Article November 1, 2004 Issue

PRAYERS FOR ELECTIONS IN INDIA

By Subash Malhotra——India

A FEW MONTHS AGO, EVERYONE IN MY COUNTRY, INDIA, WAS SPECULATING about which political party or alliance would form the next government administration. Reports on the opinion polls, their accuracies, methodologies, and necessity, came out every day. Heated discussions were taking place at home, at social gatherings, adn on TV. Many people were nervous and frightened. I prayed to find my own peace about the elections. For me, the answers lay in the Bible and in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

One Scripture that I kept constantly in mind comes from the book of Revelation. It says, "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (19:6). I realized that I could rejoice in this absolute spiritual truth. Further, I saw that I could contribute to a more calming atmosphere during the election process through my daily prayer, the one given by Mary Baker Eddy in The Manual of The Mother Church: "'Thy kingdom come;' let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Work enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!" (p. 41).

I found it significant that this By-Law advocated prayer for the whole of humanity rather than for oneself only. I also did a bit of research, and found this news item on elections from the Boston Post, November 1908:

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