Abhinav Arora, Dhruv Vyas, Bhakta Bhagwat…a new debate started due to the craze of ‘child saints’ going viral

Now the number of child saints is increasing rapidly in the country. Abhinav Arora, Dhruv Vyas, Bhakta Bhagwat, these are some of the names who instantly became a sensation on the internet and other mediums. Today, these small saints are so popular that the number of people who listen and follow them is in lakhs and crores. Take Abhinav Arora, this 10 year old child has 10 lakh i.e. 1 million followers on Instagram and 1 lakh 56 thousand subscribers on YouTube. Bhakta Bhagwat is only 5 years old and asks people to say Hare Krishna instead of Hi Hello. It is surprising that at the age when people are just learning alphabets and studying in school, these child saints are giving spiritual knowledge to the people. Due to the growing army of child saints and their going viral, a new debate has started.

This is how Bhakta Bhagwat went viral

One day, five-year-old child saint Bhakta Bhagwat’s parents recorded a video of him/her chanting mantras and posted it on Instagram. Within no time, Bhagwat’s video became a sensation on social media. Five-year-old Bhakta Bhagwat, a Gurukul student from Govardhan, Uttar Pradesh, graced the smartphone screens with his/her fluent shlokas and dance. he/she urges the audience to serve Krishna. In a brochure published on his/her behalf, his/her parents call him/her one of the youngest spiritual leaders in the world. At this age, most children struggle to learn the alphabet, but people say Bhagwat Prabhu is exceptional . People say that this is clear in his/her words. They say, ‘Quit hi-hello, say Hare Krishna.’ his/her father Akam Bhakti Das is a software engineer turned Geeta preacher and now lives and works in the same Gurukul of Vedic studies. With 2.3 million followers on Instagram, ‘Bhagwat Prabhu’s influence continues to grow. his/her parents say that they want him/her to become a famous preacher of Sanatan Dharma and Bhagavad Gita instead of becoming a doctor or engineer.

This is not a good trend…

As young children are taking on the role of spiritual influencers, many people do not consider it a good trend. Bengaluru-based sociologist K. Kalyani, who teaches at Azim Premji University, says we should question the motive behind such demonstrative training. In many religious cultures children are worshiped as symbols of righteousness. For example, in Jainism, children can become sadhus and sadhvis through initiation ceremonies. Hinduism has a tradition of worshiping young girls as Kamaris and Buddhism is replete with examples of young lamas. But as soon as it comes to social media, religious and cultural practices are ‘acted’ in a certain way.

Little Saint and the influence of social media

Bhakta Bhagwat is adding followers on social media as a small devotee of Shri Radha Krishna. Apart from this, another child saint who is 5 years older than him/her has also come into limelight as a spiritual content creator. Delhi’s Abhinav Arora, often referred to as a ‘child saint’, was honored as India’s youngest spiritual speaker by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari last year. However, a 10-year-old boy with almost a million followers on Instagram is also targeted by trolls. Recently Guru Rambhadracharya Ji Maharaj had asked to leave his/her stage. he/she had called Abhinav a foolish child. Many people also questioned the authenticity of Arora’s spiritual practices. his/her parents also faced criticism for his/her attention-seeking behavior, allegedly to increase his/her online reach.

Demonstration of spirituality in the modern era

Bhagwat and Arora’s stories reflect a complex mix of faith, family aspirations and public interest. It raises broader questions about the role of children in public religious life. While there are many child actors and influencers. Experts say the dangers are different when it comes to ‘Baal Baba’.

Author and historian Hindol Sengupta highlights the tension between tradition and performative spirituality in the digital age. he/she said that there is no doubt that some young people may have a genuine interest in spirituality, but the desire to be seen on social media very quickly without any deep spiritual practice is highly questionable. One has to question the autonomy of the child in all this and ask whether these are just money-making processes. Sengupta believes that reliability in such situations is linked to rigorous training. Drawing parallels with classical music, they highlight why it is important to affirm why a person is considered worthy of an audience as a performer or preacher.

Sengupta further said that children rooted in spiritual traditions are likely to be more grounded and less inclined to chase superficial social media influence. Very few people are truly driven by spiritual fervor like Mirabai and we should not easily assume this is the case with most people. It is important to examine the antecedents of learning and tradition.

For profit or for trust?

Das highlights his/her five-year ‘Bhagwat Prabhu’ routine. How he/she wakes up at 4 in the morning, takes bath, ties his/her dhoti, marks his/her body with 12 tilaks and then follows a program filled with aarti, puja, ‘mala-chanting’, meditation, recitation of shlokas and kirtan songs. Dives in. he/she further explained that Bhagwat Prabhu twice a month, he/she observes Ekadashi fast (aligned with the lunar cycles of the Vedic calendar). Last month, he/she appeared at religious gatherings across India – from Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal to Chandigarh, Sirohi, Indore, Amritsar and Mumbai. Thousands of people had come to these cities to see Bhagwat Prabhu.

stay away from social media

Ankim Das, father of child saint Bhakta Bhagwat, kept his/her child away from social media after his/her conversation with Arora’s father. Recently during a Geeta Mela in Kurukshetra, Arora’s father advised us to add him/her on his/her Instagram page. he/she said his/her son’s account was blocked after several reports. Arora was so upset that he/she kept crying and even stopped eating. Since then I have been careful not to tell Bhagwat Prabhu anything about Instagram or YouTube. At least not yet. he/she is simply impressed by seeing his/her Guru and us teaching Geeta. Das claims that we come from a legitimate ‘tradition’ of classical studies.

denial of business benefits

Arora’s parents strongly deny any commercial gains from their child’s popularity. There was no religion in our house, but after Abhinav’s birth, our life changed. In toy shops, he/she used to insist only on ‘Lord Shiva’s idol’. She likes coloring books of Gods and Goddesses. he/she has a large collection of small notebooks in which he/she has written only ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Ram’. Abhinav’s mother Divya Arora has filed a criminal case against seven YouTubers. All of them trolled his/her son on social media.

Abhinav Arora’s mother further said that they used to call him/her fat, make fun of his/her stammering, and spread lies about him/her not going to school. We were uploading several videos a day, making it seem as if we were always sitting in Vrindavan. Soon, my son started receiving death threats, due to which he/she stopped going to school. In his/her defence, Arora says that I go to the temple only for darshan and worship. I don’t do the work of a Pandit. I have never asked anyone to call me ‘Dharma Guru’ or ‘Child Saint’. I am just a small devotee of Thakur ji. Media has labeled me for its TRP rating.

little chefs

At the mention of Arora’s name other child saints respond cautiously, saying that we are not like them. Some of them promote problematic beliefs on social media. 17-year-old self-styled ‘child saint’ Dhruv Vyas from Malwa, Madhya Pradesh is one such example. he/she says that I started calling myself ‘Maharaj’ at the age of 11 after completing four years of study in Vrindavan. For the last eight years I have not worn pants-shirt, only dhoti-kurta. Nowadays girls wear only half clothes. Earlier in our villages, even if women lifted their veil, swords would come out. Now people are ready to take up swords against those who ask women to keep the veil. My mission is to free people from confusion.

The conflict between spirituality and social media

The parents of these ‘Baal-Babas’ argue that their children are not harming anyone. They say they are not promoting alcohol, meat, drugs or a life of leisure. It argued that his/her ward’s interest in religious and spiritual matters was as valid as any person’s interest in dance, music or any other skill. Arora’s father is quick to defend his/her son. he/she said that if he/she was scolded by a senior guru, it was only because he/she was young and would learn from his/her mistakes. My son is not making fun of any religion nor doing any obscene dance. Many people contact us and say how their children have started doing devotion after seeing Abhinav. What’s wrong if other children also become like him/her?

Kalyani believes that when spirituality is done with the intention of appearing in the list of top influencers on social media, it normalizes spirituality. And children often get involved in the process. In the long run, this may affect their growth process.