Pledge of Allegiance

The morning assembly is an integral part of the school routine in India. To those of us who grew up there the sound of hundreds of voices chanting prayers, singing the national anthem and saying the pledge will forever be etched in our memory (who can forget the second line from the pledge “All Indians are my brothers and sisters” that would cause an aftermath of giggles as some giddy headed kids would add “except one” to this line).
The earnest intention of this routine was that sincere repetition of the pledge and the national anthem would help groom responsible citizens in the future. Here, in the US, the kids are taught the Pledge of Allegiance with the same intention.

Well, how about as adults we say a Universal Pledge that will help us to be better citizens of the world, better children to Mother Earth and most importantly better guardians of ourselves. A pledge that will reinforce the Truth that each one of us is part of the divine, is solely responsible for our own well being and that loving ourselves and others unconditionally will transform this world into a much better place.

I pledge allegiance to myself
To the magnificence in me
And to the Divine nature for which I stand.
I love myself and accept myself wholly with my imperfections
I will always strive to compete with myself and no other.
I will honor my self worth and respect my inner voice.
I will extend this respect to all humanity and to the
One love, under God, indivisible by judgement and hatred
To this spirit of oneness and brotherhood I pledge my devotion
In complete surrender to gratitude and to the flow of life alone lies my happiness.