How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 19.06.2025 07:45
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Why am I not attracted to masculine men? Why do I like more feminine attributes on a man?
I am like a fish out of water,
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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NOW…
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.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Atheists who have read the Bible and think that contains immoral things, why do you assume that?
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Are Indian youths conservative or liberal?
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Now here in this verse
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
CONCLUSION:
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How do I develop the patience to read books?
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Why is there so much evil in the world?
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
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!
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
DC-area pediatrician on CDC urging summer camp operators to screen for measles immunity - WTOP
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve heard pretending to be asleep?
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
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.
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 ||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
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.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
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.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Sain (a barber)
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
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ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
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.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
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.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
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ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
then who is there to know what happens without?
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Kabir (a weaver)
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.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
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.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
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.
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.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
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Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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…
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
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
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ