‘The Fire Yogi’ documentary clip falsely shared in connection with the BBC and the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025
The Maha Kumbh Mela, a monumental Hindu festival held in Prayagraj, India, began on 13 January 2025 and will continue until 26 February 2025 (here, here and here). Amidst this grand spiritual event, a viral video (here, here and here) surfaced, claiming to show a Hindu saint, purportedly a Siddha, lying on burning wood unharmed and allegedly taking a “fire bath” at the Haridwar Maha Kumbh. The video further claims that it was reported by BBC. Let’s explore the truth behind this intriguing claim.
Claim: The viral video of a Hindu saint, purportedly a Siddha, lying on burning wood unharmed and taking a ‘fire bath’ is from the Haridwar Maha Kumbh 2025 and was reported by BBC.
Fact: The viral video is part of a documentary titled ‘The Fire Yogi’ which originally aired in 2011 and features Rambahu Swami performing a rare fire ritual in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It has no connection with the Maha Kumbh Mela happening now in Prayagraj and was not reported by the BBC. Hence the claim is FALSE.
To verify the authenticity of the video, we performed a reverse image search, which led to a YouTube video titled ‘The Fire Yogi’ uploaded on 23 March 2011. It became evident that the viral clip was created by extracting the first three minutes of this documentary. The description of the video states that it showcases a yogi performing a rare fire ritual using a special breathing technique. However, it makes no reference to the Kumbh Mela or any BBC team filming Siddha saints. Furthermore, videos about ‘The Fire Yogi’ have been available on YouTube for a long time and can be viewed here and here.
A Google search for ‘The Fire Yogi’ reveals that the documentary highlights a rare fire ritual performed by Rambahu Swami, an elderly yogi from Thanjavur. According to the yogi, he has been performing this ritual for over 1,000 days over the past 45 years, using a unique breathing technique to withstand the intense flames.
Additionally, Aaj Tak has done a video report on Rambahu Swami and his remarkable fire rituals. But, there is no evidence to support the claim that the BBC team filmed Siddha saints lying on burning wood unharmed, taking a “fire bath” during the Kumbh Mela. While BBC continues to provide extensive coverage of the Kumbh Mela, the video showing the Siddha saint is a misattribution.
To sum up, a clip from ‘The Fire Yogi’ documentary clip was falsely shared in connection with the BBC and the Maha Kumbh Mela.