Hindus would seek erecting monuments with verses from ancient Sanskrit scripture Bhagavad-Gita ((Song of the Lord) in public buildings and on public grounds in Oklahoma, if House Bill 2177 becomes the law.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Bhagavad-Gita was a “historically significant document”, “recognized throughout the world” and was a “treasure that should be displayed in public buildings and on public grounds” in the form of monuments/tablets carrying its verses.
To start with, Hindus would seek to place the Bhagavad-Gita monuments/tablets in various Oklahoma public universities and colleges; city halls of Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman and Broken Arrow; Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City, Woodward Park in Tulsa; etc.; after the Bill becoming the law; Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated.
Various well-known Americans; including essayist-philosopher Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), theoretical physicist credited with being the “father of the atomic bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), novelist-philosopher Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), essayist-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), etc.; were reportedly influenced by Bhagavad-Gita. It had inspired, fascinated, touched and impacted millions of readers worldwide over the centuries; Rajan Zed noted.
This philosophical and intensely spiritual poem Bhagavad-Gita considers the nature of action, the religious and social duty, the human relationship to God, the means of liberation, and the nature of sacrifice, etc.; Zed adds.
Rajan Zed further said that awareness about other religions thus created by such displays of verses from Bhagavad-Gita in Oklahoma schools-colleges-universities would make students of the state well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.
Hinduism is oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
Mary Fallin is the Governor of Oklahoma, also known as Sooner State, which Lonely Planet described as “a place with deep Native American significance”. Over 25 Native American languages are reportedly spoken in Oklahoma.