How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
14.06.2025 01:45
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
What do you wear when you are alone at home?
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Are Indian youths conservative or liberal?
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
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.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Have you ever been a victim of gaslighting? What happened?
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
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.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
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…
What should you answer when someone says to you in French, "au plaisir de vous revoir"?
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Is it true that most women like alpha males?
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.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Do girls ever miss their first love?
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Which Shakespeare words have completely changed meaning in modern English?
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
What are some downsides to living in Newfoundland and Labrador (besides the weather)?
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Sain (a barber)
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Why are some people afraid of monsters?
I am like a fish out of water,
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
How do you go about getting invited to an orgy?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Kabir (a weaver)
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
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.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
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.
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.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Now here in this verse
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 Jee, First House:
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.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
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.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
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
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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.
NOW…
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
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!
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
CONCLUSION:
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
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.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.