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Nevada Democratic Party Meeting Opened With Ancient Hindu Mantras

Nevada State Democratic Party (NSDP) here had its first Hindu invocation today, when acclaimed Hindu statesman, Rajan Zed, recited Gayatri and other ancient Sanskrit mantras at the opening its central committee meet.

Starting with "Om", the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work, Zed read from * Rig-Veda*, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE. He also delivered from *Brahadaranyakopnisad, Taittiriya Upanisad, *and *Bhagavad-Gita* (Song of the Lord)-all ancient Hindu scriptures.

Rajan Zed ended the prayer with last mantra of *Rig-Veda, *"samani va akutih",* *before concluding with "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti", which he then translated as "Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all". Attendees repeated "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti" following him.

Rajan Zed (right) reading the invocation. From left to right are: NSDP Executive Director Travis Brock and NSDP Chair Sam Lieberman.*

Wearing saffron colored attire, a ruddraksh mala (rosary), and traditional sandalpaste tilak (religious mark) on the forehead, Zed, after reciting the original lines in Sanskrit, then read the English translation of the verses. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of all Indo-European languages. Sam Lieberman, Chair of Nevada State Democratic Party, introduced Rajan Zed.

One of the paragraphs of this Hindu prayer read by Zed in Sanskrit was "Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrityor mamrtam gamaya", which was translated into English as "Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, Lead me from death to immortality."

Rajan Zed read the groundbreaking first Hindu opening prayer in United States Senate in Washington DC last year during its 218 years history. He is one of the panelists for "On Faith", a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. He is Spiritual Advisor to the National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families, Director of Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association, President of Universal Society of Hinduism and has been bestowed with "World Interfaith Leader Award". He has been invited by President of European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering for a meeting next week to discuss Hindu issues and promote interfaith dialogue.

Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksha (salvation) is its ultimate goal. Invocation is a formal beginning prayer used in calling on God for blessing. The Democratic Party, one of the two major political parties of USA, is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the country and to whom US President-elect Barack Obama belongs.