Fact Check: Viral video showing an old man makes a false claim about his age and living
India is identified as a land of Yoga, where many rishis, sages, and saints can still be seen practicing age-old practices
Siyaram Baba
India is identified as a land of Yoga, where many rishis, sages, and saints can still be seen practicing age-old practices like yoga and meditation, etc. The spiritual practices and traditions of India, like Yoga, and ayurveda have spread to other places and are practiced by the whole world. Scriptures like Bhagavad Gita are also revered by people in several countries. India has a rich history of sages and rishis who lived in the mountains and forests, living away from the hustle and bustle of normal people and seeking wisdom through meditation and self-discipline.
Recently, a video showing a weak and old man, completely bent and walking with the help of young men went viral on social media with the claim that the video shows an Indian man, who is 188 years old, who has been found in a cave. Several users shared this video on various social media platforms
Fact check:
The claim is Misleading. The person seen in the video is Siyaram Baba from Madhya Pradesh and is said to be approximately 110 years old. He was not found in any cave.
When we extracted the keyframes from the video and searched them using reverse image search, we found an Instagram video shared by a user named Siyaram_baba00, with the caption नर्मदा घाट निर्माण का
A similar video was also shared by the same Instagram account with the caption ‘Sant Siyaram baba ashram madhya pradesh’
Taking this as a cue, when we searched with the keywords ‘Sant Siyaram Baba Ashram Madhya Pradesh’, we found a few articles published on this sage who lives in an ashram in Madhya Pradesh.
According to an article published in Navbjarat Times, Siyaram Baba is a saint of Bhatyan Ashram situated on the banks of the Narmada River in the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh and lives here. No one knows his actual age but it is said that he is about 109 or 110 years old. There is a difference of opinion in the surrounding areas regarding his age. Due to this, no one knows his actual age. Some people even say that Baba is 130 years old. However, Baba also did not give any information about his age. Baba adapted himself to the extreme weather conditions, he wears only a loin cloth, irrespective of the weather.
ABP Live also published an article in 2023, stating that Siyaram Baba recites Ramayana for 21 hours a day. He donated crores of rupees for building Dharamshala and also temples. He does not accept more than Rs 10 from a devotee. If any devotee gives more, the amount is returned to the devotee deducting only Rs 10.
Therefore, the viral video shows Siyaram Baba from Madhya Pradesh who lives in an ashram and not in the forest. He is approximately 110 years old and not 188 years old as claimed. The claim is misleading.