How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
14.06.2025 00:33
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
What does it mean when someone is pretending to be me?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
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I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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.
Why do some people have loving parents and some do not?
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.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
CONCLUSION:
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
What happens when you need emergency surgery in countries with universal healthcare vs the US?
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
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We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
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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
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.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
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.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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…
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
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From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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 young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
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then who is there to know what happens without?
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I am like a fish out of water,
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Sain (a barber)
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Kabir (a weaver)
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
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.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||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.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
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.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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.
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.
Now here in this verse
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
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.
NOW…
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
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.
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.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!