India Post News Service
HARARE: Two Hindu temples in Harare (Zimbabwe), run by The Hindoo Society Harare (HSH), which had been closed for months due to COVID-19, are opening again with various protocols.
Temperature of each person entering the premises of the Hindoo Society will be taken and hands will be sanitized at the entrance. Individuals with a temperature not in the permissible range (36.1 °C to 37.2 °C) will be denied entry, according to HSH Executive Committee states.
Wearing of masks is compulsory and members will be required to give their names and contact numbers at the entrance and informed to observe social distancing (minimum two meters) within the temple and abide by the tape demarcations. Any person refusing to follow the procedures will be required to leave the premises.
Ridgeview Shree Omkar Mandir will be open daily from 06:00 am 07:30 pm, while Cameron Street Shree Omkar Mandir will be open daily from 7:30 am to noon. Cameron Street Shree Omkar Mandir celebrated 90th anniversary in February 2019, while 25th anniversary of Ridgeview Shree Omkar Mandir was observed in 2017. HSH “intends to publish a written record” of the hundred years of “community’s existence in Zimbabwe”.
In the pre-COVID-19 times, HSH had been conducting various bhajan events, twice-weekly yoga classes, Hindi lessons, cultural/social activities; organized daily aarti at both the temples with Havan on Sundays; and offered funeral assistance for bereaved families; etc., besides running Mahila Mandal, Shishu Mandal and Yuvak Mandal. HSH has also been running various schools—Westridge High School, Westridge Primary School, Gujarati School.
Commending HSH for attempting necessary precautions and actions to combat deadly coronavirus and educating the community, RajanZed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, Hindus prayers might include making offerings, chanting mantras, reading sacred texts, performing aarti and bhajans, doing puja, etc. Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.
