By Paramhansa Yogananda
Our Father, President of the United States of planets, galaxies, stellar systems, and universes, Thy democratic rule of free choice and individual evolution is bringing Thy citizen-children nearer and nearer to Thy high ideals.
Born in Thy states of democratic free will, we inherited our celestial birthright of eternal, everlasting freedom. But, alas! we squandered that inheritance, though receiving it would have meant attaining omnipresence, and imprisoned ourselves in debt-consciousness behind bars of sense-enjoyment, evil deeds, selfishness, and small-minded, narrow patriotism.
Teach us, Father, to melt the fancy-frozen boundaries of family, society, and national identity with the warmth of our love and understanding.
Bless us, O all-wise Father, that we may live in a United States of the World with Thee as our President, elected for eternity by the free choice of all good citizen-qualities of our hearts, ruling ourselves through our own self-clarifying discrimination.
Teach us to enrich our souls, our abundance, and our understanding by broadening the circle of our patriotism to include all earth’s inhabitants, of every caste, creed, position in society, and color.
O Cosmic President, bless us that we obey Thy laws of life, and respect with kindly hearts the freedom of all Thy children, fellow citizens with us: not only the good, but the error-intoxicated—even the animals, birds, and fishes, the frail flowers, the mute grasses and jungle weeds, low crushed by the tread of cruel, unheeding feet.