How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 22.06.2025 00:49
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Why do men like low maintenance women?
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
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.
My ex got into a relationship within 2 weeks after a breakup. What should I do?
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
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.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Sain (a barber)
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Why would my husband cheat on me with an ugly fat woman?
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Hic perferendis in et impedit quo.
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!
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Do you usually wear your panties over or under your pantyhose?
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Greetings from Warsaw, Poland, where the flags are flying ahead of a key election - NPR
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
The Universe's Most Powerful Cosmic Rays May Finally Be Explained - ScienceAlert
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.
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He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Colorado has now recorded 10 measles cases this year as airport outbreak grows - GazetteXtra
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
NOW…
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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.
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At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
I am like a fish out of water,
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
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…
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
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.
CONCLUSION:
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
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.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
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!
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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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.
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.
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.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Now here in this verse
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
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
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
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.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥