Stockton City Council to have its 1st Hindu opening prayer in 162 years

Stockton City Council in California (USA) will reportedly have its first Hindu invocation on July 10, which is nearly 162 years since the city was incorporated.

Stockton City Council in California (USA) will reportedly have its first Hindu invocation on July 10, which is nearly 162 years since the city was incorporated.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver invocation from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before the City Council. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will 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, will recite 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 plans to start and end the prayer with โ€œOmโ€, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.

Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say โ€œAsato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamayaโ€, which he will then translate as โ€œLead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, and Lead me from death to Immortality.โ€ Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge Councilmembers to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

Zed is one of the panelists for โ€œOn Faithโ€, an interactive conversation on religion produced by The Washington Post. He has been awarded โ€œWorld Interfaith Leader Awardโ€ and is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to New York headquartered Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, Director of Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, etc.

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

Starting as a muddy-street gold-rush camp and incorporated in 1850, Stockton is now known as “California’s Sunrise Seaport” and contains 49 historical landmarks and has received โ€œAll-America Cityโ€ award and named โ€œBest Tree Cityโ€. Area around Stockton grows asparagus, cherries, tomatoes, walnuts, almonds, grapes, etc., and produces prize-winning wines. About 40 motion pictures have been filmed in Stockton including “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (Steven Spielberg) and it is known for its annual Asparagus Festival, Haggin Museum, University of the Pacific, and USAโ€™s first Sikh Gurdwara (established 1912). Forbes magazine named Stockton as “America’s Most Miserable City” and the same magazine in 2005 linked it with the worst crime rate in USA. Ann Johnston is the Mayor and Bob Deis is the City Manager of Stockton whose about 22% population is Asian. Prominent people associated with it include singer Chris Isaak, author Maxine Hong Kingston, and baseball player Dallas Braden.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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