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nveiling the utterfly ffect of of onastic hoices The Spiritual Ripple: Unveiling the Butterfly Effect Monastic Choices By Payal Seth
Payal Seth
Payal Seth is an economics researcher at the Tata-Cornell Institute, Cornell University. She is also a passionate author who crafts illuminating articles, dedicated to exploring and celebrating the profound significance of spiritual values in our modern lives. Her articles have been published on several national and international platforms.
I was fortunate to come across an article in the last edition of Jain Digest that discussed how the two young USA-born sister and brother duo, Tanya and Karan, are planning to take Diksha to become nun and monk, respectively. Their decision stirred me to the core. I was inquisitive to know what exactly would inspire such young people to make the biggest and most selfless decision of their lives. The following article is a tribute to their decision. We explore how like a butterfly effect, where small actions lead to significant consequences, the brave decisions of several brother monks and sister nuns, have unknowingly inspired and shaped the lives of their community, bringing them closer to self-realization or enlightenment which then propels them to their ultimate goal of Moksha.
parents. For the sake of giving their children an adequate cultural environment, the parents decided to move back to India. The family’s first morning in India was welcomed by a darshan of Acharya Vijay Ratnasunder Sureshwarji Maharaj, as planned by their grandmother. At this point, I wondered how selfless and blessed the family is, to be making these sacrifices and receive this divine grace; but just then the story got even more interesting. Karan, now nine years old, wanted to take diksha with the Maharaj. Tanya found her guru in Pujya Sadhviji Shri Samvegnidhi Shri Ji Ma Sa. Both brother and sister believed that they found their path through the divine grace of their gurus. The parents saw that the desire to take diksha was firm and unwavering and gave them permission to leave school. They lived and trained with their gurus for two years, where they were deeply loved and nurtured. Karan and Tanya received the biggest surprise when on April 11, 2023, their Gurudev permitted them to take diksha in front of family which was held on January 24, 2024, in Maharashtra, India. India. Dhulia, Maharashtra,
Tanya and Karan
The Road Less Travelled As Karan and Tanya narrated the story behind their decision to take diksha, I realized that what seemed momentous to us was not just easy but rather a natural decision to them. Karan explained how even as a sixyear-old when he first saw the picture of Maharaj Saheb, he felt that a latent curiosity was kindled. When he saw his mother watching a video of a Jain Maharaj, he asked her a lot of questions: “Who is the person speaking? When do you take diksha? What do you do in it?”. As expected, this surprised his mother, and she instantly realized that there must be a connection between the two. His display of devotion continued (for instance he would bow down whenever he heard Maharaj’s pravachans on TV) and it melted the
Swami Sarvapriyanada Swami Sarvapriyanada, a Hindu monk belonging to the Ramakrishna Order and mentioned by Fortune India 41