DOWNEY - The Downey City Council will open its Sept. 24 meeting with Hindu prayers containing verses from the world's oldest existing scripture.Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocation from ancient Sanskrit scriptures. After the Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English translation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages. Zed, who is president of the 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 prayers with "Om," the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work. Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Zed plans to say, "Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya," which he will translate as, "Lead me from the unreal to the real, lead me from darkness to light, and lead me from death to immortality."

********** Published: Aug. 22, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 19