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How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?

Last Updated: 28.06.2025 04:53

How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

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Now here in this verse

There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.

How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?

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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

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ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||

I am like a fish out of water,

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I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.

then who is there to know what happens without?

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What should I do if I love a girl and she apparently doesn't love me?

My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?

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Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

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Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||

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ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

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.

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

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For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;

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ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

Have you ever been spanked in front of a group of people?

Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

Can you share a lesson that you learned later in life and how it has impacted your current lifestyle, mentality, or attitude?

That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||

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.

As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,

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

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92

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.

That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||

ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||

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.

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326

Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

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.

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.

Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.

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

To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||

=======================================================

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!

Kabir (a weaver)

Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||

Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,

Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.

The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||

Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.

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.

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||

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.

यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।

Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||

Sain (a barber)

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||

I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

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.

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

Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥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.

Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||

At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||

All the men and women of the world are His living forms.

Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

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.

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

CONCLUSION:

We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.

There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

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.

I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.

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NOW…

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.

He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!

Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

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…

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

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.

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

———————————————————————————————————————

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.

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.

Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

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.

He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,