How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 02.07.2025 15:01
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
What do you love to do at night when you’re alone?
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
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.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
What happens to single guys when they get older?
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
Ad eveniet eaque et magni illum.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ Collapses With 1% Of Launch Players, 82% Negative Reviews - Forbes
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
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.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Whole-body movement play shows promise for children with autism - PsyPost
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
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.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Is 1500 calories enough for a 5’3 15-year-old who is non-active?
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
================================================================
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
How Creatine Became So Popular With Women - WSJ
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Resilience spacecraft’s status after moon-landing attempt is unknown - CNN
Now here in this verse
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
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.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
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.
NOW…
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
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.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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!
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
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 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
Sain (a barber)
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ 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?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
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…
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
=======================================================
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
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.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
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.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I am like a fish out of water,
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
———————————————————————————————————————
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.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
———————————————————————————————————————
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||