அமெரிக்க யுடா மாநிலம் இந்து பிரார்த்தனையுடன் செனட்டை ஆரம்பித்து வைத்ததற்கு ராஜனுக்கு நன்றி தெரிவித்தது

அமெரிக்க யுடா மாநிலம் இந்து பிரார்த்தனையுடன் யுடா செனட்டை ஆரம்பித்து வைத்ததற்கு ராஜனுக்கு நன்றி தெரிவித்தது

Utah Senate thanks Hindu chaplain for historic prayer
Newswire Services
February 22, 2008

Utah State Senate has expressed gratitude to prominent Hindu chaplain and Indo-American leader Rajan Zed for historical first Hindu opening prayer of February 13.

In a letter received here today, John L. Valentine, President of Utah State Senate, wrote, "On behalf of the Utah State Senate, I want to express our gratitude to you for offering the invocation to open our session this morning…thank you for accepting this invitation and for taking time from your busy schedule to perform this service."

Valentine further wrote, "Opening our daily sessions with prayer promotes a spirit of respect, a unity of purpose, and a reverence for our duties as representatives of the people of this great state. It is an honor to be able to call upon respected members of the clergy and community such as yourself to render this valuable service."


Utah created a religious milestone on February 13 when its State Senate opened with a Hindu prayer containing Sanskrit mantras for the first time. Zed recited from Rig-Veda, Upanishads, and Bhagavad-Gita, ancient Hindu scriptures, on the occasion, urging the Senators to act selflessly, and it was resolved to include the prayer in Senate Journal.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has no datable beginning but some scholars put it around 3,000 BCE. Hinduism in North America was introduced in 1830s and currently about 900 Hindu families live in Utah.

Utah State Senate is composed of 29 members, with each constituency representing a population of about 77,000. Utah is the world headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.