Maha Shivarathri Celebrations at Malibu Hindu Temple

Namaskaram,

The Malibu Hindu Temple celebrated Maha Shivarathri on Thursday, March 11, 2021. This was the first indoor service to take place at the Temple’s premises exactly one year after the World Health Organization declared the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The program took special significance in the minds and hearts of the devotees because many of them were coming back to the Temple for the first time since the last Shivarathri celebrations. The devotees had to register in advance and the Temple provided five slots with a maximum capacity of 50 members for each of the sessions.

The sessions went extraordinarily well and the Temple had a very festive look reflecting the mood of the community and the devotees cheered the celebration all the way. The program was conducted under strict COVID-19 guidelines. The program was well attended and the number of people attended were equal to or perhaps surpassing last year’s attendance for the Shivarathri. The Shiva complex priests, Sri Prasad and Sri Bharani Rajan, accompanied by Sri Krishnamacharyulu and Sri Prasanna from the Venkateshwara temple, performed the homam and abhishekams and chanted the rudram along with 10 other dedicated volunteers and the chantings reverberated in the hall of the Shiva complex.

We thank the devotees for complying with the posted guidelines including strict 6 ft. physical distancing and wearing a mask at all times. This encourages the Temple to take active steps, albeit phased, to begin the process of re-introducing comprehensive in-person services. These services will ensure the Temple continues to follow the COVID-19 guidelines as appropriate to the multi-tier colored designation followed in Los Angeles County based on the State’s guidelines.

We are cautiously optimistic and await the results of the Shivarathri celebration to ensure that there are no COVID-19 related issues at the Temple arising out of the program. We will keep you posted and begin the process of in-person services as soon as we are able to do so. We request you to continue to cooperate with us in keeping the Temple safe and we look forward to welcoming you back to in-person services.

The Temple once again would like to thank the employees, the volunteers, and the devotees.

Sincerely,

Nadadur S. Kumar
General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer