How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 26.06.2025 03:10
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Kabir (a weaver)
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
This couple paid $19M for 2 Jersey Shore houses. Then they demolished them. - NJ.com
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens - Investopedia
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
There’s a simple solution to the Shemar Stewart impasse with the Bengals - NBC Sports
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.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Can a cop pull you over walking home asking why you are out so late?
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
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.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
———————————————————————————————————————
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Is red light therapy scientifically proven?
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Now here in this verse
Has anyone ever made you take off your shirt?
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.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
CONCLUSION:
Three observations from Real Madrid’s 3-1 win vs Pachuca - Managing Madrid
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
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
Astros Announce Major Trade With Rays After Yordan Alvarez News - Athlon Sports
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
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…
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
How did you as a human being change while growing up?
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.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Brain’s Reward Center Tracks Not Just What, But When Rewards Arrive - Neuroscience News
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.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
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.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a 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.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
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.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
================================================================
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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.
then who is there to know what happens without?
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
=======================================================
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
NOW…
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥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.
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.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
———————————————————————————————————————
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Sain (a barber)
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
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
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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!
———————————————————————————————————————
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
I am like a fish out of water,
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥