Saturday, June 11 2005 16:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New York: Sanskrit hymns reverberated across America's premier Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, when over 2000 students chanted the sacred words during their graduation ceremony.

MIT's Hindu chaplain Swami Tyagananda offered an invocation in Sanskrit and in English that reflected the large international crowd's spirit of unity and goodwill as 2,308 men and women received 1,107 undergraduate and 1,464 graduate degrees at the 139th MIT Commencement exercises, the institute said in a report on its website.

"May we come together for a common purpose. Common be our prayer, common our goal. May the one and the same Divine Reality lead us. May we be granted clear understanding and the courage to pursue the goals of social justice, non-violence, harmony and peace," he said.

Tyagananda also quoted from Swami Vivekananda's works during the June 3 ceremony.

The event was also marked by the presence of Indian students in leadership roles.

Saluting the Class of 2005, Barun Singh, president of the Graduate Student Council, said: "We celebrate the hope and promise of times to come in the world we all share."

"You have demonstrated the ability to reason. Be open to unconventional solutions. Keep alive your passion and drive. The world needs this, and it waits for you," Singh said.

Rohit Gupta, president of the senior class, presented MIT president Susan Hockfield with the senior class gift, $31,000 for a new student lounge.