On February 27 and 28 respectively, Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives in Springfield will start their sessions with Hindu prayers, containing verses from world’s oldest existing scripture.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocations from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before the Senate and House. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of 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; 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.
Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”; which he will then interpret as “Lead us from the unreal to the real, Lead us from darkness to light, and Lead us from death to immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge Senators and Representatives to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
Zed is a global Hindu and interfaith leader, who besides taking up the cause of religion worldwide, has also raised huge voice against the apartheid faced by about 15-million Roma (Gypsies) in Europe. Bestowed with World Interfaith Leader Award; Zed is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, on the Advisory Board of The Interfaith Peace Project, etc. He has been panelist for “On Faith”, a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced by The Washington Post; and leads a weekly interfaith panel “Faith Forum” in a Gannett publication for over six years.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
John J. Cullerton is President of 59-member Illinois Senate, while Michael J. Madigan is Speaker of 118-member Illinois House of Representatives. The name “Illinois” reportedly comes from a Native American word meaning “tribe of superior men”. Known as “Land of Lincoln”, Abraham Lincoln and three other U.S. Presidents have called Illinois home, including Ulysses S. Grant, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Popcorn is the official snack food of Illinois, while Square Dance is its official dance. Bruce Rauner is the Governor.