Zed will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 B.C., and 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.
Reading from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed 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.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge state representatives to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
Zed recited the first Hindu opening prayer in the U.S. Senate and in some other state legislatures, including Nevada. European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering recently invited him for a meeting to discuss Hindu issues and promote interfaith dialog. He has been awarded the World Interfaith Leader Award by the National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families. He is one of the panelists for “On Faith,” a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. He is also director of Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association.
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