How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
12.06.2025 01:18
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
What's your wildest & weirdest fantasy?
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
What does it mean if someone asks if it’s pink?
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From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Tomato Recall Escalates to Highest Health Risk Alert—Here’s What You Need to Know - Real Simple
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
How can I remove decimals in math?
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
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.
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
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
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.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
All flights grounded at Newark Airport due to staffing issues - FOX 5 New York
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Why do Democrats call any Republican "Magats", like they are subhuman?
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Now here in this verse
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
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.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
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
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
NOW…
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
I am like a fish out of water,
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
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Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
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.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
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If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
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…
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
CONCLUSION:
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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.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Kabir (a weaver)
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
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.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
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!
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
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.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Sain (a barber)
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ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
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.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥