Rajan Zed at Nevada State Assembly just before reading the prayer.

Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures opened the Nevada State Assembly session here today.

After sprinkling Gangajal (holy water brought from river Ganga in India) around the podium, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed started and ended the prayer with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.

Zed, 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.

Legislators and others, including many teenagers who filled the visitors gallery, stood respectfully in prayer mode with heads bowed down during the prayer. Adina and Kurt Karst, who came from Minden to listen to the prayer, described it as “wonderful”. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: assembly, nevada, prayers, rajan zed