How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
13.06.2025 04:33
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…
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
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.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
My ex got into a relationship within 2 weeks after a breakup. What should I do?
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
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.
Why is the covert narcissist actively avoiding me when they see me everyday?
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Sain (a barber)
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ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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 is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Do you think cheating is that bad?
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!
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
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
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If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Kabir (a weaver)
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Should we consider deporting democrats to Canada?
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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I am like a fish out of water,
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
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.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
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ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
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!
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
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.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
———————————————————————————————————————
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
CONCLUSION:
———————————————————————————————————————
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.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
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.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
=======================================================
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
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.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
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.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
NOW…
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
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,
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Now here in this verse
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.