'Biscuit Baba': Televangelism In The Age Of Reels

In the olden days, ascetics in India were known to lead elusive lives away from the public gaze, having renounced worldly pleasures of earth and society. Sadhus and sanyasis have thus been imagined in popular culture as hermits meditating in caves or monks living in ashrams or monasteries. With changing times and the advent of technology, however, Babas in India today are stepping out of their caves and into the brightly lit social media screens of their devotees. One such “Baba” or self-styled godman is the Vrindavan resident “Dr Aniruddhacharya Maharaj”. With the recent satsang tragedy in Hathras where 121 devotees of another UP-based self-styled godman 'Baba Bhole Nath', the spotlight is once again on the numerous godmen that currently dot the Indian landscape. And for many of them like Aniruddhacharya, social media has become an important platform for new age televangelism. 

Aniruddhacharya is the founder of the Gauri Gopal Ashram in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. Not much is known about his early life. According to some accounts, Aniruddhacharya was born as Anirudh in 1989 to Shri Avdheshanand who was himself a Bhagvatacharya. He is said to have first received his tutelage under his father before becoming an apprentice under Shri Girraj Shastri Ji Maharaj. The Maharaj’s current popularity, however, is all thanks to social media. Popular as the “Biscuit Baba” in online meme circles, Aniruddhacharya has millions of followers on his social media accounts. The moniker is a reference to one of his sermons in which had told a devotee to stop eating “biscuits” as it was “vish ka kit” (poisonous). The video went viral on the internet with many comedians and social media content generators trolling the godman for his statement. In other videos, he is seen feeding monkeys, proscribing non-vegetarian food or giving humorous repartees to people attending his satsangs. 

Despite the comedy, these videos have helped the erstwhile little-known godman to amass a great fan following on social media, which seems to have become a metric for success for anyone in the public sphere today, be it a celebrity, politician, or godman. A YouTube channel on which his satsangs are regularly broadcast has over 14 million subscribers. His official Instagram handle has 1.8 million followers. Beyond that, multiple fan pages dedicated to Aniruddhacharya generate daily content, be it in the form of funny reels or short clips, adding to his visibility on the platforms. Christian televangelism and its equivalents in other religions globally commodified religion in the 1990s by providing quick salavation inside one’s drawing room. Now, with reels and memes, the business of televangelism seems to have entered a new phase. With shorter attention spans and a wider array of content, godmen too realise the need to remain in the public eye and television seems to not be cutting it any more.

Much like other godmen in India, Aniruddharya’s followers consist mostly of women who populate the satsangs. He narrates the Bhagwat Katha and is often seen in videos, imparting tips for happy married life and religious advice to women. His website states that “women should be religious and a person who serves the cow in a practical manner as the Vaishwadev of the yagna should serve the cow for ten days”.  The “godman” who preaches the devotion of Krishna, is married and in one of his satsangs, he mentioned the importance of letting women study and that he too had supported his wife’s education through graduation and masters after marriage. Inversely, in other clips, he is seen counselling women to remain modest, stick to gender roles and be devoted to their husbands and in-laws, be virtuous mothers and and give up on personal ambition. His popularity among women is evident from the videos of his satsangs in which women devotees are seen openly declaring their love for the “maharaj”. These videos usually have thousands of views and high engagement on social media. 

Cow protectionism is another integral part of Aniruddhacharya’s teachings. An NGO run by his ashram named Shri Gau Gauri Gopal Seva Sansthan Samiti runs cow shelters as well as free schools. The NGP also runs an old age home for the destitute elderly. During Covid-19 pandemic, the NGO added animal feeding and care (especially of monkeys) as part of its multifarious “seva” services. His Instagram profile states he holds doctorate decree from “American University USA” but the claim could not be authenticated. 

It is said that Aniruddhacharya’s net worth is in crores. According to a News18 report, he charges anywhere between Rs 80,000 to 1 lakh per day for conducting a satsang. In 2023, Aniruddhacharya lodged a complaint with Vrindavan Police after he received a letter threatening to blow him up with his family with a bomb if he did not pay Rs 1 crore in extortion. Much like a collaboration between influencers, Aniruddhacharya visited the Bagheshwar Dham temple in Madhya Pradesh last year to pay tributes to Baba Bagheshwar, another popular "godman" to have recently emerged on social media and seemingly higher up the pecking order in terms of clout and following.  The latter is believed to play a key role in the state’s political discourse and exerts considerable influence on Hindu voters of the region.