How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 18.06.2025 07:30
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
Can a 40-year-old date a 20-year-old?
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
What are the challenges associated with the birth narratives of Jesus?
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.
Kabir (a weaver)
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Who writes and reads novels nowadays?
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
What do people aim for when they meditate, and how do they do it properly?
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
What is the most inappropriate experience you have had with a friend's daughter?
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Why am I dreaming of people I've never seen before?
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
What's it like to have an IQ of 140 to 170? Do people notice you're different?
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
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I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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.
I'm British and I hate my glasses. Are prescription glasses better in New York City?
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Why do unattractive men assume that a pretty woman like me want them?
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
What are some good inspirational movies?
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Should women be allowed in “combat roles” within the military?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
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.
Why is it so hard to date nowadays?
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Now here in this verse
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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…
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
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I am like a fish out of water,
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
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For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
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.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
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NOW…
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
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.
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!
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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 ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The 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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
CONCLUSION:
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Sain (a barber)
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
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.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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.
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
then who is there to know what happens without?
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
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.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
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
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥