New Delhi, September 25, 2021: Hindus like the idea of prayer in schools as long as it includes the prayers of diverse religions and denominations practiced in South Dakota and the nation and the expression of non-believers.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem reportedly recently seemed to be pushing the idea of prayer in schools.
Talking about prayer; distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that a reverent petition for help or expression of devotion-love-praise-thanks addressed to an object of worship was important, intensely valuable, significant, and uplifting to many of us.
Sometimes described as a pilgrimage of the spirit, heartfelt communication or establishing rapport with the deity in the form of prayer could be highly meaningful to many; Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out.
Rajan Zed further said that we needed to find a common ground on this issue where various religions and denominations could find equitable representation in the school prayer and non-believers could be offered the opportunity of expression where no deity was invoked or petitioned.
Zed delivered the invocation before Rapid City Council in South Dakota from ancient Hindu texts in January last, reading in Sanskrit and then interpreting in English. It contained verses from the world’s oldest extant scripture Rig-Veda.