“There is only one religion, the religion of love.
There is only one language, the language of the heart.
There is only one race, the race of mankind.
There is only one God and He is present everywhere.”
-- Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba

The Hindu Temple of New Hampshire, Nashua, NH, had the honor of being invited by the New Hampshire State Legislature to give the opening prayer at the House of Representatives on Thursday, March 23rd, 2017. Sri Veeramani Ranganthan, co-founder of the Temple, chanted shanti mantras in Sanskrit from the Hindu Vedas, praying for peace and well-being for everyone. This exciting historic event was made possible through the support and efforts of the New Hampshire State Representative from Nashua, Smt. Latha Mangipudi.

HISTORY MADE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

The Hindu Temple of New Hampshire has been serving the cultural and religious needs of the Hindu community in the Greater Nashua and Greater Boston area for 9 years, and recently concluded a major phase of expansion with a memorable consecration function. Last week the Temple had the honor of being invited by the New Hampshire State Legislature to Concord, NH to deliver the prayer at the start of the session at the House of Representatives. The prayers in Sanskrit (along with an English translation) were delivered with grace by Sri Veeramani Ranganathan, co-founder of the Temple. This historic event, the first Hindu prayer in the history of the New Hampshire legislature, was made possible through the efforts of the Honorable New Hampshire State Representative from Nashua, Ms. Latha Mangipudi, who also created history at the event by being the first legislator to wear an Indian sari during a session!

THE PRAYER

Visiting Chaplain Sri Veeramani Ranganathan was introduced to the House by the Honorable Speaker of the House Mr. Shawn Jasper. The Honorable House members, Speaker and staff stood up and bowed their heads as Sri Veeramani chanted a short selection of universal prayers drawn from the millennia-old Upanishads and Vedas, which are regarded as a treasure house of Hindu wisdom, and followed each prayer with an English translation. The 2-minute prayer session commenced with salutations to the Guru, followed by mantras from the Taitriya Upanishad saluting the mother, father and guest, mantras praying for peace drawn from the Yajur Veda, and prayers for the well-being of all drawn from the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad. The prayers in Sanskrit with rough translations are provided below.

श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः
sree gurubhyo namah
Salutation to the teacher
मातृ देवो भव | पितृ देवो भव | आचार्य देवो भव | अतिथि देवो भव |
maatru devo bhava | pitru devo bhava | aacharya devo bhava | atithi devo bhava |
Respects to mother, father, teacher and guest. They are all forms of God, the supreme being.

ॐ द्यौः शान्तिरन्तरिक्षं शान्तिः
om dyau shaantih antariksham shaantih
May peace pervade the vast skies and all space
पृथिवी शान्तिरापः शान्तिरोषधयः शान्तिः |
pruthuvee shaantih aapah shaantih oshadhayah shaantih
May peace reign all over the earth, in its waters, herbs,
वनस्पतयः शान्तिर्विश्वे देवाः शान्तिर्ब्रह्म शान्तिः
vanaspatayah shaantih vishve devaah shaantih brahma shaantih
and its trees and creepers. May peace flow over the whole Universe.
सर्वं शान्तिः शान्तिरेव शान्तिः सा मा शान्तिरेधि ||
sarvam shaantih shaantireva shaantih saa maa shaantiredhi
May peace be in the Supreme Being. May there always be peace and peace alone in all.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||
om shantih
May there be peace, peace and peace in all realms.

सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः |
sarve bhavantu sukhinah
May all be happy
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ||
sarve santu niraamayaah
May all enjoy health and freedom from disease
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु |
sarve bhadraani pashyantu
May all enjoy prosperity
मा कश्चिद् दुःखभाग् भवेत् ||
maa kashchid duhkabhaag bhavet
May none suffer
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||
om shantih
May there be peace, peace and peace in all realms.

लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ||
lokah samastaa sukhino bhavantu
May all beings be happy.

तथास्तु ||
tataastu
Amen.

The prayers recited at the event and their English translation may be found on various sites (including 1 and 2) on the Internet. The prayers were followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of the National Anthem.

The spirit of this event brought the Hindu dictum in Sanskrit - “वसुधैव कुटुंबकम्” (“vasudhaiva kutumbakam”), which means the whole world is one family, the Latin motto in the Great Seal of the United States, “E Pluribus Unum” (“out of many we are one”), and the United States national motto “In God We Trust”, to mind.

LEGISLATIVE PRAYERS

Here are some interesting facts about legislative prayer practices in the United States:

• The custom of opening legislative sessions with prayer was borrowed from the British Parliament, where the practice of beginning each day with the reading of prayers had already existed for a long time. This custom has been practiced in the United States Congress starting from the first Congress in 1789. Most state legislatures have also adopted this tradition, and many have been practicing this for over a century.

• State legislatures differ in whom they may call to deliver the prayer. The chaplain could be a designated legislative chaplain, a visiting chaplain, a legislator, chamber clerk or secretary, or even a guest in some state Houses. Many chambers rotate the visiting chaplains among religions, while others do not. Some chambers award a visiting chaplain a commemoration such as a certificate for giving an opening prayer.

• Many legislative assemblies have established guidelines for delivery of the prayer, while others have no set guidelines. However, as per the National Conference of Community and Justice, “accepting an invitation to lead the general community in prayer includes a genuine responsibility to be sensitive to the diversity of faiths among those on whose names the prayer is being offered”.

• The constitutionality of legislative prayer was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 1983, when it ruled that Congress and state legislatures do not violate the US constitution’s separation of church and state even when clergy are paid to lead daily devotionals. Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote in his opinion that the use of legislative prayer is not “an establishment of religion or a step towards establishment; it is simply a tolerable acknowledgement of beliefs.”

• Here are some videos of Hindu prayers delivered in other legislative chambers in the US: Iowa Senate, Connecticut Senate, US House of Representatives.

THE TEMPLE

The Hindu Temple of New Hampshire has been serving the cultural and religious needs of the Hindu community in the Greater Nashua and Greater Boston area for 9 years. The Temple has been visited, graced and blessed by many well-known spiritual leaders and scholars. In addition to religious and spiritual activities, the Temple along with its cultural school Bharathi Vidyashram, has also been involved in various cultural and community service activities. The Temple which is located off Exit 6 on Route 3 is easily accessible from most locations in the Greater Boston area.  The Temple invites devotees to visit the Temple, have darshan, receive blessings, and participate, sponsor, and volunteer in various Temple activities.

Links:

• Temple web site: http://www.hindutemplenh.org

• New Hampshire Legislature Video Recording: starts at 10:02:33-10:04:46

• Article in the Concord Monitor covering this event. Acknowledgement - some of the hyperlinks in this article point to pictures that appeared in the Concord Monitor.

• Pictures and videos from the event

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