How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
13.06.2025 05:21
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Why don't people like Nickelback?
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Why are Indians so influenced by the Western culture, when the Indian tradition has so much to give?
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Why are people becoming increasingly hostile to pro-lifers? I am pro-life.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
What is your biggest mistake or regret?
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
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I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Now here in this verse
What is the meanest thing your husband has said to you?
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
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He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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…
CONCLUSION:
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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 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.
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.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
What is your most intimate experience with your best friend?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
What is the most heartbreaking or sad love story that you ever had (experienced)?
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
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.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
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.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Sain (a barber)
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
NOW…
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With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I am like a fish out of water,
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
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.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
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.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
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Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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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.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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.
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.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
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 millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
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The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
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.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||