Hindu statesman Rajan Zed to open Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly with Hindu mantras

Hindu invocation is scheduled to be read for the first time in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in Yellowknife (Canada) on August 21, containing verses from world’s oldest extant scripture.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocation from ancient Sanskrit scriptures. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English interpretation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and the 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 “Om”, 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 “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”; which he will then interpret as “Lead us from the unreal to the real, Lead us from darkness to light, and Lead us from death to immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge members and others present to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

Zed, a global Hindu and interfaith leader, has been bestowed with the World Interfaith Leader Award. Zed is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, on the Advisory Board of The Interfaith Peace Project, etc. He has been panelist for “On Faith”, a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced by The Washington Post; and produces a weekly multi-faith panel “Faith Forum” in a Gannett publication for over 12 years.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.2 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

The history of Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories goes back to 1951, which runs on a “consensus system of government instead of one based on party politics”. It has 19 members and Frederick Blake Junior is the Speaker.