How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 29.06.2025 00:46
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
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Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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.
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.
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CONCLUSION:
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Why do I sometimes hear full conversations when I am alone?
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
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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!
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
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Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
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.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
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 have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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…
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
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.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
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.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
NOW…
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The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Sain (a barber)
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.
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
I am like a fish out of water,
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
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.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
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.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Kabir (a weaver)
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
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Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
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.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
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.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
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.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Now here in this verse
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
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For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.