A 12-year-old Gujarati boy has renounced a family life he believes is "full of sins at every step" and has become a monk. Bhavya Shah, the son of a diamond merchant, joined the order of Jain monks at a ceremony in Surat today in the presence of more than 7,000 people.

Photos from the ceremony showed Bhavya arrive at the ceremony hall dressed in a splendid sherwani and headgear before taking diksha, which is the ritual of initiation that marks the entry of an individual into the order of the monks. About 500 Jain monks were present during the ceremony.

Bhavya then discarded his resplendent attire for a plain white robe as the crowd took his blessing and as the boy, whose sister similarly renounced the world four years ago when she was 12, set out on a life devoid of material pleasures.

Bhavya before the diksha ceremony in Surat

Earlier, speaking ahead of his ceremony, Bhavya asserted that the decision to become a monk was his own. "Family life is full of sins at every step. I have decided to become a monk so that I can keep myself away from sins of this material world."

"My parents will also take this path one day," said Bhavya, whose father Dipesh Shah is a diamond merchant in Surat.

Bhavya said becoming a monk was entirely his own choice

And, is his family happy that their 12-year-old son has taken "the path of truth shown by god" and become a monk? Well, they could not be happier.

"We are extremely happy as Bhavya is going to take diksha. When my daughter turned 12, she also took Diksha and renounced family life," Bhavya's father Dipesh, who along with the boy's mother organised a grand road show in Surat before the Diksha ceremony, said earlier.

(With inputs from Gopi Maniar in Ahmedabad and agencies)

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