Journalism can take you to strange and unexpected places. And, if you are an on-field reporter, hunting for stories like your life depends on it; you should be willing to take almost any risk. Courage and bravery, such is the foundation of investigative journalism.  While such risks are well appreciated inside a news room, the public might beg to differ.  In the case of American CNN reporter Reza Aslan, things are getting worse by the moment. 

Aslan hosts a show on CNN called ‘Believer With Reza Aslan' where he digs deep into the mysterious and enigmatic aspects of religion dogma. This time around, he met with the infamous Indian Aghori babas and things got a little out of hand. 

© CNN

Aghoris are known for feeding on human flesh. They have done so for centuries and Indians are pretty cool with it. They dig out dead bodies, chop them up and then use them for religious rituals. This is nothing new for Indians but for Aslan, this was straight out of a horror movie of which he willingly became a part of. In the video, the Aghoris instruct Aslan to do as they do and offered him parts of a human brain to eat. Aslan as told to follow suit, eats it. Ever since the footage aired, the internet has lost its shit.  Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat and the only Hindu in Congress tweeted: "I am very disturbed that CNN is using its power and influence to increase people's misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism. Aslan apparently sought to find sensationalist and absurd ways to portray Hinduism."

A lot of other Hindus from across America have  criticized Aslan for sensationalizing a Hindu cult that doesn’t even have more than  a100 members at most. 

In the image below Aslan is told to wear a band of human teeth on his forehead.

© CNN

Then he is given something to drink out of a human skull.

© Aslan

He is then given a piece of human brain to eat. An instant regret can be seen on his face as he swallows it. 

© CNN

Well, this not the first time a foreign reporter has glorified things that don’t even matter to the Indian population anymore, in the modern day. If looked at it from a journalistic point of view, Reza Alsan was just working on his story with that very intention. And that’s exactly what he said - "you work all your life for a headline like this."