How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
10.06.2025 13:26
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.
CONCLUSION:
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
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ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
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
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
What type of sex do women prefer, oral, anal, or vaginal?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
NOW…
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Why has my ex moved on so fast after years of being together with me?
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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Kabir (a weaver)
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Is it okay for a wife who comes home from a date to tell her husband what she did?
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Why do women have sex with dogs?
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
I am like a fish out of water,
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
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then who is there to know what happens without?
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
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!
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
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.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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 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.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Now here in this verse
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
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.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
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Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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 do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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.
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.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
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How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
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…
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
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.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Sain (a barber)