Temple Reopening for Indoor Services (Walk-In Basis) on Saturdays & Sundays beginning Saturday, April 3, 2021

Namaskaram,

Just as we were preparing ourselves to reopen in-house religious services at the Temple in a phased manner, we received information that in Los Angeles County the ratio of people who are infected and who spread the infection has moved closer to one. This means that every infected person can potentially infect another person and the numbers will very quickly multiply. The initial indications are that a variant of the coronavirus not specified at this time which potentially has a very high transmission rate could temporarily cause a setback. However, this is offset by rapid increase in the number of people getting vaccinated and others who have immunity either because they tested positive in the past or may have been exposed to the virus. While we monitor this situation, we recognize that we have to proceed and reopen the temple in a timely manner.

We have therefore decided to reopen the Temple on a walk-in basis only still restricted to Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM beginning on Saturday, April 3, 2021 and continue this indefinitely and phase in an actual in-person service itself thereafter. We’ll make these decisions very cautiously and by looking at real time data and still under strict COVID-19 guidelines.

The Malibu Hindu Temple would like the devotees to appreciate that it is this deliberate process which has helped us to avoid any major coronavirus incident at the Temple. In fact, we believe that but for our cautious approach, we may not have had the success that we have had so far in ensuring no major incident happened during this entire period. We are thankful to the employees and the devotees for being very patient and extending their cooperation even in the face of our decision to cancel the New Year celebrations, arguably the most attended event of the year. We are very happy to continue the same approach and ensure a robust albeit progressive reopening.

We have engaged the community in meaningful conversations for conducting events during this period to ensure the safety of the employees, the priests, and the devotees. We believe that the worst of the virus appears to be behind us. We will ensure a safe reopening on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 10 AM with indoor services on walk-in basis only. We will continue to phase in other services progressively including abhishekams for Lord Venkateshwara at the main complex and for Lord Shiva at the Shiva complex.

In the meanwhile, the abhishekams and other protocols at the Temple will continue to be performed with great care in-house by the priests. Please check our website (www.malibuhindutemple.org) for any announcements and for the latest information.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Nadadur S. Kumar
General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer