Mahima Alekh

Mahima Alekh, also written Alekh Mahima or Alakh, is the formless supreme being of Mahima Dharma, a reform faith of Odisha that arose in the nineteenth century. Alekh means the unwritten or the indescribable, and the faith teaches one formless god, with no images, no caste and no ritual sacrifice. Its founder, Mahima Gosain, also called Mahima Swami, is honoured as the teacher of this faith. Its chief seat is Joranda in Dhenkanal district, where the Magha Mela is held each year around the full moon of Magha.

Mahima Dharma is not a mythological tradition in the Puranic sense. According to accounts of its history, Mahima Gosain first appeared in Puri around 1826, then spent years in meditation on the Kapilas hills near Dhenkanal. Around 1862, he is said to have attained siddhi and began to preach. He...