Nevada State Assembly opened with Hindu prayers of ancient Sanskrit mantras

Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures opened the Nevada State Assembly session here today.

After sprinkling Gangajal (holy water brought from river Ganga in India) around the podium, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed started and ended the prayer with "Om", the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.

Zed, who is the president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, recited 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.

Rajan Zed at Nevada State Assembly just before reading the prayer. Photo by Sharon Murphy

Legislators and others, including many teenagers who filled the visitors gallery, stood respectfully in prayer mode with heads bowed down during the prayer. Adina and Kurt Karst, who came from Minden to listen to the prayer, described it as "wonderful".

After Sanskrit delivery, Zed read the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages. Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Zed said, "Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya", which he then translated as "Lead us from the unreal to the Real, from darkness to Light, and from death to Immortality." Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he urged legislators to keep the welfare of others always in mind. Concluding lines were "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti", which he translated as "Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all".

Assembly Speaker Barbara E. Buckley introduced Zed, who was wearing saffron colored garb, a ruddraksh mala (rosary), and traditional sandalpaste marks on the forehead. He presented a copy of the Bhagavad-Gita to Speaker Buckley. The entire prayer will be included in the Daily Journal of the Legislature, which is a permanent public record.

Rajan Zed is one of the panelists for "On Faith", a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. He has been awarded "World Interfaith Leader Award" by National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families.

Nevada State Assembly has 42 members, with each representing the average population of 47,578 people. Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.