An image is widely being shared on social media with a claim that the viral image shows a monk meditating in the Himalayas for over 100 years.
The image is shared with a caption that reads, “హిమాలయాల్లో వందల సంవత్సరాలు జీవించే వ్యక్తులు ఉన్నారని విన్నాము కదా ఇదిగో సాక్ష్యం… ఇలా ధ్యానంలో కూర్చుని ఎండ వాన చలి నుండి తట్టుకుని ఎలాంటి పరిస్థితిలోనైనా జీవించే శక్తి మన రుషులు, మునుల సొంతం.”
(English translation: We have heard that there are people living in the Himalayas for hundreds of years right? Here is the proof… By sitting in meditation like this, tolerating the sun, rain and cold, our Rishis and Munis have the power to live in any situation.)
The link to the post can be seen here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile did a fact-check and found the claim to be fake.
On doing a Yandex Reverse Image Search, we found that the same image was uploaded by a Facebook page Baba sarbangi।, with the caption that reads, “Baba Bhale Giri Ji Maharaj ki jai ho पंच नाम दशनाम जूना अखाड़ा Baba sarbangi page Ko like karo.”
We scanned through the Facebook page, Baba Sarbangi but found no post that claims that he lives in the Himalayas. Also, the post mentions that the saint is from Juna Akhara. We found that the Juna Akahara is a group of saints that has a headquarter in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
We also found a video of the ritual on the YouTube channel, Baba Sarbangi vlog, in which the saint is seen sitting in the centre of a circle with mud on his body. The video was uploaded on June 24, 2018.
In another video, one can see the monk covering himself with mud as a part of the ritual.
Hence, we can evidently conclude that the viral image is of Baba Sarbangi of Juna Akhara and not of a monk meditating in the Himalayas.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799
