This Indian Class 12 topper is set to become a monk

Ahmedabad, India - He says no to BMW, and has chosen to transport himself to a different world

One reason the world is so competitive is that just about everybody wants a BMW, which is generally seen as a sign of success. And that means all the heartburn associated with material acquisitions. Varshil Shah, from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is a little different. He wants to opt out of the race.
Varshil is 17-year-old and is from a middle-class Jain family. In Class 12 examinations, he scored 99.9 percentile. His friends and relatives thought he was all set to join IIT or similar institutes. After the kind of grades he got, nothing seemed impossible for Varshil.
But Varshil is keen on renouncing the world. Far from wanting a BMW, he believes his true career is that of a Jain monk. The term nirgrantha ('bondless') is normally used for Jain monks. Varshil wants to be free of worldly ties.
The teenager will take diksha - a religious ceremony that marks the initiation of Jain monks and nuns - on June 8, his uncle, Nayanbhai Suthari, said on Tuesday. The ceremony will be held in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat.
Varshil was among the toppers when the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board announced the result on May 27. Following his results, there were no celebrations or sweet distributions, a compulsive practice in India when children do well in exams.
In fact, Varshil hardly came out of his room. His Jain family, in general, is a quiet, reclusive bunch of people, and showed no signs of alarm when Varshil expressed his wish to become a monk.
His mother Amiben Shah and father Jigarbhai, are income-tax officials, and they are happy with the path chosen by their son. The couple raised their two children - Varshil and his older sister Jainini - in an atmosphere of simplicity. The family closely follows the Jain principle of Jivdaya, or compassion for all living beings.
His uncle - who acts as the family spokesperson - reported Varshil as having said: "My results are as per expectations, but to attain and maintain peace, I think renouncing the world is the only way."
The family is so serious about compassion that they barely use power. They believe in generating hydro thermal power, many aquatic organisms are destroyed. As this goes against the fundamental law of Jainism - non-violence - even in high summer fans are not used. And lights too are spared as much as possible. There is no TV or fridge in the Varshil's house.
It's not as if the decision to renounce the world was taken by Varshil all of a sudden. Some three years ago, the decision seems to have been made. "Varshil had come in contact with a Surat-based Jain guru, Shri Kalyan Ratna Vijayji. He had come back from that meeting with a new light in his eyes," says Suthari.
As soon as Varshil finished with his school, he knew he was done with a certain stage in his life and that it was time to take 'diksha', or renunciation.
In other words, Varshil has said no to BMW, and chosen to transport himself to a different world; one which is perhaps even more difficult to acquire than the most expensive car in the world!

• India