"Wherever I go, You are there" — the companioning, all-seeing One, and winning the game of life.
The Arc
The second Aasaa Chhant, each verse framed by a repeated refrain-line in the lyrical wedding-song manner. Verse 1 sounds its unforgettable opening — jithai jaao tithai too naali, wherever I go You are with me — naming the One as Giver, Architect of Destiny, Dispeller of distress, whose mercy erases millions of sins in an instant and who reads every heart, seeing each being truly ("a swan a swan, a crane a crane"). Verse 2 praises the single-minded (how rare!), whom Death's messenger cannot approach and who never return defeated, freed from birth-and-death. Verse 3 is a wave of balihaaree (self-offering) to the One who made the world and assigned all their tasks: serve with a full heart, gather profit, receive honor in the Court and the nine treasures — the door open to anyone who recognizes the One and keeps the Name day and night. Verse 4 closes radiantly: those who chant the Name look beautiful, gain the fruit of peace, and win the game of life; their blessings never exhaust through numberless ages; they do not wither or fall to pain.
Key Vocabulary
Jithai jaao tithai too naali (v.1) — wherever I go, You are there: the Chhant's heart-line; never alone.
Swan a swan, crane a crane (v.1) — seeing each truly: discernment that reads every heart for exactly what it is.
Ik man (v.2) — single-minded / undivided heart: the rare wholeness that ends fear.
Nine treasures (nau nidhi) (v.3) — every kind of wealth: the 'profit' of devotion, open to all with a full heart.
Jinee(n) khaa-i-aa jeetaa (v.4) — they win the game of life: life as a game won not by grabbing most but by holding the Name.
Translation Notes
v.1 — "swan a swan, a crane a crane." SSK is literal for hans hans, bag bag. The traditional swan/crane contrast (discerning swan vs. opportunistic crane) is here used for God's true seeing of each being; rendered for children as being "seen clearly, exactly as you are."
v.2 — "Messenger of Death does not approach." Not a claim of bodily immortality but freedom from the dread of death; rendered as fear that "never comes near."
v.4 — "do not age... fall into hell." SSK's narak imagery softened per voice rules to "don't wither, don't fade," keeping the promise (imperishable well-being) without a fear-image.
Themes and Cross-Connections
"Wherever I go, You are there" is the intimate, portable form of the raag's omnipresence theme (the ghat ghat of the Songs of Separation B00C931; "God is right here," B00C676). "Winning the game of life" connects to the chess/dice leela of Nanak's Patti (B00C932 v.26) — existence as a great game — reframed as winnable by love. The "nine treasures / honor in the Court" belongs to the raag's merchant-and-profit imagery (B00C927, the Merchant-of-the-Name shabads). And "they look beautiful" (sohaavay) rhymes with the radiant-faced close of the Mehl 3 Ashtapadee block (B00C926, mukh ujlay).
For Raag Aasaa
This Chhant gives a child the deepest safety the raag offers — you are never alone, and you are seen completely, exactly as you are, by One who is kind — and turns life into a game that can actually be won: not by grabbing the most, but by keeping hold of what never runs out. To hold the Name is to stay radiant, peaceful, and unfading, whatever the ages bring.
"Wherever I go, You are there" — the companioning, all-seeing One, and winning the game of life.
The Arc
The second Aasaa Chhant, each verse framed by a repeated refrain-line in the lyrical wedding-song manner. Verse 1 sounds its unforgettable opening — jithai jaao tithai too naali, wherever I go You are with me — naming the One as Giver, Architect of Destiny, Dispeller of distress, whose mercy erases millions of sins in an instant and who reads every heart, seeing each being truly ("a swan a swan, a crane a crane"). Verse 2 praises the single-minded (how rare!), whom Death's messenger cannot approach and who never return defeated, freed from birth-and-death. Verse 3 is a wave of balihaaree (self-offering) to the One who made the world and assigned all their tasks: serve with a full heart, gather profit, receive honor in the Court and the nine treasures — the door open to anyone who recognizes the One and keeps the Name day and night. Verse 4 closes radiantly: those who chant the Name look beautiful, gain the fruit of peace, and win the game of life; their blessings never exhaust through numberless ages; they do not wither or fall to pain.
Key Vocabulary
Translation Notes
Themes and Cross-Connections
"Wherever I go, You are there" is the intimate, portable form of the raag's omnipresence theme (the ghat ghat of the Songs of Separation B00C931; "God is right here," B00C676). "Winning the game of life" connects to the chess/dice leela of Nanak's Patti (B00C932 v.26) — existence as a great game — reframed as winnable by love. The "nine treasures / honor in the Court" belongs to the raag's merchant-and-profit imagery (B00C927, the Merchant-of-the-Name shabads). And "they look beautiful" (sohaavay) rhymes with the radiant-faced close of the Mehl 3 Ashtapadee block (B00C926, mukh ujlay).
For Raag Aasaa
This Chhant gives a child the deepest safety the raag offers — you are never alone, and you are seen completely, exactly as you are, by One who is kind — and turns life into a game that can actually be won: not by grabbing the most, but by keeping hold of what never runs out. To hold the Name is to stay radiant, peaceful, and unfading, whatever the ages bring.
Last updated: 2026-07-05