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