How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 21.06.2025 00:49
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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.
Isn’t freedom of speech and expression an absolute right?
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Why should the law care about what I do behind closed doors?
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
=======================================================
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
What is one thing you've learned from life?
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
What firsthand information do you have on prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse/rape?
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Would you respect the US with a woman as president?
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
What are some of your favorite hip hop lyrics?
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
then who is there to know what happens without?
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Where and how did ballet originate?
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
CONCLUSION:
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
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 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.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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
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…
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
I am like a fish out of water,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
———————————————————————————————————————
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Now here in this verse
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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.
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!
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Kabir (a weaver)
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
NOW…
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
———————————————————————————————————————
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Sain (a barber)
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.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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.
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
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.
================================================================
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
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.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥