How are Hinduism and Sikhism related, considering they both originated in Punjab, India?
Last Updated: 21.06.2025 00:01

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.
I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.
What are the challenges associated with the birth narratives of Jesus?
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.
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥
CONCLUSION:
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 am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Recklessly they display boundless pride while explaining their own aims, they kill cows.
Why did my ex replace me so fast?
Where spring, the lord of seasons reigneth, there the unstruck music sounds of itself,
Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and
Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.
What are some tips for a girl with low self-esteem to start dating?
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.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥
What do feminists mean when they say they want to ‘normalize’ menstruation and its discussion?
I am like a fish out of water,
ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥
What caused the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential campaign to implode so horrifically?
I left Benares - I had little common sense. ||1|| Pause ||
ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥
Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation, where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,
What are some things that normal people do that religious people call sins?
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.
ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
What would you change in Rings of Power?
— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen
I have taken the One Formless Lord into my heart; I humbly worship Him there. ||3||
Where should I go? My home is filled with bliss.
Can you show pictures of your penis, big or small?
To him who is high-minded, these teachings will be illuminating.
ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Sriraag / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 92
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
Why are Republican politicians so afraid to oppose Trump?
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
Wherever I go, I find water and stones.
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,
Here ਨਿਰਗੁਣ is Nirgun and not just lord. This is just another example to show that Kabir himself continued in the NIRGUN BHAKTI path.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
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.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by Maya? ||1|| Pause ||
then who is there to know what happens without?
ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥
I do not perform Hindu worship services, nor do I offer the Muslim prayers.
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.
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.
He accepted even women (Sursuri and Padywati) as disciples. Bhagat Pipa and Dhanna were Rajput and Jat who were also his disciples.
Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)
ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥
He who has highest Bhakti of Deva (God), just like his Deva, so for his Guru (teacher),
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
Says Kabeer, this is what I say:
ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥
Without looking into one's heart, how can one reach paradise?
ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥
Again we see that the originator of this Sant Sampraday himself talks about Brahman even in Gurbani.
=======================================================
ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥
ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥
I am a sacrifice to You, O my True Guru.
Raamaanand's Lord and Master is the All-pervading Lord God.
The young and the old drink milk pudding, but these fools eat the cow's body.
You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.
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.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across? ||4||
— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥
Ramananda accepted disciples without discriminating against anyone by gender, class or caste and they included even people from humble origins like
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥
यस्य देवे परा भक्तिः यथा देवे तथा गुरौ । तस्यैते कथिता ह्यर्थाः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मनः प्रकाशन्ते महात्मन इति ।
ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥
Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)
ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 325
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
———————————————————————————————————————
Sain (a barber)
ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
There the streams of light flow in all directions, few are the men who can cross to that shore!
The Word of the Guru's Shabad eradicates the karma of millions of past actions. ||3||1||
I am not a Hindu, nor am I a Muslim.
Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir
ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥
ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥
Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.
He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. ||3||
———————————————————————————————————————
That Kabeer died chanting the Lord's Name. ||5||15||
I serve the One Lord, and not any other. ||2||
Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:
How can they kill the mother, whose milk they drink like that of a wet nurse?
Now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at Magahar! ||3||
ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥
ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥
NOW…
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.
Hari is in the East, Allah is in the West.
There is my Lord self-revealed, and the scent of sandal and flowers dwells in those deeps.
You are totally pervading and permeating in all.
That God showed me the Guru, within my own mind. ||1||
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,
Sikhism is a NIRGUN path descending from the Sant Sampraday of Ramanandacharya and traces its ideas to VEDANTA!
ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥
I would go there, only if the Lord were not here. ||2||
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.
— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Now here in this verse
ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ
ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥
ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered, where millions of Saraswatis, goddess of music play the vina,
We have searched the turaki Dharam (Turk's religion, Islam), these teachers throw many thunderbolts,
Let’s see what Gurbani has about Ramanandacharya’s views.
ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥
Bhagat Kabir ji / Raag Gauri / / Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 326
———————————————————————————————————————
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 went to God's place, and worshipped Him there.
ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥
But we have actually seen how much Kabir is also rooted in the Vedantic concept of “supreme realization” but in a non-mainstream path.
One day, a desire welled up in my mind.
================================================================
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
Kabir is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
My body and breath of life belong to Allah - to Raam - the God of both. ||4||
Kabir, Ravidas and ultimately the NINE SIKH GURUS are a product of this very Sant Sampraday founded by Ramanandacharya!
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!
Kabir (a weaver)
ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥
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.
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven. ||4||10||
At the time of my death, I moved to Magahar. ||2||
My consciousness does not go out wandering. My mind has become crippled. ||1|| Pause ||
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥
I do not make pilgrimages to Mecca, nor do I worship at Hindu sacred shrines.
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation at Kaashi;
I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.
Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads, where millions of Brahmas are reading the Vedas,
So in the same spirit Kabir finds pilgrimages to holy cities futile as his mind is fixated on Rama!
ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥
Because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and intense meditation. ||1||
Meeting with the Guru, my Spiritual Teacher, I realize God, my Lord and Master. ||5||3||
ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥
ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥
ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥
Look within your heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
Raamaanand Jee, First House:
ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
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.
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…
From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195
ਮੇਰਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਨ ਚਲੈ ਮਨੁ ਭਇਓ ਪੰਗੁ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
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.
ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥
ਬ੍ਰਹਮ is Brahm i.e the Brahman of vedanta but it gets interpreted as an all-pervading lord god.