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

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

How did a computer scientist such as Geoffrey Hinton manage to win a Nobel Prize in physics when computer science already has its own Nobel Prize equivalent in the Turing Awards?

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.

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

How does Bollywood influence Indian culture?

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

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

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

One day, I happened to walk past where my crush was with friends. Then all of a sudden they start laughing, and someone maybe him, goes "freaking (my name) with her freaking hair!" Can anyone offer insights into this? We're in middle school.

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

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

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

How do atheists explain the fact that when I pray to God, I feel better and I get a feeling of comfort? Doesn’t this prove that a God exists?

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

How can fashion design be used to make a political statement in popular culture, and society?

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

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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.

— we are metamorphosing!

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

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

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

Do older men realize that younger women usually do not prefer them?

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

Can a cop pull you over walking home asking why you are out so late?

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

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

Which scene is considered the most difficult to watch in each of Quentin Tarantino's movies?

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

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

If white people had been slaves, would WLM be a thing right now?

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

Sain (a barber)

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…

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

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

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

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

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

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

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

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.

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

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

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

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

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

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

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.

Now here in this verse

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

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

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

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

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

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

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

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥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.

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

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

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

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

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

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

then who is there to know what happens without?

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

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

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

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

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

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

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

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

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!

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

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

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

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.

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

Kabir (a weaver)

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.

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.

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

CONCLUSION:

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

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

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.

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

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

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

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

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

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

I am like a fish out of water,

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

NOW…

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

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

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