Utah’s Taylorsville City Council opened with Hindu mantras

Utah (USA): City Council of Taylorsville (USA), settled in 1848 and nicknamed as “Utah’s Centennial City”,  reverberated with Sanskrit shlokas from ancient Hindu scriptures on July six evening.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed delivered invocation from Sanskrit scriptures before Taylorsville City Council on this day. After Sanskrit delivery, he then 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, recited 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 started and ended the prayer with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work. Om was followed by Gayatri Mantra, the most sacred mantra in Hinduism.

City Council members, City employees, and public stood quietly in prayer mode with heads bowed down during the prayer. Wearing saffron colored attire, a ruddraksh mala (rosary), and traditional sandalpaste tilak (religious mark) on the forehead, Rajan Zed sprinkled few drops of sacred water from river Ganga in India around the podium before the prayers. He presented copies of Bhagavad-Gita to Mayor Russ Wall and Council Chairman Jerry W. Rechtenbach.

Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, 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, and Lead me from death to Immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he urged Councilmembers to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

“This is a day of honor for the community when wisdom from ancient Sanskrit scriptures is being read in this great hall of democracy of great city of Taylorsville”, Rajan Zed said before the invocation after Rechtenbach introduced him. Mayor Wall thanked Zed for the prayer.

Earlier in the day, Zed met Utah Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell and Utah State Treasurer Richard Ellis in their offices and discussed interfaith dialogue besides other issues. As an interfaith gesture, he also visited Oquirrh Mountain Temple of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in South Jordan (Utah) and met with Temple President Alan S. Layton and Temple Matron Leslie Layton.

Rajan 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.

Utah houses world headquarters of LDS.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

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