Earlier this week, Hindu Americans had a coronary. After seeing the promotional material for CNN’s new show, Believer With Reza Aslan, the US India Political Action Committee released a statement that said, “With multiple reports of hate-fueled attacks against people of Indian origin from across the US, the show characterizes Hinduism as cannibalistic, which is a bizarre way of looking at the third largest religion in the world”. Sanjay Puri, Chairman of the Committee said, “In a charged environment, a show like this can create a perception about Indian Americans which could make them more vulnerable to further attacks.” Shalab Kumar, organiser of the Hindus For Trump jamboree, tweeted, “I condemn Reza Aslan, CNN for airing Believer with fiction. Disgusting attack on Hindus”.

If you go by one of the promos aired before the first episode, it does look like CNN has succumbed to every stereotype about exotic India. With host Reza Aslan, a religious scholar who has made headlines for his obvious enjoyment at taking on Right-wingers in America, Believer With Reza Aslan seemed like it was all about sadhus covered in ashes, ridiculous antics and burning ghats. But one would think before you put out a statement, one would watch the entire episode. Or watch the second promo, which says that most Hindus are obsessed with purity and this obsession has resulted in the caste system, which has Dalits at the lowest rung of the social hierarchy, doing “things that would defile a pious Hindu”.

No lies there.

What would have been sensible would have been to watch the entire episode before attacking Aslan. Which is what I did.

Believer With Reza Aslan is a “spiritual adventure series” in which Aslan “immerses himself in the world’s most fascinating faith-based groups to experience life as a true believer”. The six-part series cuts across countries and religions. We’re shown Born Again Christians, voodoo practitioners in Haiti, and of course, India’s Aghoris.

The Aghoris are a 500-year-old sect who would traditionally live near cremation grounds (because those are the fringes of society) and were known for practicing extreme rituals – from eating flesh to necrophilia to eating their own feces and urine. The promos of the first episode of Believer showed an Aghori who was quite obviously a scamster and as a result, Aslan has been accused of “Hinduphobia” and of showing Hindus in a poor light.

If you do make the effort of watching the entire 41-minute-47-second episode before jumping to conclusions, you’ll realise the sadhu in the promos has what can, at best, be termed a cameo and is there to show an aberration, rather than a norm.

It isn’t as though Believer With Reza Aslan doesn’t deserve some criticism. The show does indeed milk the visual exoticism of India to the last drop. Starting with Aslan channelling his inner movie star as he stands, wearing saffron robes, on a boat that’s gliding up to the ghats of Varanasi. There are also a few factual inaccuracies in the first few minutes. Aslan describes ghats as cremation grounds, except not every ghat is a cremation ground. This inaccuracy is reinforced when Aslan says that there are 87 ghats and each ghat cremates 100 bodies a day. Again, incorrect. Kunal Rakshit, Aslan’s local guide, should be held responsible for not correcting him.

But thankfully, this is where the inaccuracies end.

The first episode of Believer With Reza Aslan is pivoted upon the existence of the caste system in Hinduism and how the Aghori sect is trying to upend it. As much as we may want to, we can’t ignore the persistent existence of caste in India. We are introduced to Doms, who man cremation grounds and pyres and are untouchables. We see the irony of the fact that the people who perform the integral duty of cremating us and releasing us from the karmic cycle, aren’t considered pure enough to be a part of ‘respectable’ society. Thanks to the caste system, there is a vicious, never-ending loop of always being born a Dom – because you’ve defiled yourself by cremating and touching dead bodies. It’s horrible to hear, but that is the reality.

You see the dead bodies being dipped into the Ganges – which provides drinking, cooking and bathing water to so many in India. Aslan’s horror at the idea of bathing in it comes across as completely understandable even though he does preface his revulsion with the disclaimer that he is coming across as “an American asshole”.  “This is one of the most polluted water bodies in the world,” he tells us. “There are millions of litres of untreated human waste. Yesterday I saw a guy take a shit directly into the water. It’s basically a giant toilet.” It’s not nice to hear, but it’s the truth. Don’t hate on CNN and Aslan. Clean the Ganga instead.

Aslan isn’t disgusted by Hinduism though. Far from it. “Hinduism is a beautiful religion,” he says at one point. “But I cannot get my head around the idea that there are people who simply because of their birth of because of their past life, are condemned to live as untouchables. I just can’t.” He makes a concerted effort to understand this system. Aslan speaks to a Swami Yogatrayanand Tirth who explains karma and says, “Look, the persons who are living on this earth, they are not equal” – without irony.  The episode accurately states that while caste discrimination in metropolitan cities may have dissipated, “in a religious city like Varanasi, caste discrimination is very much alive”.

Professor Amitabh Bhattacharya who teaches journalism in Banaras University tells Aslan that “casteism is a tool for people with vested interests”. He is the one who introduces the viewer and Aslan to the concept of the Aghoris. This is 12 minutes into the 42-minute episode. Aslan then visits Lalibaba’s ashram, which is run by Lalibaba, a “civilised” Aghori who explains the finer points of Aghori behavior to Aslan.

It’s Shani Maharaj, a gent who seems to have taken it upon himself to play the part of the mad sadhu, who is responsible for the blood vessels that American Hindus have burst. The crew of Believer is well aware that Shani Maharaj is performing as he rubs ashes on Aslan, barks out abuses and claims to be eating human flesh. Just as the fake Aghori is playing for the camera, the cameras are well-prepared too, which is why when Aslan wants to leave, the director firmly tells him to stay put. There are two reasons for this segment. One is to show Aslan’s personal journey – from disgust at the terribly unhygienic Ganga, he takes a dip in the waters and not just survives, but discovers an unexpected sense of awe about the river and Varanasi. The more important point is that Aghoris should not be defined by their theatrics. Their message of breaking down caste barriers is important and people like Shani Maharaj do it disservice. This is why Believer spends more times with Aghoris like the followers of Baba Bhagwan Ramji, who have assimilated themselves into modern India and spread the anti-caste message by starting clinics, schools and even an orphanage.

Throughout, the message of the Aghoris – of removing caste barriers, of not believing that some Hindus are more equal than the others – is repeated and reinforced, but without ever becoming preachy. Aslan speaks of how so many have started breaking down caste barriers with simple actions – by feeding, living with, caring for those who are from a lower caste. Aslan ends with this revelation: “I came to India to discover what it means to be Aghori. What I discovered, was what it means to be human”.

Of course, CNN and he didn’t need to show a naked fakir, flinging urine and pretending to eat human flesh. But perhaps it’s too much to expect a foreign production to not tap into exotica in India. However, it’s such a tiny portion of this episode that you really wish CNN hadn’t led with that. After watching the entire episode of Believer With Reza Aslan, if someone finds it offensive then they’ve managed to focus on nitty gritty, rather than the actual point of the episode. If it takes a naked fakir or two to stress upon the importance of treating everyone as equal, so be it.