Twentieth annual Nevada Earth Day Celebration opened with prayers from ancient Hindu Sanskrit scriptures on a biofuel-powered stage in Idlewild Park on Sunday.
Starting with Shanti Mantra in Sanskrit, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed read “Prithvi Sukta” (hymn to earth) from Atharva-Veda (composed around 1200 BCE), invoking the Goddess Earth, after sprinkling holy water of river Ganga from India around the stage.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, also prayed from another ancient scripture Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), where Lord Krishna is quoted as saying, “The brightness of the sun, which lights up the world, the brightness of the moon and of fire—these are my glory. With a drop of my energy I enter the earth and support all creatures. Through the moon, the vessel of life-giving fluid, I nourish all plants.”
We may believe in different religions, yet we share the same home—our Earth. We must learn to happily progress or miserably perish together. For man can live individually but can only survive collectively, Rajan Zed said quoting ancient Hindu scriptures.
O Goddess Earth, please forgive us as we walk on you this day, Zed added.
According to Travis Owen Souza, one of the Directors of Nevada Econet, which organized this Celebration, the Earth Day participants, many of them came as families, took a very positive message home. Nevada Econet supported informed action on the important environmental issues impacting the region and quality of life.
The live Music Festival at the Celebration showcased well-known bands of the region. The Day also included acro yoga displays, poetry recitation, and various earth focus and sustainability workshops like Green-up Your Home/Office, Starting Worm Bucket for Composting, Landscape in Dry Climate, Setting-up Solar Installation, etc. There were also Kid-Tent Activities and crafts; besides displays/exhibits by over 150 regional non-profits, state agencies, businesses, and other groups in the areas of land conservation, waste, water, renewable energy, green building, environmental education and health, environmental products and services, etc. Everyone who rode his/her bike to the Celebration received a free raffle ticket.
Nevada, strewn with limitless tracts of desert and more mountain ranges than any other state, is the largest gold producing state in the nation and second in the world behind South Africa.
* Details of the picture attached: Rajan Zed (third from right) with well-known “Mojo Green” band before formally opening Nevada Earth Day Celebration with his invocation. Picture of Hindu Lord Ganesh is in the front.
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