Amid chants of Sanskrit prayers on a bright and sunny morning, some 2,300 students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) received their graduate and undergraduate degrees in Cambridge.

Swami Tyagananda, the institution's Hindu chaplain, offered an invocation in the language of the gods to reflect the large international crowd's spirit of unity and goodwill at one of the best-known educational campuses in the US.

"May we come together for a common purpose - common be our prayer, common our goal," Tyagananda, who also quoted from Swami Vivekananda's works, told the institution's 139th commencement exercise.

"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.

"Peace. Peace. Peace be unto all."

Barun Singh, president of the Graduate Student Council, saluted the Class of 2005, echoing the themes introduced earlier by key speakers, Irwin Jacobs, the co-founder of Qualcomm, and Susan Hockfield, MIT president.

"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," Barun Singh said.

"The world needs this, and it waits for you."

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

MIT has 2,724 international students - 348 undergraduates and 2,376 graduates - registered for the current academic year, with a bulk of them from India and China.

Among the international students, 45 percent of the students and 41 percent of the scholars are from Asia.

The institution has a vibrant Vedanta Society, which even holds a 'satsang' of prayers and discourses every Tuesday.

The hour-long programme also comprises guided meditation, study and discussion. Even though the programme is primarily designed for the MIT community, students from other campuses also attend the programme.