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

Last Updated: 17.06.2025 00:20

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

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ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

Why do a lot of autistic people not know how to style their hair?

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.

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

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

Is Trump the greatest spiritual leader since Jesus?

Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92

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

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

What are the types of values?

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.

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

Why do people hate Nickelback so much? What makes them different from other popular bands like Linkin Park, Green Day, etc.? Is it just because they're Canadian or what?

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

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

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

Do handsome guys intimidate women or people in general?

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

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

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

Why is it rare for someone to despise both the Democrats and Republicans?

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 ॥

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.

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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.

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

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ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

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

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ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

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

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.

Are there any men who have sex with male dogs?

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

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

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

Isn’t freedom of speech and expression an absolute right?

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

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

What is the gayest experience you have seen in prison?

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

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.

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

Why did my 2001 4.6 liter Mustang GT V8 make "only" 260 HP while today's base Dodge 3.6 liter V6 churns out almost 300 HP? Both benefit from fuel injection and ECUs.

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

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

The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.

Why do I smell bad even though I have good hygiene?

then who is there to know what happens without?

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

The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

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

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

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

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

Kabir (a weaver)

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

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

NOW…

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

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

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.

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

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

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

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

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

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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.

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

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

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

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

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

CONCLUSION:

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

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

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.

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

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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

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

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.

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

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

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

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

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

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

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

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

I am like a fish out of water,

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!

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

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

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

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

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

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

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ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

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Raamaanand Jee, First House:

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

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.

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

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

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

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

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

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…

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

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

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

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

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

Now here in this verse

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

Sain (a barber)

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

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

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

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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

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

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

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

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

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

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

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

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

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)