A total of109 youths took Diksha in the Diksha Mahotsav of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in Vadodara, Gujarat at the hands of Guru Mahant Swami Maharaj and left worldly life to become monks.
All those who chose monkhood for the rest of their lives took a 3-year training at Sant Talim Kendra of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha at Sarangpur (Gujarat). Out of the youths who took Diksha 14 were foreign residents, 29 graduates, 14 postgraduates, 42 engineers, and 46 were ‘only child’ of their parents. The Diksha Mahotsav was held in Vadodara on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of Pramukh Swami Maharaj.
One of Diksharthi Jainam Shah (Dadhichi Bhagat) was born in New York to parents Pritam and Kavita Shah from Rajasthan (Pindwara) and settled in Roslyn (New York). He did his schooling from Herricks High School and graduated From Pratt Institute with degrees in Architecture and Construction Management. He was working with one of the best architecture firms in Manhattan before he quit the job to embrace the path of renunciation and being initiated as sadhu. His sister Dr Shenika Shah became the youngest captain in the US Army Hospital serving both the nation and the community.
The Diksha ceremony took place with Vedic rituals. The youths, their parents and relatives also took part in the rituals. Later, the parents wholeheartedly offered their beloved sons at the holy feet of Guru Mahant Swami Maharaj to become sadhus.
