Indian National Anthem

Today India celebrates its Republic Day. In January 26th, 1950, India formally completed its transition to become and independent republic, by adopting a democratic constitution.  India has always been deeply religious, and its National Anthem reflects this. Here is the Romanized version of the Indian National Anthem, that is sung in Bengali

Janagaṇamana-adhināẏaka jaẏa hē
Bhāratabhāgyabidhātā!
Pañjāba Sindhu Gujarāta Marāṭhā
Drābiṛa Utkala Baṅga
Bindhya Himācala Yamunā Gaṅgā
Ucchalajaladhitaraṅga
Taba śubha nāmē jāgē,
Taba śubha āśiṣa māgē,
Gāhē taba jaẏagāthā.
Janagaṇamaṅgaladāẏaka jaẏa hē
Bhāratabhāgyabidhātā!
Jaẏa hē, jaẏa hē, jaẏa hē,
jaẏa jaẏa jaẏa jaẏa hē.

The following link is a very powerful rendition, sung by many famous Indian singers.

The Indian National Anthem is actually a prayer, which can be translated in this way:

You are the ruler of the minds of all people,
Dispenser of India’s destiny.
Your name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat and Maratha,
Of the Dravida, Utkala and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean.
They pray for Your blessings and sing Your praise.
The saving of all people waits in Your hand,
You dispenser of India’s destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to You.

Jesus is the God who is described in this prayer, although the poet Nobel prize winner Rabindranath Tagore did not realize it. Below, I have broken down this translation along with corresponding verses in the Bible ascribing these attributes to Jesus.

Indian National Anthem	The Bible
You are the ruler of the minds of all people	His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation … He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth (Daniel 4:34-35) The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will (Proverbs 21:1).
You are the … Dispenser of India’s destiny	Jesus alone holds the scroll containing the destinies of the nations in the palm of His hand, and opens it. No one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it .. [but] .. the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll. .. Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Rev 5:4-9)
Your name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat and Maratha, Of the Dravida, Utkala and Bengal;	And He made … every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, … that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. (Acts 17:26-27). God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Acts 2:9-11)
[Your Name] echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and ischanted by the waves of the Indian Ocean.They … sing Your praise.	The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world (Psalm 19:1-4).
The saving of all people waits in Your hand	Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Victory, Victory, Victory to You!	Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him (Rev 1:7) Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah [Jesus], the Root of David, has conquered (Rev. 5:5).

The National Anthem reminds me of a passage in Acts 17:23. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. There is an urgency, because the Bible says:The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a Man [Jesus] whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:30). May God reveal Himself in truth and glory to all the people of this great nation.