Ancient Hindu Prayer to open Oregon Representatives House

Paush Shuddha Panchami

USA: Oregon State House of Representatives in Salem will open with Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures on January 29, some as old as 1,500 BCE.

Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American leader, Rajan Zed, will recite this historic opening prayer. After Sanskrit delivery, Zed will then read the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of all Indo-European languages.

Rajan Zed will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE, 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 roughly translates as “Lead us from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to Light, and from death to Immortality.” Reading from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge State Representatives to “strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world”.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents. Moksha (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.

Oregon State House of Representatives consists of 60 members, each representing about 57,000 citizens.

Source: Official Wire