How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

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.

Write something which is just the opposite of you.

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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.

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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.

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

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ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||

Are democrats eating crow?

Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,

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.

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…

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Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326

But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

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I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

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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.

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

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I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

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We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),

Can a white person wear a bonnet to bed?

Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.

Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.

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.

Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,

Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?

I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.

I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325

Sain (a barber)

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

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

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.

CONCLUSION:

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||

Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!

The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

I am like a fish out of water,

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.

Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||

How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?

The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!

Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,

Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

Now here in this verse

Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.

ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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.

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

NOW…

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

=======================================================

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

All the men and women of the world are His living forms.

At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||

then who is there to know what happens without?

To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.

If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,

I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||

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ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

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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.

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!

Kabir (a weaver)

There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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.

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,

My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

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.

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.

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.

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||

Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like

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.

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||

As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

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 do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.

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

My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

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.