Religious leader wants to display Indian scriptures in Louisiana public classrooms

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A spokesperson of the Hindu community is seeking to have ancient Sanskrit scriptures displayed in public classrooms alongside the Ten Commandments.

On Wednesday, Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law that requires each public classroom, starting from kindergarten to state-funded universities, in Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments.

The President of the Universal Society of Hinduism Rajan Zed said in a statement that the Bhagavad Gita, or the Gita, was a historically significant document and he believes is a treasure that should be displayed in public school classrooms.

The Gita is recognized as a poem in India and used as spiritual guidance, according to Britannica.

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Zed states the Hindu community would cover the cost of the “11×14” posters and no funding from the state or school would be required.

The Hindu statesman noted that multiple prominent Americans were influenced by the Gita including philosopher Henry David Thoreau, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, philosopher Aldous Huxley and physicist Albert Einstein.

Zed believes that increasing the awareness of other religions would make classrooms in Louisiana “well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.”

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