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

Last Updated: 27.06.2025 00:01

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

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

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹ ਕਹੀਐ ਕਾਹਿ ॥

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.

What story do you have involving a public restroom?

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

Let's look at the views of Sant Kabir

ਤਜੀ ਲੇ ਬਨਾਰਸ ਮਤਿ ਭਈ ਥੋਰੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Patriots decline to say whether Stefon Diggs has passed key physical in contract - NBC Sports

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ ॥੫॥੧੫॥

ਏਕ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਲੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਨਮਸਕਾਰਉ ॥੩॥

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

What are some tips for keeping a durag on for a longer period of time?

ਅਲਹ ਰਾਮ ਕੇ ਪਿੰਡੁ ਪਰਾਨ ॥੪॥

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

ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਰਸ ਤਪੁ ਕੀਆ ਕਾਸੀ ॥

Terraforming Mars Might Actually Work and Scientists Now Have a Plan to Try It - ZME Science

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

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.

Is there any way to simulate the effect of a sauna or steam room on the body from one's own home?

— Kabir, Ramaini 1, Translated by David Lorenzen

ਏਕੋ ਸੇਵੀ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ॥੨॥

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

Steelers players defend attending Trump rally at U.S. Steel plant: 'I'm not apologetic about that' - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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

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

'Collateral damage': Fund managers lobby Congress over Section 899 to avert foreign investors leaving the U.S. - CNBC

ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥

ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ਪੰਚਪਦੇ ॥

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.

If you were president, how would you make America "great again?"

There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,

One day, a desire welled up in my mind.

ਸੋ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬਤਾਇਓ ਗੁਰ ਮਨ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥੧॥

How much of lounge pianists playing is from repertoire, and how much is improvised?

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

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

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਜੀ ਘਰੁ ੧

Dana White names the only fighter Jon Jones ever ducked and it’s not Tom Aspinall - Bloody Elbow

Shvetashvatara Upanishad (6.23)

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

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

ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਛੋਡਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਭਇਓ ਮੀਨਾ ॥

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.

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

Now here in this verse

=======================================================

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

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.

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

Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.

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

Says Kabeer, this is what I say:

— Kabir, II.57, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

I am like a fish out of water,

ਮਰਤੀ ਬਾਰ ਮਗਹਰਿ ਉਠਿ ਆਇਆ ॥੨॥

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

ਮਰਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਮਗਹਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਸੀ ॥੩॥

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

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

I have searched through all the Vedas and the Puraanas.

ਊਹਾਂ ਤਉ ਜਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਈਹਾਂ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥੨॥

ਸਗਲ ਜਨਮੁ ਸਿਵ ਪੁਰੀ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥

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

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…

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

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

ਕਹੁ ਗੁਰ ਗਜ ਸਿਵ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਜਾਨੈ ॥

ਜਬ ਲਗੁ ਮਨਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠ ਕੀ ਆਸ ॥

Sain (a barber)

ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਕਾਟੈ ਕੋਟਿ ਕਰਮ ॥੩॥੧॥

ਘਸਿ ਚੰਦਨ ਚੋਆ ਬਹੁ ਸੁਗੰਧ ॥

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

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

ਏਕ ਦਿਵਸ ਮਨ ਭਈ ਉਮੰਗ ॥

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.

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

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

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

then who is there to know what happens without?

ਸਾਧਸੰਗਤਿ ਬੈਕੁੰਠੈ ਆਹਿ ॥੪॥੧੦॥

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

You have cut through all my confusion and doubt.

ਕਬੀਰ ਨਿਰਗੁਣ ਨਾਮ ਨ ਰੋਸੁ ॥

From Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1195

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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

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

Ramarchan Paddati gives more info about his teachings.

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

ਨਾ ਹਮ ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ॥

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

Wherever I go, I find water and stones.

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮੈ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਤੋਰ ॥

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!

ਰਾਮਾਨੰਦ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਰਮਤ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ॥

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.

CONCLUSION:

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

ਪੂਜਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਠਾਇ ॥

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

I ground up sandalwood, along with several fragrant oils.

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

You are totally pervading and permeating in all.

ਜਹਾ ਜਾਈਐ ਤਹ ਜਲ ਪਖਾਨ ॥

Gauree, Kabeer Jee, Panch-Padas:

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

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

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.

ਤੂ ਪੂਰਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਹੈ ਸਭ ਸਮਾਨ ॥

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

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

ਤਬ ਲਗੁ ਹੋਇ ਨਹੀ ਚਰਨ ਨਿਵਾਸੁ ॥੩॥

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

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.

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

ਹਜ ਕਾਬੈ ਜਾਉ ਨ ਤੀਰਥ ਪੂਜਾ ॥

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

Sant Kabir was staunchly against cow slaughter.

ਕਾਸੀ ਮਗਹਰ ਸਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੀ ॥

— Kabir, III.2, Translated by Rabindranath Tagore

ਪੂਰਬ ਜਨਮ ਹਉ ਤਪ ਕਾ ਹੀਨਾ ॥੧॥

Says Kabeer, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know

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

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

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

ਮੁਆ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਰਮਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੈ

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

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

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ਕੈਸੇ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਬ ਮੋਹਿਆ ਹੈ ਮਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥

Raamaanand Jee, First House:

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

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

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

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

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

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.

ਅਬ ਕਹੁ ਰਾਮ ਕਵਨ ਗਤਿ ਮੋਰੀ ॥

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.

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

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

Ravidas (a chamar shoemaker)

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

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

Sadhna (a Muslim butcher) and

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

I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;

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.

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

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

ਜਿਨਿ ਸਕਲ ਬਿਕਲ ਭ੍ਰਮ ਕਾਟੇ ਮੋਰ ॥

Kabir (a weaver)

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

ਕਤ ਜਾਈਐ ਰੇ ਘਰ ਲਾਗੋ ਰੰਗੁ ॥

Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this?

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

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

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||

ਗੁਰ ਪੀਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਖੁਦਿ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਨਾ ॥੫॥੩॥

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

ਪੂਜਾ ਕਰਉ ਨ ਨਿਵਾਜ ਗੁਜਾਰਉ ॥

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

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

These morons know nothing, they wander about in ignorance,

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

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.

ਓਛੀ ਭਗਤਿ ਕੈਸੇ ਉਤਰਸਿ ਪਾਰੀ ॥੪॥

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਭ ਦੇਖੇ ਜੋਇ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਇਹੁ ਕੀਆ ਵਖਾਨਾ ॥

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

NOW…

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

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.