How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 22.06.2025 23:48
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
How does Bollywood influence Indian culture?
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.
then who is there to know what happens without?
How can I have an overnight glow-up for school?
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
Sain (a barber)
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Texas woman dies from brain-eating amoeba after using tap water for nasal rinse - Scripps News
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
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.
What thing happened to you as a child that you haven’t let go of to this day?
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
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.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
'Buy now, pay later:' a replacement for the millennial lifestyle subsidy? - NPR
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.
———————————————————————————————————————
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
Can one still satisfy the desires of Black women with a more discreet endowment?"?
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Cycling Linked to Lower Risk of Dementia, Study of Half a Million Finds - ScienceAlert
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
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 am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
================================================================
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
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 ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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…
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
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!
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
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.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Now here in this verse
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the 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.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
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.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
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
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
CONCLUSION:
NOW…
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
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.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
———————————————————————————————————————
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
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.
=======================================================
Kabir (a weaver)
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
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.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
I am like a fish out of water,
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥