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In Utah, City Councils of South Jordan and Draper will reverberate with Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures on July five, while Taylorsville will do the same on July six.
Reno based Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver invocation from Sanskrit scriptures before these City Councils on July 5-6. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayer. 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 translate as “Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, and Lead me from death to Immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge Councilmembers to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
Zed is one of the panelists for “On Faith”, a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced by The Washington Post. He has been awarded “World Interfaith Leader Award” and is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to New York headquartered Foundation for Interreligious Diplomacy, Director of Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, etc.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
Taylorsville, settled in 1848, is nicknamed as “Utah’s Centennial City” and Russ Wall is the Mayor. South Jordan, established in 1859, is the first city in the world with two Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) temples. W. Kent Money is the Mayor and notable persons associated with South Jordan include speed-skater Apolo Anton Ohno, archer Denise Parker, sculptor Edward J. Fraughton, etc. Settled in 1849, Draper is claimed to be one of the world’s best paragliding/hang-gliding spots and Darrell H. Smith is the Mayor. Utah houses world headquarters of LDS.
