By IANS
Los Angeles : After opening the US Senate with the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra, Hindu priest Rajan Zed will open the California State Senate’s session in a similar way Aug 27.
Zed will read out from the Rig Veda, dating back to 1,500 BC, besides reciting lines from Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, 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 begin and conclude religious work.
The full text of the prayer will be recorded in the Daily Journal of the Senate, which is a permanent public record.
Zed, the director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, New Jersey, made history in July when he opened the country’s senate with the chanting of ancient Hindu scriptures in a ceremony disrupted by a few Christian protestors from the visitor’s gallery.
According to reports, no Hindu has delivered an opening prayer in the California State Senate since 1992, the year till when the records go back to.
Zed is also the public relations officer of the India Association of Northern Nevada, affiliated to the World Congress of Faiths, London. He lives in Reno with wife Shilpa, a community volunteer, son Navgeet and daughter Palkin.