How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 02.07.2025 07:08
NOW…
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
What are the pros and cons of arranged marriages?
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
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.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
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You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
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ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||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…
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
How can people balance religious beliefs with seeking professional mental health care?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
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How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
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ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
What made you feel satisfied about your life today?
Now here in this verse
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
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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.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
Sain (a barber)
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So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
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.
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Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
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.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
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.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
I am like a fish out of water,
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
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
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
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.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
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Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
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!
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
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
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
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.
CONCLUSION:
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
then who is there to know what happens without?
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ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Kabir (a weaver)
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
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.
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.
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||