Magh Krushna Ekadashi
USA: Groundbreaking Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures reverberated in Indiana House of Representatives in Indianapolis today, reportedly for the first time since its formation in 1816.
Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed read this prayer. Senators and others stood quietly in prayer mode with heads bowed down, when Zed recited from ancient Sanskrit scriptures after sprinkling gangajal (holy water from river Ganga in India) around the podium.
"It is a day of honor for us when ancient Sanskrit scriptures are being read in this great hall of democracy of great state of Indiana ," Zed said before the Senate prayer. After Sanskrit delivery, Zed then read the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.
Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, recited 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 started and ended the prayer with " Om ", the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.
Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Zed said, "Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya", which he then translated as "Lead us from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to Light, and from death to Immortality." Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he urged Senators to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
Rebecca S. Skillman, Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, who presided over the Senate, told Zed that she was glad that he came to the Senate to pray. David C. Long and Sue Landske, President and Assistant President Pro Tempore respectively of Indiana Senate; and Jeff Papa, Chief of Staff; personally thanked Zed for the prayer.
Rajan Zed presented copies of Bhagavad-Gita to Skillman, Long and Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, whom he met in his office after the prayers. Various leaders of Hindu Temple of Central Indiana and India Association of Indiana attended the prayer as a gesture of support, including Ambat Babu, Prabhakar Kasarabada, Raju Chintala, Kumar Dave, Sanjeev Joshi, Pankaj Patel, Manoj Sutharia, and Vijay Pal Reddy.
Zed opened the Colorado House of Representatives in Denver with Hindu prayers for the first time in its history on Tuesday and shall open the Indiana House of Representatives with its first Hindu prayer tomorrow.
Rajan Zed is one of the panelists for "On Faith", a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. He has been awarded "World Interfaith Leader Award" by National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families.
Indiana State Senate is composed of 50 members. Farm-filled state Indiana , known for its sports teams and athletic events, hosts Indianapolis 500 motorsports race, the largest single-day sporting event in the world. King of Pop Michael Jackson and talk-show host David Letterman are born here.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
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