California State Senate to open on Aug.27 with Sanskrit mantras

California State Senate in USA will reverberate with Sanskrit mantras on August 27.

Sacramento (California), Aug.18 : California State Senate in USA will reverberate with Sanskrit mantras on August 27.

Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain, will read the opening prayer from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before California Senate in Sacramento on that day. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayer.

According to reports, no Hindu has delivered opening prayer in California State Senate since 1992-if ever, because records only go back to 1992. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of all Indo-European languages.

Zed will recite from Rig Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE, besides lines from Upanisads 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. Full text of the prayer will be recorded in the Daily Journal of the Senate, which is a permanent public record.

Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanisad, he 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."

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has no datable beginning but some scholars put it around 3,000 BCE. It has no founder, no one authoritative figure, and no single prophet or holy book.

One of its epics, Mahabharata, is the longest poem ever written, comprising over 100,000 couplets.

Hinduism in North America was introduced in 1830s with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau studying Hindu scriptures like the Upanisads and the Bhagavad-Gita.

Vivekananda made a strong impression at World's Parliament of Religion in Chicago in 1893 and then founded the Vedanta Society.

Protap Chunder Mozoomdar of Brahmo Samaj delivered his first American address on September 2, 1883 in Concord, Massachusetts.

Rajan Zed, affiliated with World Congress of Faiths-London and listed in "Who's Who in America" 2006, volunteers as a chaplain in various hospitals, serves on various Boards of Directors, and is very active in promoting inter-faith dialogue.

California State Senate has 40 Senators, with each Senator representing 846, 791 Californians. Current Senate Chaplain, Reverend Canon James D. Richardson, an Episcopal Priest, is the 47 th chaplain since 1897, when this office began. Generally he offers the opening prayer, but guest chaplains are also invited from time to time.

The prayers are offered to God on behalf of the Senate in recognition that freedom and abundance are gifts from God, according to Senate Chaplain webpage.

ANI