Hindu prayers will open the meetings of City Councils of Meridian and Star in Idaho on October 21, reportedly for the first time in history; containing verses from world’s oldest extant scripture.  

According to reports: Meridian, established in 1893; was incorporated as a village in 1903 and as a city in 1909. Star, established in 1863; was first incorporated in 1905, and then re-incorporated in 1997. 

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocations from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before Meridian and Star city councils. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English interpretation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and the root language of Indo-European languages.

Zed, who is the President of 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 prayers with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work. 

Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”; which he will then interpret as “Lead us from the unreal to the real, Lead us from darkness to light, and Lead us from death to immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge the council-members and others present to keep the welfare of others always in mind. 

Zed, a global Hindu and interfaith leader, has been bestowed with the World Interfaith Leader Award. Zed is on the Advisory Board of The Interfaith Peace Project, Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, etc. He has been a panelist for “On Faith”, a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced by The Washington Post; and leads a weekly interfaith panel “Faith Forum” in a Gannett publication for over 14 years. 

In Idaho; Rajan Zed has already read invocations in the meetings of Idaho State Senate; Bannock and Owyhee County Commissioners; and City Councils of Arimo, Boise, Burley, St. Anthony. 

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.2 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about 3.2 million Hindus in the USA. 

Robert Simison is the Mayor of Meridian, which is said to be one of the fastest-growing and most livable cities in the USA. Trevor A. Chadwick is the Mayor of Star, which blends small-town living with modern suburban growth.