HINDUS HAVE welcomed the rejection of proposed ban on ancient scripture Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord) by Tomsk court in Siberia (Russia).

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement from Nevada (USA) today, thanked the honorable Court, welcoming its ruling and pointed out that it did the right and sensible thing befitting a democratic, open-minded and pluralistic society.

Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that Bhagavad Gita was one of the holiest scriptures of Hinduism and banning it would have hurt the devotees. He thanked the efforts of Hindus and other friends worldwide who supported the ban rejection.

Rajan Zed further said that Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. No faith, larger or smaller, should be maltreated.

Zed argued that attempt at banning Bhagavad Gita was apparently an attack on religious freedom and belittling of the entire community.

Rajan Zed stressed that this philosophical and intensely spiritual poem, often considered the epitome of Hinduism, was highly revered by Hindus. Besides being the cornerstone of Hindu faith, Bhagavad Gita was also one of the masterpieces of Sanskrit poetry and a world treasure and had been commented by hundreds of authors and translated into all major languages of the world.

It was a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, just before the beginning of the great Mahabharata war, in which Lord Krishna gave spiritual enlightenment to the warrior Arjuna, who realized that the true battle was for his own soul. Its 700 verses in 18 chapters considered the nature of action, the religious and social duty, the human relationship to God, the means of liberation, and the nature of sacrifice, etc., Zed added.

Established in 1604, Tomsk, one of the oldest towns in Siberia, is a major center for Russia’s IT industry and houses Siberia’s oldest university Tomsk State University.