How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 18.06.2025 05:44
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
At least 45 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid trucks in Gaza, health officials say - AP News
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
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.
Why do Indian parents force their kids to do stuff?
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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.
What’s a mistake most guys make when trying to get a girlfriend?
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
While emptying a house, have you ever seen something in it that blew your mind?
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
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.
What's your take on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? How has it affected you?
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
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ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
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 ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
We white women don't like white men. Do you have any issue with that?
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
What's the gayest thing you have experienced on an only boys sleepover?
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
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.
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Kabir (a weaver)
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
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…
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
I am like a fish out of water,
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
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!
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
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.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
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.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Sain (a barber)
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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.
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
NOW…
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
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That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Now here in this verse
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
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
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
CONCLUSION:
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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.
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.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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 ॥
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥