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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Presidential Proclamation Sought to Recognize Festival of Lights  ‘Deepavali’</b>Hinduism Holding Roots in U.S --- Asia  Tribune
Fri, 2007-08-24

Washington, D.C. 24 August :With two million Hindus in the United States  out of which 1,250,000 from India and South Asia residing in this predominantly  Christian nation, despite no religion is recognized as a national religion, this  largely Asian religion is recognized here as one of the major religions with the  United States Congress adopting resolutions requesting the President to declare  the Holy Hindu Festival ‘Deepavali’, or festival of lights, to give due and  national recognition. 

The Senate and the House adopted resolutions recognizing the religious and  historical significance of the ‘festival’ requesting the President of the United  States to issue a proclamation recognizing ‘Deepavali’ which is also known as  ‘Deewali’.
But something significant happened in the United States on 12 July 2007: 
History was created in the United States Senate on this day, when Rajan Zed, the Hindu chaplain of the Indian Association of Northern Nevada, opened the  Senate with a Hindu prayer.

This is the first such instance since the inauguration of the most influential senate in 1789.
Despite some heckling by a few in the senate gallery, the Hindu priest  opening the blessing preached "Let us pray. We meditate on the transcendental  glory of the deity supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the  life of the sky and inside the soul of heaven. May he stimulate and illuminate  our minds.
"Lead us from the unreal to real, from darkness to light, and from death to  immortality. May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we  work together with great vigor. May our study be enlightening. May no obstacle  arise between us."
He also bemoaned the protests, saying, "I believe dialogue  is always better," and profusely thanked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,  Nevada Democrat, who had arranged for him to deliver the first Hindu prayer in  the US Senate.

"The Senator was a very courageous man for standing up and giving us this  opportunity. He was very courageous and I appreciate what he did very much,"he 
said. The Senate Majority Leader Reid said "It shows what America is all about.  Having real big arms to put around everyone and this is a religion that has been around a long time, which has brought peace and contentment to people over the  generations and we are happy to have a (Hindu) prayer."

Zed said the fact that a Hindu prayer was opening the US Senate for the first time, was a clear indication that there is an acceptance of Hinduism as part of  America today. "Slowly we are becoming mainstream. Yoga is very popular already,  and through yoga in America, Hinduism is becoming more known. I teach Hinduism  classes also in the community colleges (in Reno, Nevada) and I get a very  favorable reception."

With this significant development, the Hindu American Foundation in the  United States in a recent press release commending both houses of the Congress  in adopting resolutions which recognized the religious and historic significance of the festival of Diwali and requesting the President of the United States to  issue a proclamation recognizing this most important worldwide festival of the  Hindus said: "recognizing the religious and historical significance of the  festival of Diwali.”. The resolution affirms the importance of the festival in  the lives of millions of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs in the United States. 

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Source : http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/7112
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