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

Last Updated: 19.06.2025 00:59

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

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

Where did Kamala Harris learn how to change positions so quickly? Did she learn it from working in the world's oldest profession?

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

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

Sain (a barber)

Your iPad is getting a major upgrade for free. 4 top features I can't wait to try in iPadOS 26 - ZDNET

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

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 ॥

Simulation reveals emergence of jet from binary neutron star merger followed by black hole formation - Phys.org

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

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

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What is world history that not many people know about?

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

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

Private equity firm will finance Harvard research lab, in possible template for future - statnews.com

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

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

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

Why do men like BBW? What is the attraction?

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

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

Can you share any "backstage pass" experiences you have had at concerts?

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.

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

What are some reasons for the widespread dislike of President Trump? In your opinion, has he been a good or bad president?

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ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

Kabir (a weaver)

Why can't the ISS take a picture of Earth and prove to the Flat Earth Society that Earth is not really flat?

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

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 ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

How many wishes do people get on their birthday?

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

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

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

Why is Donald Trump criticized by so many people?

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

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

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

Why do many women wear sleeveless shirts, more so than men?

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

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.

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

I read this: "Putin is a brilliant, courageous, ingenious, determined, beloved, and incredible modern leader. He is currently the world’s most effective and strong leader, the best the world has seen in centuries." What do you think about this?

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

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

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

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

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

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

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

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

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 are totally pervading and permeating in all.

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

NOW…

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

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

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

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

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

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

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

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

then who is there to know what happens without?

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

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

CONCLUSION:

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

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

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

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

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

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.

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

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!

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

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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

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

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

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

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

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

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

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

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

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

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.

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

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

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

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

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

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

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

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

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

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

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.

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

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.

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

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

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

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

Now here in this verse

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

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

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

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

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

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

I am like a fish out of water,

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

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

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

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

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

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

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

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

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

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

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

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

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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

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

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

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

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