How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
15.06.2025 02:39
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
What's your wildest & weirdest fantasy?
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
What was your worst experience while living with roommates?
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
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Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
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.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
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For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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.
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Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
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Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
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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Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
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…
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
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I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Sain (a barber)
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
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.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
then who is there to know what happens without?
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Now here in this verse
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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.
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
I am like a fish out of water,
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the 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!
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Kabir (a weaver)
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
NOW…
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
CONCLUSION:
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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.