Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Mary Millben / Courtesy Photo

My beloved India, Namaste. Today marks a historic day for India and the world. The reelection of my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the dawn of a New India. 

Last week, as one of the first from America, I congratulated Prime Minister Modi as he secured his historic third term.  Prime Minister Modi is the chosen leader for India, chosen by God and again by you, the people of Bharat.  Prime Minister Modi has proven his critics in the West wrong who questioned his longevity, and confirmed across the world what we have all known to be true – the Prime Minister is the best leader for India, the U.S.-India relationship, and for the stability of the world.  

As the Prime Minister enters his third term, I believe his greatest responsibility, as is that for all of us, is to be God’s ambassador.  For in service to God, the Prime Minister will not fail you, the precious 1.4 billion lives he has been chosen to serve.

In the Holy Bible, the scriptures admonish in Matthew 22:14 that, “many are called but few are chosen.” Meaning, that God calls everyone and gives us the power to respond to His calling – but to be chosen, we must respond to the call, using the power God has given us for that purpose we have been chosen for. 

How do I know this parable to be true?  Because like Prime Minister Modi, I accepted my call and became one of God’s chosen – chosen to be a voice of healing, harmony, and goodwill to the world.  To four consecutive U.S. Presidents, to you my beloved India, and to millions of people across the world, I understand my responsibility is to be an ambassador of God and an ambassador of peace, ‘for such a time as this.’

With every election comes much division. India saw its high moments of discourse and America is experiencing such division now. But, the symbolic moment of an ‘oath, swearing-in ceremony’ or a ‘presidential inauguration’ provides a healthy, moral, and spiritual reset for the betterment of the country.  

Today, that reset has arrived for you India – that moment for Prime Minister Modi to ‘respond to the call’, and tomorrow, a New India starts.  The Prime Minister has been given the divine task to unify India "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat" (One India, Best India) working to create a New India – where everyone, all people, all religions, conservatives and liberals, the poor and the wealthy, are united, given an equal playing field in education and employment opportunities, and where prosperity and freedom is available to all. 

As the Prime Minister continues to govern the most populist country and 5th largest economy in the world, I believe the Prime Minister’s strong moral compass will always lead him to do what is right and best for India first, and then guide him as the voice of peace and goodwill amongst differing nations globally.  Trust your leader, India. Give the Prime Minister time. He’s the right choice.  He’s God’s choice.

I encourage you my brothers and sisters to do the same. Be God’s ambassador.  In your homes, in your jobs, in your communities. Today, you have the choice, and the opportunity, to accept your call as an ambassador of peace.  As the Prime Minister steps into his 3rd term, you have the choice to stay in the old India or take the oath with the Prime Minister today and help him usher in a unified India.  

Now with Prime Minister Modi officially reelected, it doesn’t matter if you voted BJP, INC, or for any other political party.  What matters most is your citizenry and your pride as an Indian.  You are Indian first and will be Indian in the end. And above all, we are all children of God.

May the words of the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (Prayer for Peace) be your posture in this New India: 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Godspeed, Prime Minister Modi.  Jai Hind, India.  

 

 

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad)