Hindus to seek Bhagavad-Gita monuments if Oklahoma House Bill 2177 becomes law

Hindus would seek erecting 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.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement today, 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.

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.

This philosophical and intensely spiritual poem Bhagavad-Gita considers the nature of action, the religious and social duty, the human relationship to God, the means of liberation and the nature of sacrifice, etc.; Zed adds.

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 and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.

The Oklahoma Constitution prohibits the government from using public money or property for the direct or indirect benefit of any religion or religious institution. The Oklahoma Supreme Court interpreted that prohibition as requiring the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from the grounds of the state capitol.

State Question 790, voted on in the 2016 general election, would have removed that prohibition. The question failed by over 200,000 votes. It is likely that the First Amendment of the US Constitution also prohibits governments from establishing a religion.

HB 2177 is an attempt to get around the prohibition by classing the Ten Commandments as a historical document. You can read HB 2177 here.

Copyright 2017 The Gayly – April 6, 2017 @ 11 a.m.