How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
09.06.2025 00:13

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