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

Last Updated: 29.06.2025 08:15

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

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

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

Do all therapists specialize in one specific type of therapy, or are they trained in multiple types?

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

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Are you offended if Democrats call Republicans "weird"?

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

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.

How do you deal with neighbors who are always telling you what to do?

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ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

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

Walk your way to a sharper mind: How 40 minutes of walking boosts brain size - Times of India

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

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.

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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

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!

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

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ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

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

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

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ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

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

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

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

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

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

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

Could Mauricio Pochettino leave USMNT for Tottenham?: 'It's not realistic' - FOX Sports

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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.

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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

What is the story behind bhai dooj?

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

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

I am like a fish out of water,

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ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

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

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

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

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

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

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||

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

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

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

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

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

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

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

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

Sain (a barber)

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

then who is there to know what happens without?

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

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

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

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

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

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

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

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

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.

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

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.

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

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…

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

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

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

Kabir (a weaver)

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

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.

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

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

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

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

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

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

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

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

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

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

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

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

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

NOW…

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

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

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

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||

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

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

Now here in this verse

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

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

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.

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

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

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

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

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

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

CONCLUSION:

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

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

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.

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

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

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.

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

There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

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

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

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

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

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

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

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

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

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

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.

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

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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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.

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

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

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