CHICAGO: The Illinois State Senate and House of Representatives in Springfield will commence their sessions on February 27 and 28 respectively, with prayers containing verses from world’s oldest existing scripture, Vedas. This will be the second bicentennial year for these institutions
Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, is slated to deliver the invocations from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before the Senate and House. After Sanskrit delivery, he will read the English translation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.
Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya, Mrtyormamrtamgamaya”; 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 Senators and Representatives to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
The Illinois General Assembly is the State’s lawmaking body, meeting at the State Capitol in Springfield. Its two chambers are the Illinois Senate, which has 59 members, and the Illinois House of Representatives, which has 118 members.
John J. Cullerton is President of Illinois Senate, while Michael J. Madigan is Speaker of Illinois House of Representatives. The name “Illinois comes from a Native American word meaning “tribe of superior men”. It is known as “Land of Lincoln” for Abraham Lincoln. Three other U.S. Presidents have called Illinois home, including Ulysses S. Grant, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Popcorn is the official snack food of Illinois, while Square Dance is its official dance. Bruce Rauner is the current Governor of the State.
Ramesh Soparawala
India Post News Service
