How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
12.06.2025 00:34
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Taylor Swift Won Her Biggest Battle - The Ringer
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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…
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
The #1 Dessert to Help Lower Dementia Risk, According to Dietitians - EatingWell
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
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.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Gotham TV Awards: ‘Adolescence,’ ‘The Pitt’ & ‘The Studio’ Among Big Winners - Deadline
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
How do you identify a woman player?
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Solar 'cannonballs' may have stripped Mars of its water, long-awaited study reveals - Live Science
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
WWDC 2025: iOS 26 Rumored Features - MacRumors
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
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!
Whole Foods is opening new stores in 2025: See locations - USA Today
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Do straight guys like to see cocks?
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
———————————————————————————————————————
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
I am like a fish out of water,
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Sain (a barber)
=======================================================
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.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
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.
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 am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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…
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
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
———————————————————————————————————————
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
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.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
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.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
———————————————————————————————————————
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
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.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
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.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
then who is there to know what happens without?
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.
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Kabir (a weaver)
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Now here in this verse
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.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
================================================================
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
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 326
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
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.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.