How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 20.06.2025 04:17
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.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Why do I get stressed when I go to bed?
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
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What steps can be taken to track down a scammer and determine their location?
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
What can I do to deal with disrespectful children?
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
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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.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Would you date/marry a guy younger than you? If no, why not?
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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Now here in this verse
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
What is your favourite true story to tell at a party?
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
Is it true that Jehovah's witnesses once thought the world would end in 1975?
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
Kabir (a weaver)
Can you share a picture of your favorite outfit and explain why you love it?
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Why after 50 years of being straight do I constantly desire to suck cock?
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.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
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 ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
NOW…
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Sain (a barber)
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
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.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
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.
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.
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
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
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.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
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.
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
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.
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
I am like a fish out of water,
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
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.
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
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ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
then who is there to know what happens without?
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I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
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!
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
CONCLUSION:
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
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…
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
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.
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and