How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 18.06.2025 04:21
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.
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
Why do I feel so tired all the time even after a good night’s sleep?
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
I have BPD. Why do I destroy everyone I love?
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…
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.
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
What misfortune led to an important discovery?
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
Does CloudFlare protect blackhat sites from DDOS attacks?
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
Let’s look at the most used verse by McSikhs to show that Sikhs are neither Hindus nor Muslims.
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
NOW…
What are some life hacks for living on your own?
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.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
Which movies have the best endings?
I am like a fish out of water,
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
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
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
What's the hardest part about marriage that no one ever talks about?
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
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.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
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So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
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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.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
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He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
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.
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
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.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
Sain (a barber)
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
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.
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
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.
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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 ॥
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
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.
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.
Now here in this verse
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
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.
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
Kabir (a weaver)
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
CONCLUSION:
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
I went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
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I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
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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.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
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
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥