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The Teachings and Their Relations to the Tradition       Mahima Dharma takes up the Buddhist concept of "emptiness" (sunya) and identifies it with the Hindu conception of Parama Brahma and Iswara Purusa. Sunya Parama Brahma is characterized more precisely with the concepts Alekha (indescribable) Nirguna (without attributes), Nirakara (formless) Anadi (eternal) Niranjana (pure or without support) and Mahima (radiance, glory) all of which already appear in the medieval Oriya literature for describing sunya Brahma or as synonyms for him.       Mahima Dharma is no way takes over theconcept of Sunya directly from Buddhism as Vasu had presumed, but rather from different spheres of Hindu tradition which had taken up the sunyata doctrine in a different way, a process which still needs thorough examination and can be indicated here only in short. The development of the Buddhist Sunyata doctrine itself took place, as is well known, under the influence of the Hindu Vendanta doctrine and reacted again in its improvement. There by the comprehension of the concept with in the Mahayana school changed from the initial conception of a negative principle to a positive dimension, that denoted a reality underlying all manifestations. From there the concept got into the esoteric sects and medieval Vaisnavism of Orissa.       The tantric Buddhist sect of Sahajiyas developed a system of four of seven sunyas that is of different stages, in which the pure all pervading sunya (sarvasunya) is darkened and polluted in a different proportion by the "impurities of nature" (prakriti dosa). In yoga it means to traverse these stages so to say retrogressively, thereby attaining the highest stage of yoga in sunyasamadhi.18 These conceptions seem to have been taken up from the Natha sect which again has exerted decisive influence on the history of Orissa religion.19 Besides the development of these theories, the concept sunya within the Dharma sect simply became an attribute, sometimes even a synonym for the god dharma.20       Both the tendencies in the direct application of the concept sunya, as an attribute or description of the nature of a personal god whom one has to approach through bhakti and as landmarks and ultimate goals of certain yoga practices, appear in the medieval school of Panchasakha and are combined with each other. In these texts, the true nature of Visnu or Jagannatha is expounded as sunya or Alekha, Anadi, Nirakara etc. and it equated with Parama-Brahma or sunyabrahma. The salvation (moksa) i.e. reunion of the soul with sunyabrahma takes place through meditation. Certain yoga practice and through Bhakti, i.e. Nirguna Bhakti, besides the many individual differences, the conviction of identify between the soul and Brahma is common to all these texts, they herald the occult doctrine of Brahmajnana, which alone can, in contrast to the customary forms of religion, reestablish this unity. The antithesis to the orthodox tradition plays a decisive role in all discussions on Brahmajnana. It is repeatedly emphasized that the salvation cannot be achieved through external rites, pilgrimages etc. or through the worship of lifeless idols of wood or stone, but on a meditative path alone, which revokes step by step the creation that is being repeated with the procreation of each human being until the true reality, sunya Alekha Brahma is attained again.       The fulfillment of the acts of worship is directly rejected on the one hand- the offering is karma and contributes therefore, to keep the soul in the cycle of rebirth, on the other hand it is given a new interpretation. Ahimsa is the best sacrifice and one must convert one's mind (manas) into a forest in which one practices true asceticism, i.e. Brahmajnana etc. These new interpretations are made possible by the Pinda Brahmanda doctrine, the doctrine of correspondence between the macro cosmos of the universe and the micro cosmos of the body, in the relationship system of which a certain point in the body corresponds to a certain place of pilgrimage (tirtha) of the external world. This "true" pilgrimage must be reached through yoga. 18 See also Sashibhusan Dasgupta: Obscure Religious Cult, Calcutta, 1969, p.41ff. 19 Ibid, p.196 20 Ibid, p.286 ff.

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