How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
10.06.2025 06:06
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.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Kabir (a weaver)
Scientists Are Close to Replicating the First Living Thing - Yahoo
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
NOW…
What Wilson said about Logan Gilbert’s second rehab start - Seattle Sports
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
Fred Espenak, astronomy's 'Mr. Eclipse', dies at 71 - Space
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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.
When gallery photos are deleted at the same time, why are Google photos also deleted?
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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.
What’s the best way to get over someone you love?
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Why is Donald Trump criticized by so many people?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
———————————————————————————————————————
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
How do I change a truck’s engine oil?
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
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.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
I’m 17 and looking for a girl. What do I do?
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 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.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
What is your secret to glowing skin?
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Are you offended if Democrats call Republicans "weird"?
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
The dancing monk: Why mature people don’t chase total control - Big Think
———————————————————————————————————————
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
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.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
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 young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
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.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
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 ||
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I am like a fish out of water,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Sain (a barber)
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
=======================================================
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
CONCLUSION:
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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 ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
================================================================
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
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
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.
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.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
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.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
then who is there to know what happens without?
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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…
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Now here in this verse
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
———————————————————————————————————————
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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!
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like