Babu Tangewala
Fort Worth TX Hindu prayer containing verses from world’s oldest extant scripture. will open the meeting of Fort Worth City Council (Texas) on December 1 2020.
The invocation will be by Rajan Zed, the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, who will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world ; besides lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord). Both these are ancient Hindu scriptures. The start and end of his prayer will be with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe.
Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan 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 councilmembers and others present 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.
Fort Worth, established in 1849 and now 16th-largest city in USA, has been described as “cultural gateway into the American West”, “the most typically Texan of all Texas cities”, “blends its cattle and oil heritage seamlessly”, etc. It houses well-known Kimbell Art Museum, Water Gardens, etc. Betsy Price and David Cooke are Mayor and City Manager respectively.
