How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 16.06.2025 06:42
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Do you think this Labour Party is qualified to run our country?
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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.
Will friendly dogs protect their owners?
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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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What are the extra benefits of a smart TV?
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
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Have you ever had a bad gut feeling about someone and it was right?
then who is there to know what happens without?
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
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.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
Why do I feel so tired all the time even after a good night’s sleep?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
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.
Oregon lands a commitment from one of the nation's top WRs Messiah Hampton - On3.com
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
What's it like to have an IQ of 140 to 170? Do people notice you're different?
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
How has Sanskrit influenced modern Tamil language, particularly in terms of vocabulary?
Sain (a barber)
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
What was your most embarrassing and humiliating bare bottom spanking?
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
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.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I am like a fish out of water,
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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…
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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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.
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Now here in this verse
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Kabir (a weaver)
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
CONCLUSION:
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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||
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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.
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
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
NOW…
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
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!
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
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.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
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.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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 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.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
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ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.