How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
16.06.2025 00:23
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Why did my ex move on so quickly?
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
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.
What are the bitter truths of life one should know?
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Why should the law care about what I do behind closed doors?
Kabir (a weaver)
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Why do people stop working towards achieving their dreams?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
How can I handle my distrust and jealousy for my partner?
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.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Do very hot men ever feel attracted to an ugly woman? Why?
———————————————————————————————————————
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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.
What is the story behind bhai dooj?
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
What are the main issues that have historically and currently divided Republicans and Democrats?
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Sain (a barber)
Have you ever had sex with your mother-in-law? If so, how was it and did your wife ever find out?
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
At what point did you realize it was the right time to leave your job?
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Why am I so tired of the keto diet?
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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.
then who is there to know what happens without?
In the TV show Supernatural, why is God portrayed as cruel?
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Is Tinder the best dating app?
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
================================================================
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Now here in this verse
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
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.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
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.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
I am like a fish out of water,
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
———————————————————————————————————————
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.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
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!
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
CONCLUSION:
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
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.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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 spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
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.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
NOW…
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
———————————————————————————————————————
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.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
=======================================================
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
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.
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
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.