How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
14.06.2025 23:53
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
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Why, after a divorce, would one still want to ruin the other one’s life?
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
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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.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Would you let your partner cheat on you every now and again?
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
Why is my crush beautiful to me but not to others?
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.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
How can I get a girlfriend? I am 26.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
CONCLUSION:
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
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ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
I am like a fish out of water,
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Sain (a barber)
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
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.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Kabir (a weaver)
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
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!
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Now here in this verse
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
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.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
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ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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…
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
then who is there to know what happens without?
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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 ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
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||
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
NOW…
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 look at the views of Sant Kabir
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.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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!
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥