Who is Bhavesh Bhai Bhandari, the Jain businessman from Gujarat who donated Rs 200 crore to become a monk

A businessman from Gujarat, Bhavesh Bhai Bhandari recently made the news after he and his wife were seen showering currency notes in the direction of a crowd from a vehicle decorated as a chariot.

The duo was accompanied by 35 others in the 4-kilometer-long procession.

As the couple gave away all their wealth, here is all you need to know Bhavesh Bhai Bhandari, the Jain businessman from Gujarat who donated Rs 200 crore to brace monkhood.

Once an owner of construction businesses in Sabarkantha and Ahmedabad regions of the northwestern state, Bhandari and his wife hail from the Jain community.

As per media reports, the Gujarati couple gave up all their fortune and wealth, and will be following the footsteps of their children to become monks for life.

Their daughter aged 19 and 16-year-old son had taken up monkhood in the year 2022, which inspired the couple to follow their footsteps.

In February, both Bhavesh and his wife donated all their belongings including mobile phones and jewellery in a 'diksha' ceremony.

The two are set to take pledge into their new life on April 22.

In monkhood, the person has to live without material comforts, in what is known as taking up 'diksha' (abandoning material life to brace spirituality).

The couple will only get two white garments, bowl of alms, and a white broom that is used by Jain monks and is called "rajoharan". The broom is used to gently remove insect out of the way before sitting to prevent the creatures from getting hurt as they believe in non-violence.

It is also believed that those from Jain community bracing monkhood will have to pluck their hair one by one, instead of shaving it at once.

Meanwhile, there have been other famous personalities with royal background who have braced the path to spirituality by dedicating their life to monkhood in the past.

In 2015, business tycoon Bhanwarlal Doshi whose estimated wealth is said to be between Rs 350-600 crore, renounced everything to become a monk. Doshi is also known as the "plastic king of India". He started with selling paraffin from a street cart only to later establish his own company— DR International.

Doshi braced monkhood under the guidance of Jain Acharya, Shri Gunratna Surishwarji Maharaj.