Siskiyou County Board in California has Hindu invocation

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors started its day in Yreka (California, USA) with Hindu prayers on July 10 for the first time since its 1852 creation, containing verses from world’s oldest existing scripture.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed delivered the opening prayer from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before the County Board of Supervisors. After Sanskrit delivery, he then read the English translation of the prayer. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.

Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, recited 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 started and ended the prayer with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.

Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed said “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”, which he then translated as “Lead me from the unreal to the Real, Lead me from darkness to Light, and Lead me from death to Immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, Zed urged Supervisors to keep the welfare of others always in mind. Supervisors, county employees and public were seen standing in prayer mode with their heads bowed down during this invocation.

Wearing saffron colored attire, a ruddraksh mala (rosary), and traditional sandalpaste tilak (religious mark) on the forehead, Zed sprinkled few drops of water from river Ganga of India, considered holy by Hindus, around the podium before the prayer. Zed presented a copy of Bhagavad-Gita to Board Chair Grace Bennett, who welcomed and thanked Zed. “It is a historic moment of pride for the community when the prayers from ancient Sanskrit scriptures are being read in this great hall of democracy of this great county of Siskiyou”, Zed stated before starting the invocation.

Zed is a global Hindu and interfaith leader, who besides taking up the cause of religion worldwide, has also raised huge voice against the apartheid faced by about 15-million Roma (Gypsies) in Europe. Bestowed with World Interfaith Leader Award; Zed is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, etc.

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

Siskiyou County, headquartered in Yreka, is one of the most ecologically diverse regions in the world with portions heavily influenced by volcanic forces. It has 18 listings on National Register of Historic Places and is home to Mount Shasta, “free land for free people” commune Black Bear Ranch and Mossbrae Falls. The origin of the word Siskiyou is not known. With only about seven people per square mile, the County has come out with an official publication titled "The Code of the West…the Realities of Rural Living". Ed Valenzuela and Tom Odom are Board Vice Chair and County Administrator respectively.

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