How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 20.06.2025 13:47

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