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

10.06.2025 03:46

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

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

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

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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…

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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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.

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

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

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

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.

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

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

Now here in this verse

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.

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

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

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

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

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

How can a native English speaker say "it was nice talking to you" in French without using that exact phrase?

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.

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

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ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

NOW…

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

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ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

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

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ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

Sain (a barber)

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

If you cloned 12 Michael Jordan's and 12 LeBron James' and had Team Jordan vs. James, which team would win the most games?

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

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

Why are Republicans so afraid of a strong leader like Vice President Kamala Harris? Are they worried if she becomes President she will make them look stupid?

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

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.

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

What do you think about Matt Gatz as an attorney general?

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

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

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

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.

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.

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

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

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

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

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

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

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

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

I am like a fish out of water,

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

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

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

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

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

CONCLUSION:

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.

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

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

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

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

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

then who is there to know what happens without?

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

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

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

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

———————————————————————————————————————

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.

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

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

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

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

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

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

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

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

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

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||

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

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

Kabir (a weaver)

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

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.

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

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

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

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

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

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

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

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.

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

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

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

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

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.

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

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

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

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

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

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

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

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

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

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.

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

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

———————————————————————————————————————

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

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

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

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.

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

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

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

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

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

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

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

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

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

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

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.

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

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

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

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

———————————————————————————————————————

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

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

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

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ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ