How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
12.06.2025 07:30
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
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.
What are your darkest taboo confessions?
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Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
What is your biggest mistake or regret?
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
What is the problem between Turkey and Greece?
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
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Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
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॥
Why is going on a date today so much different than it was when I was young?
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
How do I maintain and care for granite countertops in a coastal climate like Pompano Beach?
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
What are the 10 things you regret doing in your life?
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.
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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.
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Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
How do I build rapport with anybody?
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Why am I so wanting to suck a penis?
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Why won't Canada build their own fighter jet?
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
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,
Sain (a barber)
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Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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||
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
I am like a fish out of water,
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
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You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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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.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
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
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.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
NOW…
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…
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
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.
Now here in this verse
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
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.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Kabir (a weaver)
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
CONCLUSION:
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.