How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 02.07.2025 05:50
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
The Apartment Glut Is Ending and Demand Is Rising. Rents Are Headed Up, Too. - Barron's
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Walmart to pay $10 million to settle lawsuit over money transfer fraud - NBC News
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
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.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Fairphone 6 leaked renders implicate its modular design for easy repairs - Android Central
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
How Cocaine Hijacks the Brain - Neuroscience News
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
What is your opinion about homosexuality? Do you think that it is by nature or a choice?
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
What is a sermon to talk about men?
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…
NOW…
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
7-Day No-Sugar High-Protein Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan, Created by a Dietitian - AOL.com
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
First look at ‘state-of-the-art’ Coca-Cola Amphitheater before gates open to public - AL.com
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
See how the national debt grew to more than $36 trillion - The Washington Post
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
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.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
———————————————————————————————————————
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
then who is there to know what happens without?
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.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
=======================================================
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
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.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
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
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Sain (a barber)
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Now here in this verse
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
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.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
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.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
================================================================
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
———————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
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.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
CONCLUSION:
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
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.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
I am like a fish out of water,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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.