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Hindu mantras to open Oregon House of Representatives in USA

Oregon State House of Representatives here will reverberate with Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures on February 26.

Rajan Zed, prominent Hindu chaplain and Indo-American leader, will recite this historic opening prayer. After Sanskrit delivery, Zed will then read the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of all Indo-European languages.

Zed 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.

Reading 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 State Representatives to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

In the last few months, Rajan Zed has recited the historic first Hindu prayers in United States Senate in Washington DC; State Senates of Nevada, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah; and Nevada Assembly; and is scheduled to read Hindu opening prayers in Washington and Arizona State Senates in the coming weeks.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has no datable beginning but some scholars put it around 3,000 BCE. Hinduism in North America was introduced in 1830s and there are currently about one billion Hindus in the world. Moksha (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.

Oregon State House of Representatives consists of 60 members, each representing about 57,000 citizens. Known as Beaver State, Oregon is the home of Nike and most ghost towns than any other State in USA.