NEVADA: Gayatri Mantra, considered the most sacred mantra of Hinduism, opened the “Day of Remembrance” at University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) on April 7 in remembrance of lives lost or altered by Holocaust and genocides around the world.
Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, chanted Gayatri Mantra from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world and ended the invocation with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.
Rajan also read from Brahadaranyakopanisad, another ancient Hindu scripture, thus: “Lead us from the unreal to the Real, Lead us from darkness to Light, Lead us from death to Immortality”, after reciting the original in Sanskrit. Besides Zed, Christian, Buddhist and Jewish leaders also participated in the Candle-lighting ceremony on the occasion. Rabbi ElizaBeth W. Beyer delivered the benediction.
Dr. Robert Krell, Emeritus Psychiatry Professor of University of British Columbia, and Holocaust survivor and educator who was born in Netherlands, delivered the keynote address “Why Remember the Holocaust?”
Dr. Krell has treated Holocaust survivors and their families as well as Dutch survivors of Japanese concentration camps. He founded Vancouver Holocaust Education Center, which teaches 20,000 students annually. .
UNR Interfaith Students Club, with Daniel R. Sanchez as president, aims to “cultivate social cohesion among people of different religions”. UNR, founded in 1874 and which has over 18,000 students, is known for helping to create the world’s most accurate atomic clock and is home to one of the largest earthquake-simulation labs.
India Post News Service
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