Ratna Vijayji. Varshil was the second in their family to become a monk. In 2016, his brother-in-law’s son became a monk while he was pursuing CA. 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.