Red carpet
Upgraded 8 October 2026 at 16:36 IST
Red carpet Eleven young specialists aged 25 to 39 selected Atmarpit Diksha on September 26 in Mumbai, welcoming long-lasting celibacy, sadhana and seva. From physicians and designers to tech experts and artists, they state their aspirations have actually not ended however discovered a brand-new instructions through spiritual service.
Ask them what they as soon as desired from life and the responses seem like a list from any enthusiastic college batch. Head of an ophthalmology department. Chief designer. Marketing director. Chief development officer. A tech task in Silicon Valley. A teacher’s chair in art and style. A profession as an expert footballer.
These were not idle dreams. The 11 individuals who held them had the degrees, the tasks and the performance history to arrive. In between them, there are 4 designers, a retina cosmetic surgeon, a paediatric dental practitioner, a software application designer, an IBM expert, a visual artist, a development expert and a digital online marketer. They are aged in between 25 and 39, and they originate from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Surat, Kolkata and Dallas.
On September 26, the birthday of their spiritual guide, Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, they took Atmarpit Diksha at Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre. It is a long-lasting vow of celibacy, sadhana and seva. The concern many people ask is why. Their stories provide a remarkably persuading response.
Red carpet What They Were Building
On paper, Dr Sanchit Bhalgat, 36, had actually currently gotten here. A vitreo-retinal eye cosmetic surgeon with MBBS, DNB and FVRS certifications, his next objective was to head an ophthalmology department.
Halak Shah, 31, a designer and MBA, had a rack of honours that consisted of a National Youth Award and a Young Researchers Award, to name a few. He was intending to end up being a worldwide specialist in digital and energy shift.
Malaika Jhaveri, 25, had a service degree from the University of Texas and a consulting task with IBM in Dallas, and she was working towards an equity collaboration. Drishti Doshi, 29, a computer technology postgraduate from Kolkata, thought of a profession in Silicon Valley.
So why would individuals with this much ahead of them select a various roadway? For each of them, the response depends on a single minute.
Red carpet The Ones Who Knew Early[19659016] For some, the conviction of the course felt nearly natural, having actually been raised in households currently committed to Gurudevshri. Therefore, they appear to have actually matured hearing his knowledge and taking part in Mission activities, which naturally formed their aspiration. Shreni Shah, 28, a designer from Surat, and Mahek Virani, 27, a management graduate working as a digital marketing freelancer, dreamt of an Atmarpit life while going to Atmarpit Dikshas in their youth.
However, being familiarized with Gurudevshri because youth was no certification by itself. Ruvik Kavedia, 27, a development specialist from Pune with a master’s degree in Jainology and relative faith, very first asked to end up being an Atmarpit when he was simply 10. His wait would ultimately continue till 2026 “Years kept passing; I needed to keep offering him a growing number of factors each and every single year regarding why I desire this life.” Gurudevshri firmly insists that an aspirant comprehends what they are in fact selecting.
Red carpet The Ones Who Were Surprised
Others never ever saw it coming. Nimit Batavia, 27, a designer from Bengaluru who studied at the University of Sydney, explains football as having actually when been his religious beliefs. In 2018, he pertained to Dharampur for a competition run by the Mission’s football club, figured out to win. His group did, and he took the Golden Boot.
But in between video games, another play was calmly afoot. Nimit discovered himself drawn to the Master’s natural knowledge on leading a much better life and discovered function in providing seva. Nimit smiles at how things taken place. “I had gone to win a game,” he states. “Instead, He won my heart.”
Dr Pooja Khakhar, 35, a paediatric dental expert, matured in a Vaishnav household and had actually never ever satisfied Gurudevshri till as late as 2021. Throughout the lockdown, going through a tough stage, she clicked a Facebook link to among his talks on the karma theory that altered the course of her life. “While scrolling online purposelessly,” she states, “I found the purpose of my life.”
Malaika’s turning point came throughout the pandemic too. She explains herself as a normal American college lady, enthusiastic, fashion-conscious, really social and pestered by “terrible FOMO”She pertained to the Dharampur ashram for 3 weeks and remained 9 months. She credits seeing the celebratory measurement to spirituality, the pleasure of remaining in seva and satsangs throughout this extended stay, as the secret to choosing to live a life for the divine.
Red carpet The Choices Along the Way
For numerous of them, the choice grew through little options that exposed what mattered.
As a trainee, Dr Bhalgat wished to leave of medication to invest more time in seva. It was Gurudevshri’s assistance that motivated him to finish his research studies. Dr Bhalgat, fondly remembers Gurudevshri’s assistance, mentioning that it is what made him a physician, a retinal cosmetic surgeon, however, more notably, he discovered to remain on the course, no matter what. With Atmarpit Diksha, he isn’t discarding his years of research studies, however will now just utilize them for the greater function of seva.
Aneri Shah, 29, a Mumbai designer and college topper who imagined ending up being a primary designer, discovered that his knowledge stuck with her long after it was provided. She remembers that as soon as, a class journey to Spain and Portugal encountered the Jain celebration of Paryushan. She moved her flight to after the celebration, however even on the journey, while her good friends were partying, cigarette smoking, drinking, and she felt some peer pressure to suit, she might endure everything, stating, ‘His knowledge from Paryushan sounded in my ears’. ‘I do not determine my life any longer by what the world praises’ she states.
Drishti keeps in mind asking Gurudevshri what she must study after school, and him declining to choose for her. “Surrender doesn’t mean giving up my freedom,” she states. “It means using that freedom to make the most important choice of my life.” She keeps in mind how Gurudevshri asked her to map her whole life in reverse from the date she selected to end up being an Atmarpit, and inspect her development through extreme self-questioning.
Karishma Doshi, 39, a visual artist who intended to teach art and style, found out a lovely message of generous seva. She when attempted to use a painting to Gurudevshri, which, for some factor or another, was declined. The 3rd time, she left her call off, and he accepted it. It was a lesson in releasing ego that she has actually always remembered.
And then there is Halak Shah, with a rack filled with awards. He was influenced by Gurudevshri to find out that whatever external, even individuals around him, ought to not be the source of his reliance, for it is all momentary, therefore is the joy it brings. Years previously he had actually been offered a single line to live by, “Nirbal ke bal Ram” (Ram is the strength of the weak), which in time he made it his own: “Halak ke bal Bapa,” Bapa being the name followers passionately utilize for Gurudevshri.
Red carpet Skill That Stays at Work
The typical presumption is that renunciation implies stepping far from the world. In practice, these 11 are bringing their expert abilities into the Mission’s service.
The designers currently deal with the Mission’s several building and style tasks. Dr Bhalgat serves through Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care, the Mission’s humanitarian arm, and Dr Khakhar deals with kids at Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital and Research Centre in Dharampur. Malaika adds to the multilingual group that equates Gurudevshri’s mentors for worldwide audiences, and Ruvik operates in program management. Mahek and Drishti serve in SRMD Wellness, and Karishma brings her imagination to the Mission’s audio-visual work. She likewise teaches ceramics to rural females, which offers them with a source of income.
As Atmarpits, they sign up with a group of 131 who, in between them, run much of the Mission’s work, consisting of the administration of its Dharampur ashram. The Mission compares an Atmarpit to the flame of a light, which constantly points upwards, towards the sky, pursuing union with the sun.
Red carpet The Families Who Said Yes
None of this took place without their households. Before the event, each set of moms and dads based on phase and offered their permission in front of thousands. Nimit’s moms and dads stated they were positioning the obligation for his spiritual development in Gurudevshri’s skilled hands. Ruvik’s moms and dads mentioned handing the reins of their child’s life to a capable charioteer.
Some went even more still. The moms and dads of Malaika, Nimit and Dr Khakhar took a long-lasting vow of celibacy themselves on the very same phase, picking to take an action on the very same course as their kids.
Quiet Falling: Discussing the procedure as one occurring from real understanding, Gurudevshri states that after reviewing a lot of life’s events, a conviction emerges to live for a greater function and a desire to pay the cost of quiting anything for what genuinely matters. “If the understanding is right, then with little effort and little making every effort the world falls away, like quiet falling”, he states.
To numerous outsiders, the option still appears like a sacrifice. Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan, who left Los Angeles for Rishikesh 30 years earlier in the middle of a Stanford PhD, sees it in a different way. Speaking at the event, she stated universities provide degrees, however a life is not constructed by degrees; it is constructed by diksha. She included that she had actually never ever heard anybody on their deathbed desire they had actually made more cash. What individuals want at the end, she stated, is a life with more significance.
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