Till a few months ago, she strutted down the streets of Manhattan in her branded clothes and accessories. Now, Nisha Kapashi walks barefoot, wearing simple white robes and eating sparsely on whatever alms she gets. From spending all her waking hours slogging at work, she now devotes her time chanting spiritual mantras and hymns. Kapashi, 27, who was a fashion merchandiser for J Crew in New York, on January 18 took Diksha, the process of seeking a serious spiritual path by renouncing materialistic life and pleasures.There are over 14,500 Jain monks in India, of which 75 per cent are women. Community members say that 15 to 27 is the most common age when an individual start questioning their existence and opt to take the spiritual path.While Kapashi is now at the Sammet Shikharji Tirth in Jharkhand and could not be reached, her father Manoj told Mirror from his New York home that his daughter was an outgoing and fun-loving person till she suddenly got interested in Jain philosophy.“She went out, partied and had fun till she suddenly got interested in the Jain philosophy,” said Manoj, adding that while the family will miss her, they will have a deeper connect with her now. “We then knew she was very happy in what she was doing and didn’t want to step in her way of taking diksha.”“We then knew that she was extremely happy in what she was doing and we did not want to step in her way of taking diksha.”At J Crew, a luxury fashion brand with over 300 stores across the United States, Kapashi was earning a hefty salary ( her family was unwilling to disclose particulars about her pay.) She lived in Walkeshwar as a child and went to JB Petit High School for Girls and Jai Hind College before moving to New York, where she joined the Fashion Institute of Technology. She then did a one-year fashion designing course in Florence, Italy, and a three-year fashion merchandising course in Manhattan.“The fashion industry is an extremely superficial industry,” Diksha told a community gathering in the UK a few days before taking Diksha. “You are defined by the clothes you wear. I was proud to be a part of it till I gradually realised that I was not at peace even when I had everything. The fashion industry thrives on making people feel incomplete till they wear those clothes and brands. We are simply puppets in the hands of their marketing teams.”She also spoke about not finding peace despite having a dream life. “I was living a life anyone would dream of,” she said. “I worked at a brand, lived in my own apartment at Manhattan and yet there was no peace. I spent most of my time at work but at the end of the day I felt I was not gaining anything. I couldn’t find any meaning in what I was doing. I was constantly attempting to please people and get attention. My source of happiness was dependant on others.” It was around this time that she got thinking about the deeper meaning of life. At that point, she met a few friends in the community and began visiting the Jain temple at Queens, Manhattan.“It was then that I decided to stop pleasing my body and please my soul instead,” she said. That was five years ago. As her spiritual journey progressed, her guru recently told her she was ready for diksha if she so wished. Suddenly, Kapashi developed cold feet. But aided by her guru and family she took the plunge on January 18. “But my parents and brother supported and encouraged me,” she said in the UK speech.Jain monk Naypadmasagarji Maharaj said it is not easy to give up all the riches and luxuries. “But this is the right path and she has chosen it correctly. It only leads to the pinnacle of happiness,” he said.