How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 23.06.2025 00:53
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
What lowers a fever the quickest?
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
CONCLUSION:
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
NOW…
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
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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.
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.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
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ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
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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…
Sain (a barber)
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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.
Now here in this verse
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
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I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
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I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
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.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
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.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
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
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Kabir (a weaver)
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
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
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.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
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That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
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!
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
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.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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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ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
then who is there to know what happens without?
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
I am like a fish out of water,
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
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.
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.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
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.