Sanskrit mantras to open Modesto City Council in California

Adhik Vaishakh Krushna Ekadashi, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

From Our Correspondent

City Council of Modesto, surrounded by some of the richest farmland in USA, will reverberate with Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures on May eleven.

Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman, will deliver invocation from Sanskrit scriptures before Modesto City Council on this day. 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, 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, Lead us from darkness to Light, and Lead us from death to Immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge Councilors to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

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 moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. Modesto, whose motto is “Water Wealth Contentment Health”, is the hometown of Oscar nominated George Lucas (Star Wars) and nine-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Mark Spitz besides being home of E. & J. Gallo Winery, the world’s largest producer and exporter of California wines. Jim Ridenour is the Mayor.

Also See

	Dharma Jagruti Sabhas Dhama Jagruti Sabhas is creating mass awareness among Hindus about various problems affecting Hindu Dharma. Read more
	Save temples from Anti-Hindus Temples are the centres of Hindu Dharma. Anti Hindu forces like Muslims, Congress, Christians has constantly targetted them. HJS is fighting against these forces.  Read more