How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 27.06.2025 02:29
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
What is one thing which you cannot stop however hard you try?
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Do foreign workers face discrimination in Canada?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Can AI render a high resolution image from a low resolution image?
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
What are some cool examples of two kinds of people?
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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.
Pac-12’s new media rights deal will feel familiar to San Diego State fans - San Diego Union-Tribune
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Here are all the former F1 drivers on the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours Hypercar grid - Motorsport.com
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
How to watch the 2025 Tony Awards on Sunday - NPR
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.
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.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
How many women have accidentally pooped their pants and became turned on afterwards?
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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
Why do liberals think it is okay to steal votes while the rest of us obey the law(s)?
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
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.
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.
Harvey Weinstein Was Abused, Defense Says in Retrial Closing Argument - Variety
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
CONCLUSION:
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
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 like a fish out of water,
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
Now here in this verse
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Kabir (a weaver)
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
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.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
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!
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
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.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Sain (a barber)
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
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 serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
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.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
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, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
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.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
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.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
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
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
================================================================
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
then who is there to know what happens without?
NOW…
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.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
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.
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…
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
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.
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
=======================================================
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥