How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
12.06.2025 05:57
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
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
If there is an abandoned house with no owner, can I live in it?
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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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That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
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He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
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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.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Does eating bread before bed make you fat? If so, why?
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
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ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
What are some reasons why men may not want to date a woman who can pay her own bills?
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Is the Donald Trump Bible any different from a regular Bible? Has Trump altered its contents?
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
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CONCLUSION:
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
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…
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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.
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ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
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…
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Sain (a barber)
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
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
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.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
I am like a fish out of water,
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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.
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.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
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
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.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Kabir (a weaver)
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
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I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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!
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
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.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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.
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Now here in this verse
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),