Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some build their alliances with friends, children, and brothers and sisters.
Some build them with in-laws and relatives.
Some build them with chiefs and leaders, for their own advantage.
My alliance is with the One, who is present everywhere.
Guru Ram Das uses the language of factions and alliances (dhaṛā — the groupings and parties people form for protection and power). People bind themselves to family, relatives, the powerful — all for security or gain. Against every such faction he sets the only one that does not fail: "my alliance is with the Lord." The contrast frames the whole shabad.
Why do people form groups and take sides? What are they usually looking for?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI