Bhima Bhoi: the Tribal Nirguna Saint of Modern Era

Bharat is home to hundreds of communities, which are split geographically, by natural environment, caste, and religion. Every culture, their ethnic standard, and religious belief is unique to that group. 

- T.V. KATTIMANI

The country has produced many cults and saints from time to time in these societies based on these ideas. Literary settings like oral stories, hymns, and poetries were the primary means for these saints to communicate their ideas to ordinary people. They mirrored their civilizations' narrative identities, core values, social norms, and moral canon, reflecting society's ambitions, objectives, and wishes.

These literary saints play a variety of functions in ancient civilizations such as Bharat and other South Asian countries. They reflect the prevailing civilization of the time while also making a link to see their communal identity. They are imprinted on the collective and individual memories of the people who comprise communities and civilizations.

Bhima Bhoi (1885-1894) was one such Bhakti saint, philosopher, and poet. He was a Kondh tribal poet born in Kankadapara, a sub-divisional headquarters of Rairakhol near the Sambalpur district of Odisha. He was one of the most significant Nirguna Bhakti saints of the nineteenth century, a devotee of Mahima Dharma and a propagator of the Alekha cult. He was profoundly influenced by Mahima Dharma of Mahima Gosain, who believed one can perceive the existence of Shunya or the Alekh Niranjan, which according to him was the Single Brahma.

Mahima Dharma thrived in Odisha at a pivotal point in the late 18th century. Mahima Gosain is regarded as the founder of the Mahima cult. Bhima Bhoi, a devoted pupil of Mahima Gosain, is a proponent of spiritual humanism and global peace. This conveys the concept that everyone should be instilled with an ethical spirit. His tactics are not limited to any specific sect or set of individuals but to mankind as a whole. Bhima Bhoi chose the Nishkma Karma, Nishkma Jnana, and Nishkma Bhakti paths.