How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 23.06.2025 06:10
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
What's your wildest & weirdest fantasy?
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Atque nihil laudantium distinctio sapiente similique molestiae.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
What is the best way to get my wife to become a hotwife?
NOW…
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
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The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Why can't we send flat Earthers to space and show them the shape of Earth?
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.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Why are Republican politicians so afraid to oppose Trump?
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
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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.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
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.
What did someone say to you that instantly made you realize their life was in danger?
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ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
What does it feel like wearing tights?
Kabir (a weaver)
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Sex advice: I'm finally ready to enter my promiscuity era. But there's a catch. - Slate Magazine
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.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
I am like a fish out of water,
Now here in this verse
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
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.
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
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!
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
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The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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…
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
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.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
CONCLUSION:
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
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.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
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ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Sain (a barber)
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
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.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥