Hindu priest awaits date with US Senate

Rajan Zed is eagerly waiting for the moment on July 12 when he would create history by opening the United States Senate session with a Hindu prayer.

"I am really excited and thrilled," Zed, who lives in Reno, Nevada said.

He plans to leave to Washington, DC on Wednesday with his wife Shipa and few friends. However, his son Navgeet and daughter Palkin would not be accompanying him as they are busy with summer camps.

Zed expects several Hindus at the Senate to witness the historic event since the formation of the Upper House in 1789.

"The Senate chaplain's office is coordinating the event. They have already sent the procedure for it," he said.

As per rules, the prayer should be in English. No foreign language is allowed. That is the standard practice, he said. It means the beauty of the chanting of the Sanskrit shlokas (hymns) could be lost in translation.

He is busy consulting others to decide about the prayer late Monday. He said he will decide about it in a day. For travel and stay in Washington, DC, Zed has to bear the expenses himself. As per rules, the chaplain's office will not pay anything.

Zed says he has been getting emails from far and wide.

"The Indian community in the US is very proud of it and supportive. It seems people in India are much more excited," he noted.

However, Zed does not reveal who facilitated the event and why he was selected when there are several Hindu priests in and around Washington, DC, itself.

Hindu prayers have been recited at the opening of some state legislative assemblies, including in Maryland and New Jersey, thanks to Indian-American legislators Kumar Barve and Upendra Chivukula, the House Majority Leader and Deputy House Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates and the New Jersey House of Delegates, respectively.

Zed also delivered the first Hindu opening prayer in the Nevada state assembly this March, and in the state's Senate in May.

"But, it will be a great honor for Indians, Hindus, Nevadans, myself and my family when I deliver the opening prayer in the US Senate because I have been told that never has there been a Hindu prayer delivered in the US Senate since its formation," he said.

"I am so much looking forward to this honor for all of us as Indians and other religious minority communities because in my opinion, despite our philosophical differences, we should work for the common objectives of human improvement, love, and respect for others," Zed said.

When the Nevada assembly opened with a Hindu prayer, he started with Gayatri Mantra, the holiest of prayers from Rig Veda, the oldest religious text in the world.

He translated it as: 'We meditate on the transcendental glory of the deity supreme who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of the heaven. May He stimulate and illuminate our minds.'

Wearing saffron colored garb, a ruddraksh mala, and traditional sandal paste marks on his forehead, Zed then continued with the most quoted stanza from Bhradaranyakopanishad, Asato ma sad gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, mrtyor mamrtam gamaya.

He translated it as: 'From the unreal, lead me to the real, from the darkness, lead me to light, from death, lead me to immortality.'

The last part of the prayer was a verse from the Bhagavad Gita. The translation was given as: 'You have the right to your actions, but never to your fruits of the action. Act for action's sake. And do not be attached to inaction.'

He concluded the prayer saying Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

"Considering that only 500 Hindu families live in Northern Nevada, it was really a nice gesture and a great experience," Zed, director of public affairs of Hindu temple of Northern Nevada and public relations officer of India Association of Northern Nevada, said then.

According to the US Senate Web site, 'Throughout the years, the United States Senate has honored the historic separation on Church and State, but not the separation of God and State. During the past 207 years, all sessions of the Senate have been opened with prayer, strongly affirming the Senate's faith in God as sovereign lord of our nation,' it says.'

'Each day, when the Senate is in session, the Senate chaplain delivers the opening prayer before the Senate gets down to the business of lawmaking, which it shares with the US House of Representatives.'

'But occasionally, on the request of one community or another, particularly those from minority religions, guest chaplains are invited from across the country to deliver a prayer from their faith.'

The Senate chaplain's office states that 'the purpose of the opening prayer is to seek God on behalf of, and for the senators,' and 'the prayers should affirm our rich heritage as a nation under God.'

Zed said he was very active in interfaith dialogue in the region besides being director of public affairs and interfaith relations of the Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada.

An alumnus of Punjab University, from where he received his Bachelor of Journalism degree, Zed is also the public relations officer of the India Association of North Nevada.

He earned his Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from San Jose State University in California and the University of Nevada, Reno, respectively.

He also serves on the governing board of directors of the Northern Nevada International Center, the board of directors of the Nevada World Trade Council, and last November was elected to the Office of General Improvement District Trustee of Verdi TV District in Nevada.

Zed is also a member of the citizens advisory committee of the Regional Transportation Commission, a member of the Reno police chief's advisory board and a member of the diversity action plan committee of Washoe County School District.

He has served as a member of the editorial board of the Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett newspaper, and as a member of the University of Nevada's Planning and Budget Committee.