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

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.

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

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

Why do you think Filipinos are conservatives?

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

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ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

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

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

What are 50 random facts about yourself?

NOW…

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

What song are you listening to right now? What does it mean to you?

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

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

Why is it after eating almonds when I’m occupied, I don’t feel mild itch, but as soon as I have nothing to do, I feel mildly itchy?

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

I am like a fish out of water,

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

Can you turn 150 pages into a 5 minute presentation before a meeting?

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

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

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

Is LGBTQ destroying the world?

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

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.

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

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ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

What are the pros and cons of a prospective bride/groom not having any siblings?

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

Kabir (a weaver)

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

Why can't white people just surrender their white privilege?

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!

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

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

Sain (a barber)

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

CONCLUSION:

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.

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

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

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

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.

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

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

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

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

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

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.

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

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

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Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

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

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

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

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

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

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

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

Now here in this verse

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

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

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

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

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

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

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

———————————————————————————————————————

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

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

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

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

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

then who is there to know what happens without?

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

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.

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

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

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

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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

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.

———————————————————————————————————————

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

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

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

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

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.

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

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

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

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

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

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

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

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

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

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

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

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

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

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

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

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

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

I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

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

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

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

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.

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

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.

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.

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

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

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.

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ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

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

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

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

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

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

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.

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