Rajan Zed (right) reading the invocation. From left to right are: NSDP Executive Director Travis Brock and NSDP Chair Sam Lieberman.*
Posted on 12/10/2008 9:39:57 AM PST by NYer
Starting with "Om", the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work, Zed read from * Rig-Veda*, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE. He also delivered from *Brahadaranyakopnisad, Taittiriya Upanisad, *and *Bhagavad-Gita* (Song of the Lord)-all ancient Hindu scriptures.
Rajan Zed ended the prayer with last mantra of *Rig-Veda, *"samani va akutih",* *before concluding with "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti", which he then translated as "Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all". Attendees repeated "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti" following him.
Rajan Zed (right) reading the invocation. From left to right are: NSDP Executive Director Travis Brock and NSDP Chair Sam Lieberman.* |
Wearing saffron colored attire, a ruddraksh mala (rosary), and traditional sandalpaste tilak (religious mark) on the forehead, Zed, after reciting the original lines in Sanskrit, then read the English translation of the verses. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of all Indo-European languages. Sam Lieberman, Chair of Nevada State Democratic Party, introduced Rajan Zed.
One of the paragraphs of this Hindu prayer read by Zed in Sanskrit was "Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrityor mamrtam gamaya", which was translated into English as "Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, Lead me from death to immortality."
Rajan Zed read the groundbreaking first Hindu opening prayer in United States Senate in Washington DC last year during its 218 years history. He is one of the panelists for "On Faith", a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com. He is Spiritual Advisor to the National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families, Director of Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association, President of Universal Society of Hinduism and has been bestowed with "World Interfaith Leader Award". He has been invited by President of European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering for a meeting next week to discuss Hindu issues and promote interfaith dialogue.
Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksha (salvation) is its ultimate goal. Invocation is a formal beginning prayer used in calling on God for blessing. The Democratic Party, one of the two major political parties of USA, is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the country and to whom US President-elect Barack Obama belongs.
Yes, we know that the Demoncrats are Pagans.
Folks, it’s dhimmicrats we’re talkin’ about here.
Move along, nothing to see, move along.
Oh, don’t forget that they’re gonna own your banks and car companies.
None could ever hold a real job.
I feel so warm and cuddly.
Maybe at the next meeting they will have a shaman cut open a sheep and read its entrails. OR, maybe, since they are DEMOCRATS, it would be more appropriate to kill a BULL and read the contents of its RECTUM.
Any good Christian would just stand there with their eyes open and their head looking forward. We can respect those of other faiths, but we do not bow before any other gods.
So much for the secular left. They’ve left Christianity for idolatry.
at least he believes in something and doesn’t trash other religions like in the state of Washington
well, as long as the “prayers” were like “Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti” and “Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, Lead me from death to immortality.” and not specifically praising Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Rama, Krishna, Mahesha, Durga, Bhavani, Ganesha, Varuna, Hanuman, Ayyappa, Agni, Mitra etc., so be it, we can respect other folks rights to their own religions (p.s. Islam is NOT a religion...)
Huh? Maybe you didn't read the article. It discusses Hinduism, nor Paganism. The birth of Hinduism is almost as far removed from the origins of Christianity as the birth of Christianity is from us now; it has been around a very long time. Side note: Paganism is a European concept, illustrated by its Latin moniker - paganus roughly translates as “hick”.
Any good christian would have walked out.
Like all good Liberal reporters they accept the outlandish claims of other religions at face value, and lack the sort of cultural literacy that would allow them to put them in context.
The claim for the Rig Veda: “the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE” would come as a suprise to many observant Jews and Christians who believe that the first five books of the Bible were authored by Moses. The dates of Moses’s life are well known, from Egyptian history as cica 1446 B.C — or the same era as claimed for the Rig Veda.
Putting both to shame are claims for the I Ching and related works, key scripture for Taoists, which are dated to cica 2194 BCE, during the Xia dynasty.
What dictionary? Here is the online Merriam Websters:
1: heathen 1 ; especially : a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome)
2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods : an irreligious or hedonistic person
Here is from my Webster's II:
1. One who is not a Christian, Moslem,or Jew. 2. One who has no religion. 3. A non-Christian. 4. A hedonist.
Call it what you want, but Islam does NOT worship the same God as Christians - Allah is a false god.
I know that Abraham's son by Hagar is the ancient father of the arabs, but he is NOT included in God's promise to Abraham.
I'm coming at this from a Biblical perspective, and you are coming at it from a secular world-view, so we will never agree on this issue - let's just agree to disagree.....
“I got a kick out of how many times, when reporting about the Haj this year to Mecca, the press would sat “the Holy city of Mecca”, and the “Sacred Black Stone”, etc.”
And don’t forget they always refer to Mohammed as ‘the PROPHET Mohammed.’ I never hear them say ‘Jesus, the Son of God.’
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