Siddhartha Gautama, the prince born to King Śuddhodana of the Shakya clan and Queen Maya, led a life of luxury within the confines of his palace in ancient Kosala. Prophetic texts foretold his future: he would either become a powerful ruler or a spiritual leader. Fearing the latter, his father kept him isolated from the suffering of the world outside.
However, one night, Siddhartha ventured beyond the palace walls, witnessing the harsh realities of poverty, disease and death. This profound experience led him to renounce his wealth and family in search of a deeper understanding of life and its inevitable suffering. Siddhartha’s journey would eventually lead to his enlightenment as the Buddha.
Coming to 2024, the story of spiritual renunciation continues in the modern world.
Ven Ajahn Siripanyo, the only son of Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan, who has a net worth of over Rs 40,000 crore ($5 billion), made a life-changing decision to forgo his vast inheritance in favour of a life dedicated to Buddhist monasticism. His choice mirrors the age-old path of those who seek enlightenment over material wealth, a tradition that has deep roots in India.
India, a country rich in spiritual history, has seen a number of its wealthiest citizens give up their lavish lifestyles to pursue a life of monkhood.
One such example comes from Gujarat, where in April 2024, Bhavesh Bhai Bhandari and his wife Jinal, both successful businesspeople, donated their life’s savings of Rs 200 crore to join the Jain monastic order. Their decision was inspired by their children – 19-year-old daughter Vishwa and 16-year-old son Bhavya – who had already embraced a life of renunciation two years earlier. The entire family now lives a life of asceticism, cutting ties with their former world of wealth.
This trend is not limited to one family.
In Maharashtra and Gujarat, two other Jain couples, Deepika and Jaswant Shah and Beena and Sanjay Sadadiya, also renounced the material world to become monks. The Shahs were inspired by their sons, Arth and Ansh, who took ‘Diksha’ (the initiation ceremony into monkhood) seven and two years ago, respectively. The Sadadiya family, already part of the Jain monk order, saw Beena and Sanjay follow their children’s example and leave behind everything they had known.
The influence of children on their parents’ spiritual journeys is not new. In a remarkable case from Bengaluru, a mother and son chose the path of monkhood together. Sweety, a 30-year-old woman and wife of a businessman, embarked on her quest for enlightenment with her 11-year-old son, Hridhan.
According to Sweety, the decision was made long before Hridhan’s birth, and she had been nurturing the idea of monkhood in his heart throughout his childhood. The duo’s renunciation of material wealth serves as a striking example of how faith can transform family dynamics, with children guiding the way towards spiritual awakening.
The allure of inner peace over material success has led even some of India’s most prominent figures to step away from wealth.
In June 2015, Bhanwarlal Raghunath Doshi, known as Delhi’s ‘plastic king,’ walked away from his Rs 600 crore empire to embrace Jain monasticism. His initiation ceremony, held at Ahmedabad Education Ground, was attended by 1,000 sadhus and sadhvis and witnessed by 150,000 spectators, including billionaire Gautam Adani.
Similarly, in a poignant moment in 2023, eight-year-old Devanshi Sanghvi, heir to a diamond empire, chose to renounce the material world and become a Jain monk. During her Diksha ceremony, her parents placed a diamond-studded crown on her head, but soon after, she covered her shaven head with the white robes that now symbolise her renunciation of worldly desires.
These stories illustrate a growing trend in which the wealthiest individuals in India are choosing to forsake their riches for the pursuit of spiritual fulfillment.
The ancient teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who gave up everything to search for meaning, continue to inspire a new generation of people from all walks of life to embark on the path of self-realisation and enlightenment.
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