How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
10.06.2025 01:24
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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How do you write lyrics for a song that resonates with listeners?
I am like a fish out of water,
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Do you think Japan will have same-sex marriage by 2030?
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
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I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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.
Sain (a barber)
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
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.
Now here in this verse
then who is there to know what happens without?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
NOW…
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Is it true that most women like alpha males?
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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!
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥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…
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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.
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.
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
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
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,
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
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
Kabir (a weaver)
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.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
CONCLUSION:
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
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.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a 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.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
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I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥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.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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 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:
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.