UPDATE: From Reuters - Hindu Prayer in Senate Draws Religious Protestors Post your comments below...
An informal report from a friend who works on Capitol Hill about a true South Asian-American first (this is anonymous because he isn't authorized to issue statements to the press):
The Guest Chaplain today in the Senate was Rajan Zed, a Hindu professor from Nevada. My understanding is that this was the first Hindu prayer delivered on the Senate floor. Interestingly, before he could get going with his invocation there were protesters in the gallery proclaiming the US as a country under Jesus Christ, etc. And they kept at trying to interrupt him.
At any rate, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) had to have them removed and the priest was able to continue. Small illustration of how Hindu's are still misunderstood and must continue to reach out and educate. Check out this link for a little background on his trip today to Washington and background on who he is.FYI - After the prayer was delivered, Senator Harry Reid praised Zed on the floor.
See a press release from Zed himself below in advance of the event, along with an "Action Alert" e-mail SAJA received from the American Family Asscociation, criticizing the fact that "a non-monotheistic god" was invoked. Here's an excerpt:
WallBuilders president David Barton is questioning why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto "One Nation Under God.
Rest of it is below. Got a comment? Post it below, too, please.
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> Press release <
From: Rajan Zed, rajanzed[at]hotmail.com
Hindu prayer to open United States Senate
Reno (Nevada, USA), June 25, 2007: History will be created when Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain, will read Hindu prayer at the opening of United States (US) Senate in Washington DC on July 12 next.
According to reports, this will be the first time any Hindu prayer will be delivered in the US Senate since its formation in 1789.
Zed is still to finalize the exact prayer he will deliver, but he is thinking something from Rig Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE; 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. Full text of the prayer will be included in the Congressional Record.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has no datable beginning but some scholars put it around 3,000 BCE. It has no founder, no one authoritative figure, no one deity worshipped by all, and no single prophet or holy book. One of its scriptures, Mahabharata, which dates around third century BCE, is the longest poem ever written, comprising over 100,000 couplets.
“July 12, 2007, will be an illustrious day for all Americans and memorable day for us when opening prayers from ancient Hindu scriptures will be read in the great hall of democracy,” Zed states.
Rajan Zed, besides being Director of Public Affairs and Interfaith Relations of Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada, is also Public Relations Officer of India Association of Northern Nevada, affiliated with World Congress of Faiths-London, listed in “Who’s Who in America” 2006, volunteers as a chaplain in various hospitals of northwestern Nevada and nearby California, and is active in interfaith dialogue in the region. He lives in Reno with wife Shipa Zed, a community volunteer; son Navgeet Zed, a youth activist; and daughter Palkin Zed, an accomplished author of two published books.
According to US Senate website, “…Throughout the years, the United States Senate has honored the historic separation of Church and State, but not the separation of God and State…During the past two hundred and seven 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...” Usually the Senate Chaplain delivers the opening prayer, but sometimes guest chaplains are invited from all over the country to read the prayer. According to a Senate Chaplain Office communiqué, the purpose of the opening prayer is to seek God on behalf of, and for the Senators and the prayer should affirm our rich heritage as a Nation “under God”.
US Senate shares with the US House of Representatives responsibility for all lawmaking but is given important powers under the “advice and consent” provisions of the Constitution besides adjudicating impeachment proceedings.
> An Action Alert from the American Family Association <
July 10, 2007
Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends.
Hindu to open Senate with prayer
Send an email to your senator now, expressing your disappointment in the Senate decision to invite a Hindu to open the session with prayer.
Dear madcap,
Please read this news report from OneNewsNow.com.
On Thursday, a Hindu chaplain from Reno, Nevada, by the name of Rajan Zed is scheduled to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate. Zed tells the Las Vegas Sun that in his prayer he will likely include references to ancient Hindu scriptures, including Rig Veda, Upanishards, and Bhagavard-Gita. Historians believe it will be the first Hindu prayer ever read at the Senate since it was formed in 1789.
WallBuilders president David Barton is questioning why the U.S. government is seeking the invocation of a non-monotheistic god. Barton points out that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto "One Nation Under God."
"In Hindu, you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods," the Christian historian explains. "And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator -- that's not one that fits here because we don't know which creator we're talking about within the Hindu religion."
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Barton says given the fact that Hindus are a tiny constituency of the American public, he questions the motivation of Senate leaders. "This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world," he observes. "You look at India, you look at Nepal -- there's persecution going in both of those countries that is gendered by the religious belief that is present there, and Hindu dominates in both of those countries."
And while Barton acknowledges there is not constitutional problem with a Hindu prayer in the Senate, he wonders about the political side of it. "One definitely wonders about the pragmatic side of it," he says. "What is the message, and why is the message needed? And will it actually communicate anything other than engender with folks like me a lot of questions?"
Barton says he knows of at least seven cases where Christians have lost their bid to express their own faith in a public prayer.
Zed is reportedly the first Hindu to deliver opening prayers in an American state legislature, having done so in both the Nevada State Assembly and Nevada State Senate earlier this year. He has stated that Thursday's prayer will be "universal in approach," despite being drawn from Hindu religious texts.
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