Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Your truest family and friends are the ones you meet heart-to-heart, in the light of the teaching.
Day and night they live by what is real, and they stay soaked in that truth.
People who are only after their own gain aren't really friends, even if they act close — that kind of pull just leaves everyone stuck.
Each one lives what was written for them. No one can wipe it away.
Your real family and friends are the people you meet in love and truth.
Say sain say sajnaa je gurmukh mileh subhaa-ay means they alone are family and friends who meet, in a natural love, by turning toward the Guru. Guru Amar Das changes what closeness means. It is not measured by blood, or by how useful someone is. It is measured by shared truth.
Some people are caught in doojaa bhaa-ay, loving the other-than-real, and in abhimaan, pride. The verse says they are not truly friends. This is not an insult. A bond built only on getting things cannot hold anyone up. Kaaraj na sakahi savaar: they cannot set anyone's work right. Think of a teammate who only passes to you when it helps them score.
This gives children a real test for friendship: does this person meet me honestly? The last line adds that each one lives out what has been written by their own past deeds, and no one can wipe that away.
What is the difference between someone who is truly your friend and someone who is just around when it helps them?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI