How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 24.06.2025 00:17
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
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If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
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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.
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.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
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.
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Why do women have sex with dogs?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
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— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Hic perferendis in et impedit quo.
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
NOW…
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
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ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
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Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
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
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
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Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Now here in this verse
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Kabir (a weaver)
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
CONCLUSION:
Sain (a barber)
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
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To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
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.
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
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.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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.
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
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…
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
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
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
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.
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!
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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.
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
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Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
then who is there to know what happens without?
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
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.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
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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Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
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.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
I am like a fish out of water,