Coronavirus Update – March 2020

Dear Devotees,

As a precautionary measure to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and its associated COVID‐19 disease, and in alignment with the Government of Canada & Ontario directives, Sri Siva Satyanarayana Swami Temple (Sri Siva Hindu Temple of Canada) has taken various steps to ensure the safety of our priests, volunteers and devotees.

The temple will be open for limited services. The temple will maintain services to the Lord, and our Priests will continue to perform the daily pujas and worship to our deities. However, there will be no Prasadam or Teertham provided to devotees, and the temple requests you to not bring in any Neivedyam items.

In addition, we request your cooperation in maintaining social distances with our priests. We request all devotees to please maintain a strong hygienic practice, including frequent washing of hands with soap or disinfectants/sanitizers prior to entering the main temple areas. Please refrain from touching temple surfaces or the deities, and consider staying home in self‐isolation if you are presenting any of the associated symptoms or have travelled in the last 3 weeks before your visit.

Those devotees wishing to remotely sponsor any of the regular prayers or services may do so by contacting the temple office and providing information for Sankalpams to be done by the priests.

Also, as a precautionary measure, we request devotees to avoid their presence at the temple during the Krishna Paksha Sani Pradosham Event that is to take place on March 21st, 2020. While this may be of some inconvenience, we should all be cognizant of the greater good to society that comes from these measures. Towards that end, the temple would like to request all devotees to chant the slokas provided below, and to pray for Loka Rakshaka and the well‐being of all of God’s creatures.

SLOKAS TO BE CHANTED FOR WELL-BEING

Please chant these slokas 11 times daily, with purity of mind and body, and concentrate on the Divine while chanting.

rōgārtō mucyate rōgādbaddhō mucyeta bandhanāt |
bhayānmucyeta bhītastu mucyetāpanna āpadaḥ ||

ārtā viṣaṇṇāḥ śithilāśca bhītāḥ ghōrēṣu ca vyādhiṣu vartamānāḥ |
saṁkīrtya nārāyaṇaśabdamātraṁ vimuktaduḥkhāḥ sukhinō bhavantu ||

rogānaśeṣānapahaṁsi tuṣṭā ruṣṭā tu kāmān sakalānabhIṣTān |
tvāmāśritānāṁ na vipannarāṇāṁ tvāmāśritā hyāśrayatāṁ prayānti ||

Continuing to be of service to the Lord,

Adminstration,
Sri Siva Satyanarayana Swami Temple