How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 25.06.2025 04:54
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Why does a college girl cover her face with a scarf in Bangalore?
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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Kabir (a weaver)
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 325
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
Sain (a barber)
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
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As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
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I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
How do you handle family members who ask for handouts?
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
I see lots of pictures of women who have huge clits are they real or what?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
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ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
What are the easy romantic novels to read to read for beginners?
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
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.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
NOW…
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
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.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
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.
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
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.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥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!
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
=======================================================
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.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
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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
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
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.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
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…
Now here in this verse
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
I am like a fish out of water,
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
then who is there to know what happens without?
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
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.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
CONCLUSION:
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
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Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
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.