India: 8-year-old daughter of diamond merchant in Surat gives up luxurious life to embrace monkhood
Devanshi Sanghvi, daughter of Surat-based merchant
There is a perception in the eyes of the world that people who are born in very rich families seldom leave the comfort of their luxurious life and make a living of their own. We have always heard how people born intorich families are completely unaware of the struggles of life which makes them alien to the problems faced by the common folks. However, a girl who isjust eight years old and is the daughterof a diamond baronfrom Surat city in the Indian state of Gujarat has decided to renounce everything to take up the life of a hermit.
She has taken a different path than her family and renounced its legacy to take up the life of monkhood.
Devanshi Sanghvi, the heiress ofSanghvi and Sons, one of the world’soldestdiamond companies, owned by diamond merchant Dhanesh Sanghvi, is the elder among his two daughters. According to a report in The Times of India, Devanshi has attended 367 initiation ceremonies and was inspired to retire from worldly life after that.
A friend close to the family said Devanshihas never watched TV or any movie to date. Not only this, she has never been to any restaurant either.
Dhanesh Sanghvi is the only son of Mohan Sanghvi, the founder of Sanghvi & Sons, which is one of the oldest diamond manufacturing companies in the state. The company has branches all over the world, with an annual turnover in billions of rupees. And all this business would have gone to the eldest daughter Devanshi, had she not chosen the path of asceticism.
A large procession with elephants, horses, and camels was taken out in the Surat city to celebrate the occasion before Devanshi's huge transformation towards monkhood.
According to several media reports, the diamond merchant family of Dhaneshcan well afford a highly luxuriouslife but choose to livea very simple life instead.
The family is also very religious and Devanshi has been following the rule of praying three times a day since her childhood.
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