How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
12.06.2025 06:38
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
then who is there to know what happens without?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Now here in this verse
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ 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.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
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Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
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Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
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.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
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I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Why is there no great temptress figure in any of Tolkien’s major works?
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
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.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Kabir (a weaver)
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.
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.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
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.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
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.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
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.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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:
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
CONCLUSION:
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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?
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
NOW…
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
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
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
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.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
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Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
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…
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
I am like a fish out of water,
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Sain (a barber)
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
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ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥