How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 19.06.2025 02:03
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
My blog is new. I need 10 article posts for my blog. How much should I pay for it?
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
What is the Replika app, and how does it work?
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
What will the legacy of Jimmy Carter be in light of his death today at 100?
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Sain (a barber)
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
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.
What do you think about me (Aditya Krishna)?
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.
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
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Why did Kakashi use Chidori against Rin, despite knowing about her feelings for Obito?
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To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
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.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
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.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Kabir (a weaver)
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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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ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
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ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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…
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
NOW…
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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||
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
CONCLUSION:
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
I am like a fish out of water,
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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.
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!
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Now here in this verse
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
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.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.