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

Last Updated: 25.06.2025 06:40

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

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.

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

I'm looking for an answer from people who consider themselves "Gender Critical", or transphobic, or TERFs, and my question is this - Why would you refuse to use the pronouns someone wants? What does it cost you? Where's the harm?

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

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

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

What are the extra benefits of a smart TV?

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

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

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

How is Sola Scriptura incoherent?

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

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

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

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

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.

What can I do to deal with disrespectful children?

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

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

Kabir (a weaver)

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ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

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

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ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

How about learn C sharp at 2024?

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

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

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

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

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

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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.

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.

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

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ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

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

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

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— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

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

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

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ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||

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

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

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

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

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

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

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

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

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

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

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

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

then who is there to know what happens without?

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

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.

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

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

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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…

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

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

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.

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

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

CONCLUSION:

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

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 ||

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

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

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!

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

Sain (a barber)

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

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

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.

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

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

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

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

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

NOW…

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.

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.

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

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

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

I am like a fish out of water,

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

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

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

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

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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.

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

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

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

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

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

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

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

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

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

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

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

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.

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

Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

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

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

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

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

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

Now here in this verse

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

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

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

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

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

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.

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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

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

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

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

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

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.

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

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

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