How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 19.06.2025 02:19
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Is heroin really as good as people say it is?
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
How do I convince my husband that a threesome is okay?
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
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.
Why do men love to stink/being smelly?
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
What makes you feel guilty the most?
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
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.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
What are your controversial and hot takes on Naruto?
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
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.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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 wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
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 am like a fish out of water,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
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 is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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!
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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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.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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.
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Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
then who is there to know what happens without?
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
CONCLUSION:
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Sain (a barber)
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 Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
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.
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 am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
NOW…
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.
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
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.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Now here in this verse
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Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
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.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥