Ancient Hindu invocations in 14 city & state legislative bodies in 5 Western states of USA

Nij Vaishakh Shuddha Chaturthi, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

From Our Correspondent

By August two, 14 city and state legislative bodies in five US Western states would have been opened with ancient Hindu prayers during the current year, thus creating a milestone in American religious history.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed either has or will be reciting these prayers in California, Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, and Arizona, and many of these are reportedly the first Hindu prayers of these legislative bodies since their formation.

Alaska House representatives with Rajan Zed just before start of Hindu prayers

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, has delivered prayers from ancient Sanskrit scriptures at Alaska Senate and Alaska House of Representatives in Juneau on April nine; Carson City Board of Supervisors (Nevada) on February 18; Sparks City Council (Nevada) on February eight; and City Councils of Lincoln (April 27), Yuba City (May four), Bakersfield (May five), Modesto (May 11), Fresno (May 13)—all in California. Zed will be delivering these prayers in City Councils of Henderson (Nevada) on May 18, Boise (Idaho) on June eight, Boulder City (Nevada) on June 22, Phoenix (Arizona) on July seven, and Visalia (California) on August two.

After first reciting in Sanskrit, Rajan Zed then reads the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of all Indo-European languages.

Zed reads 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 starts and ends 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 says “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”, which roughly translates as “Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, Lead me from death to Immortality.” Reciting from Chapter three of Bhagavad-Gita, he urges the members to act selflessly.

Zed has already delivered Hindu prayers in United States Senate in Washington DC, Nevada Senate, Nevada Assembly, California Senate, New Mexico Senate, Arizona Senate, Arizona House of Representatives, Indianapolis Senate, Indianapolis House of Representatives, Colorado Senate, Colorado House of Representatives, Washington State Senate, Oregon Senate, Oregon House of Representatives, and Utah Senate. Most were the first Hindu prayers of these legislative bodies.

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 moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

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