Devanshi Sanghvi, then eight years old, might have gone on to run a diamond company worth a lot of money.
However, the wealthy Indian diamond merchant’s daughter is now leading a spartan lifestyle, going door to door in white saris and barefoot.
Because Devanshi, the older of the two daughters of Dhanesh and Ami Sanghvi, gave up her life and became a nun this past week.
One of the oldest religions in the world, Jainism was founded in India more than 2,500 years ago. Among the 4.5 million Jains who practice it are the Sanghvis.
Despite the rarity of cases involving children as young as Devanshi, religious scholars assert that the number of Jains abandoning the material world has been rising rapidly over time.
Tens of thousands of people attended Devanshi’s “diksha,” or vows of renunciation, on Wednesday in Surat, a city in the western state of Gujarat, in the presence of senior Jain monks.
She arrived at the Vesu area of the city bejeweled and dressed in fine silks, accompanied by her parents. Her head was covered in a crown made of diamonds.
She stood with other nuns after the ceremony in a white sari that also covered her shaved head. She is shown in photographs holding a broom, which she would now use to remove insects from her path so that she wouldn’t step on them.
Devanshi has been residing in an Upashraya, a Jain monastic community, ever since.
Kirti Shah, a Surat-based diamond merchant who is also a local politician for the Bharatiya Janata Party, asserts, “She can no longer stay at home, her parents are no longer her parents, she’s a Sadhvi [a nun] now.” Shah is both a friend of the family and a politician for the party.
The life of a Jain nun is extremely austere. She will now have to walk everywhere, she will never be able to take public transportation, she will sleep on the floor under a white sheet, and she will be unable to eat after sunset,” he continued.
Only the Sanghvis Jain sect accepts children as monks; the other three only accept adults.
Friends of Devanshi’s family have been quoted in Indian media as saying that the girl was “inclined towards spiritual life since she was a toddler.” Devanshi’s parents are known to be “extremely religious.”
According to the Times of India, “Devanshi has never watched television, movies, or gone to malls and restaurants.”
The paper added, “Devanshi has been praying thrice a day from a young age and even performed a fast at the age of two.”
The family had put together a huge celebration procession in Surat the day before her renunciation ceremony.
Camels, horses, ox carts, drummers, turbaned men carrying canopies, and dancers and performers on stilts provided entertainment as thousands witnessed the spectacle.
While the crowds lavished them with rose petals, Devanshi and her family were seated in a chariot that was pulled by an elephant.
In addition, processions were held in Mumbai and the city of Antwerp in Belgium, where the Sanghvis own businesses.
Devanshi’s renunciation has sparked a debate, with many asking why the family didn’t wait for her to reach adulthood before making such significant decisions for her, despite the fact that the Jain community supports the practice.
Mr. Shah insisted that “no religion should allow children to become monks,” despite being invited to the diksha ceremony but declining due to his discomfort at the thought of a child renunciating the world.
“She’s a young child; what does she know about this?” He inquired. Children can’t even pick a college major until they’re 16 years old. How can they decide on something that will affect them for the rest of their lives?
Why are these kids turning their backs on the world?
Prof. Nilima Mehta, a child protection consultant in Mumbai, states that the “difficulty and deprivation the child will go through is immense.” While it can seem like a big party to her when a child renouncing the world is deified and the community celebrates, the child will go through a lot of hardship.
She asserts, “Life as a Jain nun is extremely difficult.”
The fact that a child is being taken away from her family at such a young age has also alarmed a lot of other members of the community.
In addition, since the news broke, a lot of people have voiced their disapproval of the family on social media, claiming that the Sanghvis have violated the rights of their child.
Mr. Shah asserts that the government must intervene to end the practice of children rejecting the outside world.
I contacted the office of Priyank Kanungo, chief of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), to inquire whether the government would act on Devanshi’s case. However, it is highly unlikely that this will occur.
He did not wish to comment on the matter because it is a “sensitive matter,” according to his office. Devanshi’s rights, according to activists, have been violated.
Prof. Mehta points out that “a child’s consent is not consent in law” to those who claim the child is turning ascetic “out of her own free will.”
“Legally, an individual is 18 when they can make their own decisions. In the meantime, a responsible adult, like her parents, must weigh the pros and cons before making a decision for her.
“And it is a violation of her rights if that decision denies the child access to education and recreation.”
However, Jain philosophy professor Dr. Bipin Doshi asserts that “you cannot apply legal principles in the spiritual world.”
“Some people say that a child is not mature enough to make such decisions, but children with better intellectual abilities can accomplish a lot more than adults can at a young age. In a similar vein, there are children with a spiritual bent; therefore, what is wrong with them becoming monks? He asks.
Should Jains have the option of dying?
Additionally, Dr. Doshi insists that Devanshi is in no way being harmed.
“She may not have access to the usual forms of entertainment, but is that really necessary for everyone? Also, I don’t agree that she won’t get love or education; her guru will love her and teach her how to be honest and not be attached. Isn’t that better?
Dr. Doshi adds that Devanshi can always return to the world if she decides later that “she took a wrong decision under the mesmerizing effects of her guru.”
Prof. Mehta inquires, “Then why not let her decide when she is an adult?”
She says, “Young minds are impressionable, and in a few years, she may think this is not the life she wants,” and she adds that women have changed their minds as they got older.
According to Prof. Mehta, she was involved in the case of a young Jain nun who had fled her center because she had experienced so much trauma.
Another girl, who had become an ascetic at the age of nine, caused a sort of scandal in 2009 when she eloped and married her boyfriend when she was 21.
Court petitions have also been filed in the past, but Prof. Mehta asserts that any social reform is difficult due to the sensitive issues involved.
“It goes beyond Jains; Even though the practice was outlawed in 1947, Hindu girls marry deities and become devadasis. Little boys join akhadas, or religious centers. In Buddhism, children are sent to live as monks in monasteries.
She states, “Children are suffering under all religions, but challenging it is blasphemy,” and she adds that “a child is not your possession” must be taught to families and societies.
