Jain businessman Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife have donated almost Rs 200 crore ahead of adopting monkhood later this month. The Bhandaris, hailing from Himmatnagar in Gujarat, donated their wealth during a ceremony in February.
On Monday, they took out a procession where they gave away their belongings. The family is in the construction business. Their 16-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter had adopted monkhood in 2022 and the couple decided to follow the path of their children.
A video on shared by news agency PTI on X showed the Bhandari couple during a grand procession in Sabarkantha, Gujarat. Below is a glimpse of the procession:
VIDEO | Gujarat-based businessman Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife donated their lifetime earnings of over Rs 200 crore to adopt monkhood. The couple led a procession in Sabarkantha, Gujarat, yesterday as they donated all their belongings.
(Full video available on PTI Videos -… pic.twitter.com/eWu9IQEZo3April 16, 2024AdvertisementAlong with the couple, 35 others participated in the procession where they donated their possessions, including their mobile phones and air conditioners.
The couple is scheduled to take the pledge on April 22 and will walk barefoot across the nation and survive on alms. They are to disconnect from all family ties and refrain from possessing any materialistic objects.
AdvertisementThey can wear only the two white garments offered to them, and use the bowl given to collect alms. The couple will follow the path of non-violence as per the precepts of Jainism for the rest of their lives.
According to an NDTV report, Bhavarlal Jain, a well-known name in the micro-irrigation system in India, adopted monkhood and gave away wealth worth Rs 1 billion.
'Diksha' is a Jain term for monkhood, where the person gives up all materialistic wishes and belongings and lives on alms and travels only barefoot.
In 2023, a multi-millionaire diamond merchant and his wife adopted monkhood after their 12-year-old son adopted monkhood. His son arrived in a Ferrari for the ceremony while the couple came in a Jaguar for their ceremony said an NDTV report.
In 2017, Sumit Rathore and his wife donated wealth worth Rs 100 crore to adopt monkhood in Madhya Pradesh. They left their three daughters with their grandparents, a Hindustan Times report said.
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