Travel Guide Joranda

The Joranda temple is a real curiosity, located at the crossroads of three villages: Joranda, Natima and Patna. This temple is home to a little-known and rather strange community, a religion in a class of its own: Mahima Dharma. It emerged in 1862 as a rejection of the caste system and the domination of Brahmanism, and condemns the religious traditions of the upper castes. Its founder, Prabuddha Guru Mahima Swamy, erects a single god, Alekh, who is omnipresent and of whom there is no representation. Religious principles are derived from the Veda and the Upanishads. Consumption of flesh, alcohol and drugs, adultery and violence are strictly forbidden for the faithful. Prayer is held 3 times a day: at sunrise, at midday and before sunset. Monastic life follows strict rules. It is forbidden to remain inactive. Monks may not sleep in the same bed twice or eat two meals in a row from the same house. They take a vow of poverty, celibacy and piety, and live off donations from the faithful. A small temple houses the monastery's treasury, which includes many valuable objects, such as carved doors and gold or silver trays, donated by the faithful. Mahima Dharma is practised in Odisha and some neighbouring states.