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How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?

Last Updated: 28.06.2025 03:18

How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?

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

Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!

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Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,

Why cant I breathe when I sleep on my back, I can breathe if im on my side or stomach but I feel uncomfortable since either my neck is twisted or my back is in pain, im physically healthy and my surroundings are clean so whats the problem?

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?

Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like

How do I overcome attachment issues?

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।

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…

My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||

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Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.

I am like a fish out of water,

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ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||

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One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.

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I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||

What should I do to get over a relationship?

Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.

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NOW…

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325

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!

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ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

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Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||

Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

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Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

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

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

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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.

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.

The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||

Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

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.

That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

———————————————————————————————————————

CONCLUSION:

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.

Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

———————————————————————————————————————

I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.

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

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

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How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?

———————————————————————————————————————

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||

As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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.

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

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.

There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!

My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||

There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.

Sain (a barber)

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),

With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||

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.

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

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.

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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 have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.

=======================================================

Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

then who is there to know what happens without?

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92

He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.

Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.

I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||

I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.

Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,

All the men and women of the world are His living forms.

Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,

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.

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.

Kabir (a weaver)

Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.

Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?

Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!

He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

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.

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,

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

I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.

We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,

Now here in this verse

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.

At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||