How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
13.06.2025 04:05
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.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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 ||
How did you become popular in school?
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Will Canadians still buy American products?
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
What are some mind-blowing facts about Michael Jackson?
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.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Most people aren’t following this important dietary advice. Are you? - The Washington Post
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
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ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
What are some things that normal people do that religious people call sins?
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.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Why are people saying that Trump is fat when he is an athletic 6 foot 3 and 215 pounds?
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…
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Do women like men who have slept with many women?
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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.
Is it sinful for Christians to look at beautiful women?
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Now here in this verse
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
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
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Why are you a Muslim? Why is it Islam for you and not something else?
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 have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Why do some people tell the girl I like that I don’t like her when I do like her?
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
then who is there to know what happens without?
NOW…
Does CloudFlare protect blackhat sites from DDOS attacks?
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
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.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
CONCLUSION:
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
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.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
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.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
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ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Kabir (a weaver)
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
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.
Sain (a barber)
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
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.
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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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!
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
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.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
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.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I am like a fish out of water,
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
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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.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥