How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 22.06.2025 16:52
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
How is sex in college like with roommates and big campuses?
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Catch Jupiter and Mercury side by side in the evening sky this week - Space
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
What are some cool examples of two kinds of people?
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
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ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Is homosexuality an excommunicable offense in Christianity?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
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.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Sain (a barber)
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
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ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
I am like a fish out of water,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
NOW…
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
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 ॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
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ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
then who is there to know what happens without?
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 am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
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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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Now here in this verse
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
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.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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…
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
CONCLUSION:
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
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.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
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.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
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.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
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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.
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.