How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 29.06.2025 15:42
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Is it possible for the U.S. government to get rid of the constitution for national safety?
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
When will dating stop being so hard for Gen Z?
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Mario Kart World 150cc Knockout Tour guide – how to easily win - Nintendo Everything
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Now here in this verse
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Browns' quarterback competition is right where it's supposed to be | The Huddle - Cleveland Browns
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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.
What is the reason behind some people wearing trunks instead of speedos when swimming in pools?
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
New research links changes in walking patterns to early Alzheimer’s - The Brighter Side of News
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Why have Indian girls almost stopped wearing sarees?
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
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
iPadOS 26 Expands Stage Manager to These iPad Models - MacRumors
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
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…
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
———————————————————————————————————————
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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.
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Sain (a barber)
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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!
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
I am like a fish out of water,
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
================================================================
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
then who is there to know what happens without?
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
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.
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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.
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
———————————————————————————————————————
NOW…
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
CONCLUSION:
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
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.
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an 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.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
———————————————————————————————————————
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
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.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
=======================================================
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।