How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 17.06.2025 00:54
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
NOW…
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
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.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Why do Indian guys love Russian girls?
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
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.
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
Why did the Soviet Jews hate the Soviet Union?
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
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ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Why do some people tell the girl I like that I don’t like her when I do like her?
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
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.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
SEC clears Trump Media filing, opening door to multi-billion-dollar Bitcoin buy - The Block
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.
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
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 the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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.
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I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Sain (a barber)
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
then who is there to know what happens without?
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
Now here in this verse
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
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.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
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 am like a fish out of water,
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
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.
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
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.
Kabir (a weaver)
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
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.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the 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…
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.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
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Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
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!
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.
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
CONCLUSION:
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
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My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
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
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.