Hindu Prayer Delivered in U.S. Senate

[Guest guest]

Three Removed From Senate During Hindu Prayer

By Nathan Burchfiel

CNSNews.com Staff Writer

July 12, 2007

 

Washington (CNSNews.com) -- Three Christian protestors

were removed from the U.S. Senate chamber's observation

gallery Thursday when they disrupted the morning prayer --

being delivered for the first time in history by a Hindu

chaplain.

 

The three unidentified protestors began praying loudly when

Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain from Nevada, started praying.

The demonstrators prayed for forgiveness from Jesus Christ

for " betraying " the Christian tradition.

 

Senate security officers quickly removed the demonstrators,

and Zed continued with his prayer for peace. " May our

study be enlightening, " he said, noting that " by devotion to

selfless work we gain the supreme goal of life. "

 

Zed addressed his prayer to " the supreme one " and

requested that " he stimulate and illuminate our minds. "

 

" May yours spirits be as one, " Zed said. " Peace, peace,

peace be unto all. " He added a prayer of comfort for the

family of Lady Bird Johnson, the former First Lady who

died Wednesday at 94.

 

Zed addressed a mainly empty Senate chamber. Among

other staff, only Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-

Nev.) and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) were present for the

opening invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Reid's office

sponsored Zed's request to serve as a guest chaplain. Inhofe

was there to deliver a speech moments later on the Fairness

Doctrine.

 

After the prayer, Reid took to the floor to thank Zed for

opening the Senate. He spoke of a statue of Gandhi he keeps

in his office, and encouraged his colleagues to " think of

Gandhi. "

 

As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Zed is

believed by Senate historians to be the first Hindu chaplain

to deliver the opening prayer on the Senate floor. The

Senate Chaplain, Rev. Barry Black, usually delivers the

invocation, but it is common for guest chaplains to appear.

 

While he appears to be the first Hindu to open the Senate,

Zed is not the first outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. A

Muslim prayer was delivered in 1993.

 

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/a

rchive/200707/CUL20070712b.html

or

http://tinyurl.com/yvr62n

[Guest guest]

Crikey ... that's a bit depressing, eh?

 

A nice gesture by the Senate; but a pretty pathetic response.

 

*** Three Christian protestors disrupted the morning prayer -- being

delivered for the first time in history by a Hindu chaplain. ... The

demonstrators prayed for forgiveness from Jesus Christ

for " betraying " the Christian tradition. ***

 

Typical bull-in-a-china-shop fundies, regardless of belief system.

 

*** Zed addressed a mainly empty Senate chamber. Among other staff,

only Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nev.) [who invited him]

and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) [who was waiting to give an unrelated

speech] were present for the opening invocation ***

 

At least the " christian " fundies bothered to show up, unlike 98 of

the 100 Senators. And did any representatives of the Hindu faith show

up to support the guy -- or was it fundies vs. apathy. Apathy and

dispassion among non-fundies is the single greatest ally of

fundamentalism, allowing a tiny lunatic fringe to take and occupy the

center.

 

Look at what the Muslim fundies have done to the Arab world and what

the Christian fundies have done to the U.S. -- just to name the two

most obvious examples of the civilizational rot and decline caused by

fundamentalist dominance. They are the cancer that mainstream apathy

allows to spread unchecked.

[Guest guest]

This is indeed quite depressing. I find it almost impossible to get

into the mindset of these fundamentalists. I guess they have no clue

as to how ridiculous they look! DB is very right in saying that it

is the apathy of the " non-fundies " that has allowed the " fundies " to

take centrestage.

 

, " Devi Bhakta "

<devi_bhakta wrote:

>

> Crikey ... that's a bit depressing, eh?

>

> A nice gesture by the Senate; but a pretty pathetic response.

>

> *** Three Christian protestors disrupted the morning prayer --

being

> delivered for the first time in history by a Hindu chaplain. ...

The

> demonstrators prayed for forgiveness from Jesus Christ

> for " betraying " the Christian tradition. ***

>

> Typical bull-in-a-china-shop fundies, regardless of belief system.

>

> *** Zed addressed a mainly empty Senate chamber. Among other

staff,

> only Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nev.) [who invited him]

> and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) [who was waiting to give an

unrelated

> speech] were present for the opening invocation ***

>

> At least the " christian " fundies bothered to show up, unlike 98 of

> the 100 Senators. And did any representatives of the Hindu faith

show

> up to support the guy -- or was it fundies vs. apathy. Apathy and

> dispassion among non-fundies is the single greatest ally of

> fundamentalism, allowing a tiny lunatic fringe to take and occupy

the

> center.

>

> Look at what the Muslim fundies have done to the Arab world and

what

> the Christian fundies have done to the U.S. -- just to name the

two

> most obvious examples of the civilizational rot and decline caused

by

> fundamentalist dominance. They are the cancer that mainstream

apathy

> allows to spread unchecked.

>

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

It's very upsetting, but not unexpected consider the current theo-political

climate in Washington.

 

CNN has a video of the event on their website:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/12/prayer.protest.reut/index.html#cnnSTCVide\

o

 

Jai Maa.

--

-Santo

" Aum Shanti Shanti Shantih. "

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Santo; I hadn't seen that clip.

 

Well....I guess we have the goofball protestors to thank for this

historic prayer event's making it to www.cnn.com [laugh]

 

I too wish there'd been more of a supportive audience present for Mr.

Zed, but maybe it was just a communications issue--perhaps the

Washington D.C. area papers didn't pick up the news of the upcoming

prayer, and so (Hindu) folks didn't hear about the event. Who

knows. In any case, as a friend points out, the historical

significance of the prayer event still stands.

 

, " Santo Sengupta "

<s.santo.sengupta wrote:

>

> Namaste:

> It's very upsetting, but not unexpected consider the current theo-

political

> climate in Washington.

>

> CNN has a video of the event on their website:

>

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/12/prayer.protest.reut/index.html#

cnnSTCVideo

>

> Jai Maa.

> --

> -Santo

> " Aum Shanti Shanti Shantih. "

>

[Guest guest]

Here's a link to video of the entire prayer:

mms://159.26.125.75/News/Incoming/HINDU PRAYER DC.wmv

If you have trouble with that link, it's embedded in this

news story:

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/193994.aspx

 

, " msbauju " <msbauju wrote:

>

> Thank you, Santo; I hadn't seen that clip.

>

> Well....I guess we have the goofball protestors to thank for this

> historic prayer event's making it to www.cnn.com [laugh]

>

> I too wish there'd been more of a supportive audience present for

Mr.

> Zed, but maybe it was just a communications issue--perhaps the

> Washington D.C. area papers didn't pick up the news of the upcoming

> prayer, and so (Hindu) folks didn't hear about the event. Who

> knows. In any case, as a friend points out, the historical

> significance of the prayer event still stands.

>

> , " Santo Sengupta "

> <s.santo.sengupta@> wrote:

> >

> > Namaste:

> > It's very upsetting, but not unexpected consider the current theo-

> political

> > climate in Washington.

> >

> > CNN has a video of the event on their website:

> >

>

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/12/prayer.protest.reut/index.html#

> cnnSTCVideo

> >

> > Jai Maa.

> > --

> > -Santo

> > " Aum Shanti Shanti Shantih. "

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I have one serious question to ask. Why didn't Zed chant the prayer in the

Sanskrit language? I think Muslim chaplains have said prayers in the senate in

Arabic, and Jewish chaplains have also said prayers in Hebrew. So why not

Sanskrit. iwas really dissapointed that he did not. Maybe he had guidelines to

follow, but in some ways i feel it represents the meek attitude that many Hindus

have when dealing in the Judaeo - Christian world. No muslim would have said

prayers in English.

 

JANARDANA DASA

 

msbauju <msbauju wrote:

 

Here's a link to video of the entire prayer:

mms://159.26.125.75/News/Incoming/HINDU PRAYER DC.wmv

If you have trouble with that link, it's embedded in this

news story:

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/193994.aspx

 

, " msbauju " <msbauju wrote:

>

> Thank you, Santo; I hadn't seen that clip.

>

> Well....I guess we have the goofball protestors to thank for this

> historic prayer event's making it to www.cnn.com [laugh]

>

> I too wish there'd been more of a supportive audience present for

Mr.

> Zed, but maybe it was just a communications issue--perhaps the

> Washington D.C. area papers didn't pick up the news of the upcoming

> prayer, and so (Hindu) folks didn't hear about the event. Who

> knows. In any case, as a friend points out, the historical

> significance of the prayer event still stands.

>

> , " Santo Sengupta "

> <s.santo.sengupta@> wrote:

> >

> > Namaste:

> > It's very upsetting, but not unexpected consider the current theo-

> political

> > climate in Washington.

> >

> > CNN has a video of the event on their website:

> >

>

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/12/prayer.protest.reut/index.html#

> cnnSTCVideo

> >

> > Jai Maa.

> > --

> > -Santo

> > " Aum Shanti Shanti Shantih. "

> >

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the Internet to Go: Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news,

photos & more.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I've been following the news stories on this today (obviously.)

My favorite quote so far:

 

" The Rev. Flip Benham of Operation Rescue said the three [protesters

who were arrested] did not plan to protest Zed but happened to be in

the public gallery after coming to Washington to lobby against

proposed hate crimes legislation. "

 

Well, that says a lot about those three and their motivations,

doesn't it?

 

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/07/12/3_protest_hindu_praye

r_in_us_senate/5704/

 

 

, " Santo Sengupta "

<s.santo.sengupta wrote:

>

> Namaste:

> It's very upsetting, but not unexpected consider the current theo-

political

> climate in Washington.

>

> CNN has a video of the event on their website:

>

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/12/prayer.protest.reut/index.html#

cnnSTCVideo

>

> Jai Maa.

> --

> -Santo

> " Aum Shanti Shanti Shantih. "

>

[Guest guest]

I wrote my Senator and told I was very happy this is going on now. We

are a melting pot and sould imbrace all Americans with oneness. And

about Sanskrit, I think is great but, in this public setting it is

out of respect for the USA. I believe that whatever Country your in

you sould respect the language of the people. If I was in France I

would speak French and so forth. And if you are correct about Arabic

I am very unhappy about that and may wrote another letter.

 

Blessed Be

Ell

 

 

 

, Janardana Dasa

<lightdweller wrote:

>

> I have one serious question to ask. Why didn't Zed chant the prayer

in the Sanskrit language? I think Muslim chaplains have said prayers

in the senate in Arabic, and Jewish chaplains have also said prayers

in Hebrew. So why not Sanskrit. iwas really dissapointed that he

did not. Maybe he had guidelines to follow, but in some ways i feel

it represents the meek attitude that many Hindus have when dealing in

the Judaeo - Christian world. No muslim would have said prayers in

English.

>

> JANARDANA DASA

[Guest guest]

*** Well....I guess we have the goofball protestors to thank for this

historic prayer event's making it to www.cnn.com [laugh] ***

 

Devi Maa has a wicked sense of humor, eh? ;-)

 

I love the fact that these so-called " defenders of Christianity " were

actually in town to lobby *against* hate-crime legislation ... AND

that it was their boorish behavior that actually ended up garnering

support and publicity for the event they were supposedly

protesting. ;-p

 

*** I too wish there'd been more of a supportive audience present for

Mr. Zed, but maybe it was just a communications issue -- perhaps the

Washington D.C. area papers didn't pick up the news of the upcoming

prayer, and so (Hindu) folks didn't hear about the event. ***

 

It's really too bad. The DC area has a pretty huge NRI population. It

would be great to have seen at least a few dozen supporters in the

visitor's gallery. I hope Zed distributes his remarks to the U.S. and

Canadian Indian-expatriate press and spreads the word about this

landmark event.

 

*** In any case, as a friend points out, the historical significance

of the prayer event still stands. ***

 

Yes indeed. It's a pretty cool accomplishment.

 

As for Sanskrit -- I think he was gracious to use English, but even

dual English-Sanskrit would have been awesome to see.

 

DB

[Guest guest]

You are right. They are not doing unto others as you wish to be done.

They are not " Defenders of Christianity " . They sound more

like " Goofballs " who don't pratice what they preach.

Blessed Be

Ell

, " Devi Bhakta "

<devi_bhakta wrote:

>

> *** Well....I guess we have the goofball protestors to thank for

this

> historic prayer event's making it to www.cnn.com [laugh] ***

>

> Devi Maa has a wicked sense of humor, eh? ;-)

>

> I love the fact that these so-called " defenders of Christianity "

were

> actually in town to lobby *against* hate-crime legislation ... AND

> that it was their boorish behavior that actually ended up garnering

> support and publicity for the event they were supposedly

> protesting. ;-p

>

> *** I too wish there'd been more of a supportive audience present

for

> Mr. Zed, but maybe it was just a communications issue -- perhaps

the

> Washington D.C. area papers didn't pick up the news of the upcoming

> prayer, and so (Hindu) folks didn't hear about the event. ***

>

> It's really too bad. The DC area has a pretty huge NRI population.

It

> would be great to have seen at least a few dozen supporters in the

> visitor's gallery. I hope Zed distributes his remarks to the U.S.

and

> Canadian Indian-expatriate press and spreads the word about this

> landmark event.

>

> *** In any case, as a friend points out, the historical

significance

> of the prayer event still stands. ***

>

> Yes indeed. It's a pretty cool accomplishment.

>

> As for Sanskrit -- I think he was gracious to use English, but even

> dual English-Sanskrit would have been awesome to see.

>

> DB

>

[Guest guest]

You're right about when in " Rome do like the Romans " , but Sanskrit is the

liturgical language of the Hindu religion; so that makes a difference.

Secondly, according to a Rediff article, he did indeed have guidelines to

follow, as all prayers in US Senate have to be done in English. According to

the Rediff article, he actually wanted to do the prayer in Sanskrit, bu t was

stymied by the rules. Also, he has actually done it in the Nevada legislature

in Sanskrit. That makes me feel a whole helluva lot better to know that those

were just the rules.

 

JANARDANA DASA

 

Elliot <elliot_sheffield wrote:

I wrote my Senator and told I was very happy this is going on now. We

are a melting pot and sould imbrace all Americans with oneness. And

about Sanskrit, I think is great but, in this public setting it is

out of respect for the USA. I believe that whatever Country your in

you sould respect the language of the people. If I was in France I

would speak French and so forth. And if you are correct about Arabic

I am very unhappy about that and may wrote another letter.

 

Blessed Be

Ell

 

, Janardana Dasa

<lightdweller wrote:

>

> I have one serious question to ask. Why didn't Zed chant the prayer

in the Sanskrit language? I think Muslim chaplains have said prayers

in the senate in Arabic, and Jewish chaplains have also said prayers

in Hebrew. So why not Sanskrit. iwas really dissapointed that he

did not. Maybe he had guidelines to follow, but in some ways i feel

it represents the meek attitude that many Hindus have when dealing in

the Judaeo - Christian world. No muslim would have said prayers in

English.

>

> JANARDANA DASA

 

 

 

 

 

 

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