Falgun Shuddha Pratipada
Nevada (USA): City Council of Sparks, one of the fastest growing city of Nevada (USA), will reverberate with Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures for the first time on April 13.
Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman, will deliver invocation from Sanskrit scriptures before Sparks City Council on this day. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayer.
According to Linda K. Patterson, Sparks City Clerk, no Hindu has reportedly delivered invocation before Sparks City Council since its formation in 1905. 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, 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.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge Councilors to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
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.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
Known as “City of Promise”, Sparks is a tailor-made town, custom ordered by the Southern Pacific Railway Company. Its prestigious project “The Legends”, honoring Nevada legends, is expected to complete next year. Geno Martini is the mayor.
