FW: US Senate opens with Vedic prayer

[Guest guest]

Commentary: Indian inroads toward global culture

MEERUT, Jul. 12

RAVINDRA KUMAR

 

Column: Asian Equations

On Thursday, for the first time in U.S. history, the United States

Senate opened with a Hindu prayer. Rajan Zed, a U.S. citizen

originally from India and chaplain of the Indian Association of

Northern Nevada, was invited as a guest chaplain through the

introduction of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

 

Zed ended his prayer with shanti, shanti shanti -- peace, peace,

peace -- bringing the Hindu wish for peace to the heart of the U.S.

capital. After the prayer Reid stressed the importance of peace,

especially with the ongoing international war on terror. He urged

people to " think of Gandhi, a man who gave his life for peace. "

 

The historical decision to tender an official invitation to Rajan

Zed to recite a prayer from the Rig-Veda, the Upanishads and the

Srimadbhagvad-Gita was a wonderful act of acceptance and tolerance and

a step toward true and healthy globalization. This act is worth

contemplating. It invites us to hold a mirror to those in India who

have a more narrow view, who consider themselves patrons of Hindus yet

express intolerance toward others, which is against the fundamentals

of Hinduism.

 

Zed previously offered opening prayers at a March session of the

Nevada State Assembly and one in May of the Nevada State Senate.

 

He recited a Vedic hymn, the meaning of which is, " I open my

prayer with an invocation to the divine -- whatever it may be and

however we may conceive it. " He also chose a prayer from the Tattriya

Upanishad, inviting the welfare and prosperity of all.

 

The character of these hymns and prayers is universal. They are

devoted to the welfare of all, not restricted to any particular human

community or the followers of any religious community. Still, the

Vedas and Upanishads are the holy scriptures of the Hindu religious

community. Their recitation in the halls of government of the United

States is definitely a unique example of religious acceptance,

forbearance and tolerance.

 

Another recent trend has also raised the profile of Indians in the

global community. This is the adoption of thousands of Indian

children, especially by overseas Indian families living in the United

States and the developed countries of Europe.

 

According to a statement by the Indian government last month, 945

Indian children were adopted in the past three years by families

living in the United States. Over the same period, from 2004-2007, 419

children were adopted by families in Italy, 301 in Spain, 194 in

Denmark, 123 in Sweden, 86 in Switzerland, 49 in Germany, 72 in

Belgium, 68 in Australia, 63 in the United Arab Emirates and 53 in

Britain.

 

Whether or not these families were Indians living overseas, the

law that allowed them to make such adoptions is helpful in the

development of true globalization and liberalization. It is a good

step toward realizing the goal of a world family and engages the

Indian community in the process of global thinking and human unity.