Vedic Shanti Path in White House!
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Washington DC, May 8: On the occasion of National Day of Prayer, a Hindu Priest Pujari Harish Brahmbhatt recited Vedic Shanti Path in the Rose Garden of the White House in the presence of US President Donald Trump. It was conducted to pray for the safety and well-being of everyone amid this coronavirus pandemic.
‘We will continue to prevail. We will prevail again. We will vanquish the virus. We will defeat the enemy. We will not fail,’ Trump said during the ceremony.
Pujari Harish Brahmbhatt from the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in New Jersey, who was invited by US President Donald Trump, offered a rendition of the Shanti Path.
LIVE: POTUS delivers remarks on National Day of Prayer https://t.co/A2vKtCsqsT
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) May 7, 2020
“In these troubled times of COVID-19, social distancing, and lockdown, it is not unusual for people to feel anxious or not at peace. The Shanti prayer or peace prayer is a prayer that does not seek worldly riches, success, fame, nor is it a prayer for any desire for heaven,” Brahmbhatt said in his brief remarks from the Rose Garden podium.
Further, he explained that it is a “beautiful Hindu prayer for peace” and it is a Vedic prayer from one of the four Vedas (ancient religious text) Yajur Veda.
ॐ द्यौ: शान्तिरन्तरिक्षँ शान्ति:,
पृथ्वी शान्तिराप: शान्तिरोषधय: शान्ति: ।
वनस्पतय: शान्तिर्विश्वे देवा: शान्तिर्ब्रह्म शान्ति:,
सर्वँ शान्ति:, शान्तिरेव शान्ति:, सा मा शान्तिरेधि ॥
ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति: शान्ति: ॥
Thereafter, he also translated it into English.
According to the sources, this is probably the first time that a priest from the BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey attended and recited Sanskrit prayers at the White House. Moreover, other religious leaders from different faiths also offered prayers. US First Lady Melania Trump was also present on the occasion.
The National Day of Prayer in the United States, an annual observance, which was first conducted publicly in 1988. Every year, people gather across the US to pray together for their nation.