How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 18.06.2025 15:45
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
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.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
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.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Do Indian guys like African girls?
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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.
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
How does Bollywood influence Indian culture?
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Have you ever had sex with your female cousin? How did it start?
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Is having white skin really that attractive?
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Was there a British ‘genocide’ of Aboriginal Australians?
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Have you ever been a victim of gaslighting? What happened?
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
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— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
NOW…
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Who would win in this boxing matchup between these two, Dillian Whyte or Samuel Peter?
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
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.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
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then who is there to know what happens without?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Now here in this verse
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!
Sain (a barber)
I am like a fish out of water,
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Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
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||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
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.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Kabir (a weaver)
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
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.
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.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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…
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
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.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
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 left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
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Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
CONCLUSION:
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
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
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.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥