How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
11.06.2025 01:21
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Teens like me, what are your expectations when entering adulthood?
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
For a superficial McSikh who is interested only in separation and not enlightenment the views of Kabir can be easily shown as a denouncement of Hindu practices.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Why is Eric Clapton so roundly disliked among guitarists?
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
As mentioned above Guru Arjan Dev was talking from the perspective Sant Kabir whose views we have discussed much earlier here. We know that Sant Kabir continuing in the Ramanandi Sampradaya went further away from the mainstream ritualistic Hinduism and was journeying more towards a SEAMLESS Dharma.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Top Federal Reserve official promises major overhaul of US bank regulation - Financial Times
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Kidney disease: 5 symptoms women should be careful about - Times of India
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Some men love anal sex more than vaginal sex. Why?
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Ramanandacharya was a 14th-century Hindu Vaishnava devotional poet saint who amalgamated Advaita with Vaishnava Bhakti. He was the pioneer in validating NIRGUN and SAGUN Bhakti as parallel paths.
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ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
What can I say to a scammer who thinks he loves me, but I don't want to be scammed?
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
What have I done wrong? How can I start over?
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
The influence of Kabir is significant on Sikhism. The following Bani from Ang 1136 is attributed to GURU ARJAN DEV but if you observe at the end you can see that he was talking in the spirit of Sant Kabir.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
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Why are black people seen as scary or a threat to some people?
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Why are you a Muslim? Why is it Islam for you and not something else?
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Bhakti movement began in South (Tamil Nadu to be precise) and slowly spread to Northern parts of India. This movement was extremely popular because of its simple fundamentals which could be understood by even commonfolk. Vaishnavism, Shaivism etc… were already connecting with commonfolk from a long time and this Bhakti movement reinforced it by making the devotee feel a personal connection with the deity.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Guru Nanak (right) and Bhai Mardana (foreground) with Bhagat Kabir (left). This painting is found in the B-40 Janamsakhi, written and painted in 1733. The painting was made by Alam Chand Raj
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
The divergence of Kabir’s views from Vedanta is seen in the fact that he fully opposed religious symbolism of ALL KINDS and not just IDOLS.
I am like a fish out of water,
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
We can understand that Kabir despite being in favor of formless worship was very much embedded in the Dharmik fold but always preached in the spirit of the transcendental nature of Brahman to the point that HE LOST THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN HINDU AND MUSLIM.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Ramanandacharya’s teachings were centered on pure and personal connection with the God Rama and didn’t believe in any kind of formal ritualism. He used the common vernacular language instead of Sanskrit so that everyone could understand.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Here ਰਾਮੈ is Rama and not just lord. Kabir died chanting the name of Rama DESPITE him not finding any result of penances done in holy cities in his previous birth. Another example to show how much Kabir valued personal devotion to Rama in his own NIRGUN style.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Actually, this part of the Ang 326 is widely used by McSikhs to show that Sikhism considers Hindu pilgrimages as useless and thus drives home the point again that the “religion” has got NOTHING to do with Hinduism.
The views of Kabir are very much in parallel to the Advaita philosophy and it is obvious that as the disciple of Ramanandacharya he will carry forward with his chosen NIRGUN BHAKTI.
We can see that great saints like Kabir and Ravidas etc… descended from the Ramananda sampradaya which is still the largest ascetic order in India.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
then who is there to know what happens without?
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Kabir (a weaver)
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Now here in this verse
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
CONCLUSION:
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
For him Dharma was beyond everything physical including the desire for heaven because was fully into the NIRGUN . The last verse shows that according to him the company of the enlightened Sadhus is heaven which is again a typical teaching of Sanatana Dharma.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
There is a reason why I mention ROOTED and thus NOT implying that it belongs to one of the numerous sects in Sanatana Dharma like Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Smartism etc…
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
The Sant Sampraday of Sikh panth integrates the warrior spirit of the Nihangs and Khalsa, the service of Seva panth and the renunciation of Udasi/Nirmala saints.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
NOW…
Sain (a barber)
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
From where did the word Maya come? Isn’t it a typical Vedantic concept discussed profoundly in Advaita? It definitely isn’t a concept pioneered by Kabir or even his teacher Ramanandacharya! It is ultimately from Sanatana Dharma!
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
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The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
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Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Sikhism is fundamentally rooted in BHAKTI tradition and thus ultimately in Sanatana Dharma. There is no doubt about it despite what modern McSikh acrobatics try to claim otherwise
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.