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How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?

11.06.2025 03:15

How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325

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.

He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),

What can you do if someone makes a false accusation against you?

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.

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.

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ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

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I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.

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ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

Why would a girl not want you to know she has a crush on you?

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.

I am like a fish out of water,

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92

What are some things you would change about Avatar: The Last Airbender if you were to redo the series?

If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

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I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

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.

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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.

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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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.

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

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I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||

How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||

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.

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.

That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325

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.

There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

Now here in this verse

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||

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||

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.

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!

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Sain (a barber)

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.

I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.

With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,

Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;

I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.

All the men and women of the world are His living forms.

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.

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

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— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.

Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like

He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||

At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||

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.

Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

CONCLUSION:

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.

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

Kabir (a weaver)

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||

For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;

then who is there to know what happens without?

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||

Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,

Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,

I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

=======================================================

Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?

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There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.

ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.

My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||

Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||

NOW…

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?

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 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.

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

———————————————————————————————————————

———————————————————————————————————————

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.

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.

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||