How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
10.06.2025 09:14
I am like a fish out of water,
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 325
What is the most offensive thing someone has ever asked you?
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Colorado has now recorded 10 measles cases this year as airport outbreak grows - GazetteXtra
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
What is the best sex you have ever had (in detail)?
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
What is Palantir? The secretive tech company behind Trump's data collection efforts - Mashable
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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.
Avalanche Signs Nelson - NHL.com
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
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.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
N95 Masks And Air Purifiers: Wildfire Smoke Protection - The Weather Channel
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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.
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.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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 Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
================================================================
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
NOW…
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!
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||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.
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
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 (a weaver)
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
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.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
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.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
then who is there to know what happens without?
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
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.
———————————————————————————————————————
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
=======================================================
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
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.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Sain (a barber)
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Now here in this verse
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
CONCLUSION:
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
———————————————————————————————————————
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.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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…
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.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.