Gujarat businessman and wife give up Rs 200 crore fortune to become monks

Gujarat businessman and wife give up Rs 200 crore fortune to become monks

A wealthy Jain couple from Gujarat has donated their life savings of Rs 200 crore to embrace monkhood. Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife donated all their wealth during a lavish ceremony in February which saw the couple showering onlookers with money while standing atop a truck. The Bhandaris will officially commit to a life of renunciation later this month.

According to an NDTV report, Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife are based in Himmatnagar, Gujarat. The businessman is involved in the construction business.

In 2022, the couple’s two children – a 19-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son – had adopted monkhood. The couple will now follow in their footsteps and take a vow of renunciation (diksha) to commit to “Saiyam Jeevan” or the way of Jain ascetics. The word “saiyam” means “restraint” while “jeevan” refers to “life” – so Saiyam Jeevan is essentially a lifestyle characterized by self-discipline and spirituality instead of materialistic pursuits.

In February, the couple took part in a four-kilometre procession to symbolically give up their riches and embrace monkhood. Dressed in rich clothes and jewellery, they stood atop a truck decorated like a chariot and threw clothes and banknotes on the people standing below.

On April 22, Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife will formally commit to a life of asceticism. To do so, they will sever all familial ties and give up their materialistic possessions. The lifestyle entails walking barefoot across the country and surviving on alms.

In a similar incident in January, the 8-year-old daughter of a Gujarati diamond merchant had also renounced material comforts to embrace monkhood.