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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 January 29.

Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American statesman, will recite this historic opening prayer. After the 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, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, 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.

Rajan Zed has recited historic first Hindu opening prayer in United States Senate in Washington DC, besides historic first Hindu prayers in California, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada Senates; Arizona House of Representatives and Nevada Assembly. European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering recently invited him for a meeting to discuss Hindu issues and promote interfaith dialogue. He has been awarded "World Interfaith Leader Award" by National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families. He is one of the panelists for "On Faith", a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. He is also Director of Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association.

Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents, and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

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.