How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 18.06.2025 01:37
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
How do flat Earthers explain the existence of other spherical planets?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
What do men find attractive in an older woman?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
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
What movies and TV shows portray realistic beauty standards?
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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What is world history that not many people know about?
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
How do you stop your balls from sweating?
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Why do older people have a hard time using technology?
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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.
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To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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.
NOW…
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
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I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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 325
I am like a fish out of water,
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Sain (a barber)
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Now here in this verse
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
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As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
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…
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
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 ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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 can see that great saints like Kabir and Ravidas etc… descended from the Ramananda sampradaya which is still the largest ascetic order in India.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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
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.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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 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.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
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.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
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.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
CONCLUSION:
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.