Hindu mantras to open Nevada Senate and Assembly

19 February, 2013

Both Nevada Assembly and Nevada State Senate will open with Hindu prayers on April one and eight respectively in Carson City, containing verses from world's oldest existing scripture.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocations from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before the Senate and Assembly. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayers. 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, 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, Zed plans to say “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”, which he will then translate as “Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, and Lead me from death to Immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge Senators and Assembly-members to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

In the state of Nevada, Zed has already delivered Hindu prayers at City Councils of Las Vegas, Henderson, Sparks and Boulder City; in addition to Clark County Board of Commissioners and Carson City Board of Supervisors. Besides Nevada, he has also read opening prayers in United States Senate, various state senates and houses of representatives, counties and city councils all over USA.

Zed has taken up interfaith, religion, environment, Roma (Gypsies) and other causes all over the world. He was invited by President of European Parliament in Brussels (Belgium) for a meeting to promote interfaith dialogue. Many cities in USA have named October 25 as “Rajan Zed Day”. Bestowed with “World Interfaith Leader Award”; Zed is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, Director Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association, etc. He prominently appeared in a recently released documentary on religion titled “Unresolvable?”.