Hindu prayer opened Alaska Senate for first time

NEVADA - Both Alaska State Senate and House of Representatives in Juneau started day’s work with Hindu prayers on April nine.ajan Zed, Hindu leader, read the opening prayers from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before Senators and Representatives on this day after sprinkling Gangajal (sacred water from river Ganga of India).

After Sanskrit delivery, he then read the English translation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.ed, who is president of 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.

He started and ended the prayer with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work. eciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed said “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”, which he then translated as “Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, Lead me from death to Immortality.”

Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he urged State Senators and Representatives to keep the welfare of others always in mind.ed 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. (ANI)