Chaitra Krushnapaksha 1, Kaliyug Varsha 5117
Martinsburg City Council in West Virginia (USA), incorporated in 1868, will have its first historic Hindu opening prayer on April nine, containing verses from world’s oldest existing scripture.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocation from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before the City Council. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.
Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, besides lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. He plans to start and end the prayer with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.
Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”, which he will then interpret as “Lead us from the unreal to the Real, Lead us from darkness to Light, and Lead us from death to immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge councilmembers to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
Bestowed with World Interfaith Leader Award, Zed is a global Hindu and interfaith leader, who besides taking up the cause of religion worldwide, has also raised huge voice against the apartheid faced by about 15-million Roma (Gypsies) in Europe.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
Martinsburg, stated to be the fastest growing city in West Virginia, founded in 1778, is the largest city in its Eastern Panhandle region. Prominent people associated with it include baseball player Hack Wilson, impressionist painter Mary Elizabeth Price, Olympic gold medalist Vicky Bullett, Lutheran theologian Charles Porterfield Krauth and author Walter Dean Myers. George Karos is the Mayor.
Reference : From Source
