The boy who gave up his Ferrari, riches and became a Jain monk

Like any other 12-year-old rich kid, Bhavya Shah was fond of fancy cars and stylish sunglasses. Except that this son of a Surat-based diamond merchant gave it all up to join an order of Jain monks on Thursday in an elaborate ceremony.

Bhavya’s father Dipesh Shah said that on March 24 his son took one last ride in his favourite Ferrari car that belonged to a family friend. And on Wednesday the boy sported a pair of blue shades with his sherwani when the family organised a public procession for him in a chariot designed on the lines of the ones depicted in the blockbuster movie Bahubali.

”Life is full of sins. My parents have taught me that one should lead a life of truth. For the same, I am happy to renounce the world. I also know that my parents are happy with my decision,” said the 12-year-old to the media before he took the vows of monkhood from Acharya Rashminratnasuri in Surat on Thursday.

Bhavya Shah during the monkhood ceremony. (HT Photo)

Four years ago, Bhavya’s elder sister too had renounced the material world. Bhavya believes that soon his parents will also follow suit.

On Thursday, some 300 monks and thousands of community members from all over arrived in Surat to take part in the Bhavya’s “diskha” mahotsav.

”At the core I am very happy that two of my three children have adopted the path of truth. My third son is not ready for monkhood. But in future if he wants to, I would be immensely happy,’’ said Shah.

The father added, ”I and my wife feel like we have given away part of our heart. But their choices are right, deep down we feel happy.’’

Last year, Varshil Shah, a Gujarat board class XII topper from Ahmedabad took the path of monkhood. The 17-year-old Varshil had scored 99.9 percentile in the examination in March and renounced the world a few days after the board results were announced

In 2014, the Jain community was granted a national of minority status by the central government. In Gujarat, Jains have four sub-sects and “diksha” is a common practice among all sections.