How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
10.06.2025 06:13
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Why did Trump call Biden and Schumer Palestinians?
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One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Why is my elder sister so mean?
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
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I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Sain (a barber)
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
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ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
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What was your most memorable experience catching a fraudulent car seller?
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
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.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
NOW…
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
CONCLUSION:
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.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
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My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
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
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Now here in this verse
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
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.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
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…
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
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.
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I am like a fish out of water,
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
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.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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!
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I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
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.
Kabir (a weaver)
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
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Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas: