Hindus would now seek the establishment of monuments with verses from ancient Sanskrit scripture Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord) in public buildings and on public grounds in Oklahoma, if House Bill 2177 becomes the law.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed had said that Bhagavad Gita was a “historically significant document”, “recognized throughout the world” and was a “treasure that should be displayed in public buildings and on public grounds” in the form of monuments/tablets carrying its verses.
To start with, Hindus would seek to place the Bhagavad Gita monuments/tablets in various Oklahoma public universities and colleges; city halls of Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman and Broken Arrow; Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City, Woodward Park in Tulsa; etc.; after the Bill becoming the law; Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated.
The Bill in question says that “every county, municipality, city, town, school or any other political subdivision is authorized to display, in its public buildings and on its grounds, replicas of historical documents including, but not limited to, the Ten Commandments, Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Oklahoma Constitution and other historically significant documents in the form of statues, monuments, memorials, tablets or any other display that respects the dignity and solemnity of such documents. ” This provision will help in getting Bhagavad Gita monuments installed at several places, opine experts.
This act shall become effective November 1, 2017.
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Various well-known Americans; including essayist-philosopher Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), theoretical physicist credited with being the “father of the atomic bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), novelist-philosopher Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), essayist-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), etc.; were reportedly influenced by Bhagavad Gita. It had inspired, fascinated, touched and impacted millions of readers worldwide over the centuries; Rajan Zed noted.
Rajan Zed further said that awareness about other religions thus created by such displays of verses from Bhagavad-Gita in Oklahoma schools-colleges-universities would make students of the state well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.
Hinduism is oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents. There are about three million Hindus in USA.