How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
14.06.2025 00:31
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Kabir (a weaver)
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
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.
Baby Talk Enhances Infant Speech Learning - Neuroscience News
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
Is there anything you did that you regret? If so, what is it, and why?
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
What are some life hacks for living on your own?
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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.
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
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.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Why do subpar women think that they are nines and tens?
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Why cant a narcissist admit when they are wrong?
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
How do I build muscle easily with isometrics?
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Now here in this verse
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Sain (a barber)
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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…
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
———————————————————————————————————————
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
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.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
then who is there to know what happens without?
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
CONCLUSION:
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
———————————————————————————————————————
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
NOW…
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
=======================================================
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
================================================================
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
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
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
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
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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.
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
———————————————————————————————————————
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
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.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
I am like a fish out of water,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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!
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.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||