How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
16.06.2025 00:18
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
What are some sad truths about life?
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
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 here in this verse
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.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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 do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
How can parents identify and address early signs of racial bias in young children?
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
What did your sister do to you that you can never forget?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
What is the gayest experience you have seen in prison?
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Kabir (a weaver)
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Which is a better option, a love marriage or an arranged marriage in India?
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
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.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
CONCLUSION:
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
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.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
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…
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
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
NOW…
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
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.
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
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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.
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यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
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.
Sain (a barber)
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
I am like a fish out of water,
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
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.
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
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325