How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
10.06.2025 00:01
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Doritos, Cheetos, M&Ms and other popular snacks will soon have warning labels in Texas - KHOU
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.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
How rough can the ferry passage from Hull to Rotterdam be in the autumn ( at the end of October )?
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…
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
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.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
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
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Can adults grow new brain cells? - Live Science
Kabir (a weaver)
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Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
New Jersey Man Arrested for Stealing Instruments From Heart - Rolling Stone
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
NOW…
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
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||
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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!
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
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.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
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.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
CONCLUSION:
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Now here in this verse
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
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I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Sain (a barber)
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
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ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
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.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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.
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.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
=======================================================
I am like a fish out of water,
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
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
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.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
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.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.