COVID-19 NOTICE

As of September 13, 2021:

The wearing of face masks and social distancing between non-family members is required on temple property at all times, including for children ages 5 and older. If you are feeling sick, stay home. No loitering. When available, prasad will be distributed in pre-packed to-go containers and we request you take it home with you, so that masks can stay on at all times.

Outside of special festival days, we are open only during scheduled arati times, daily from 4:30-5:00 am, 7:15-8:45 am, 12:00-12:30 pm, 4:15-4:45 pm, 6:30-7:00 pm, and on Sundays, 4:15-6:30 pm. Maximum occupancy of 30 spaces marked on the temple room floor for people to stand or sit, socially distanced, first-come, first-served. (Two family members may share one X-marked spot.) Walk-through darshan at busy times including 7:15-7:45 am daily, and 4:15-6:30 pm Sundays. The temple closes by 7:00 pm each day. Watch our live broadcast on our Facebook page or YouTube channel. Additional details in the “Safety Protocols for Summer Festivals” section.

If you are coming from out of state, within the US, and are…

vaccinated, you may come to the temple without quarantining and should self monitor for COVID symptoms; isolate and get tested if you develop symptoms.
not vaccinated, get tested for the virus within 3-5 days after arriving in Florida, and self-quarantine for a full 7 days even if the test result is negative, before coming to the temple.

If you are returning from international travel and are…

vaccinated, get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after travel. Self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms. After you test negative, you may come to the temple.
not fully, or not vaccinated, get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after travel AND stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days even if the test result is negative, before coming to the temple.

If you test positive in any of the above circumstances, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected, and follow the CDC guidelines on how long to isolate or quarantine, depending on the severity of your infection.

If you don’t get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel. Self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms; isolate and get tested if you develop symptoms.

Here are the comprehensive CDC guidelines on what to do if you’re returning from out-of-state domestic travel, or from international travel.

Where to get tested: Florida Department of Health in Alachua County. Also, CVS Pharmacy in Alachua offers drive-through testing by appointment, either rapid or lab tests.

Where to get vaccinated? CVS, Walgreens and Publix continue to administer COVID vaccines to anyone age 16 or older; the Pfizer vaccine is available for anyone age 12 or older.

CVS: https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine

Walgreens: (click here)

Publix: https://www.publix.com/covid-vaccine/florida

More details on all of the above can be found in the current temple newsletter here: https://www.alachuatemple.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

Safety Protocols for Summer Festivals

Face masks must be worn on temple property, including by children ages five and older.
We will have prasad pre-packed in to-go boxes and request you take it home with you, so that masks can stay on at all times.
If you’re not feeling well, please stay home.
On festival days, we encourage everyone to take part in the morning program virtually, as much as possible. We will be live streaming on youtube.com/alachuatemple and on our ISKCON Alachua Facebook page all day.
During busy times, there will be attendants at the temple doors, and occupancy will be limited to 10 minutes per person, socially distanced, standing or sitting on the designated X marks on the temple room floor. You may occupy an X mark along with one additional family member. When there are no X marks available, please line up outside on the veranda, along the yellow lines. Every ten minutes, a temple staff member will sound a gong, signaling to those on the X marks to please exit the temple room so others waiting in line can move in. You may join the end of the line if you wish to come in again.
Line up on the yellow marks on the men’s side of the veranda for walk-through darshan. When it’s your turn, you may spend up to one minute in front of each altar, before exiting the temple room on the ladies’ side.
If you would like to chant japa in the temple room during non-crowded times, please choose a socially distanced spot and keep your mask on the whole time.
Do not crowd the veranda by congregating there or by circumambulating the temple in groups; we have a lot of space on the property where you can walk in groups away from the building.
Please listen to the class from the air conditioned comfort of your own home.
Until the virus spread lessens in our county, the temple room will close after Gaura Arati at 7:00 p.m. each evening, including on Sundays.

ISKCON Zurich to Participate in Krishna Conscious Gap Year Experience

A new ISKCON Youth Ministry initiative, loosely based on the Mormon Mission trips and dubbed “The Krishna Conscious Gap Year Experience,” was endorsed by the GBC Executive Committee in a March 2021 letter to ISKCON leaders. Now, various international temples are piloting the program. “The idea is to create incentives for our young people to […]
ISKCON Represents Hinduism at Global Interfaith Event

A Global interfaith convention was held in the City Montessori School in Lucknow, India, on August 5th, 2021. Frontmen and thinkers of various religions across the globe were part of it. Click to read full article on ISKCON News.
PM Modi’s Speech in English
Hare Krishna in a Chinese Classroom, by Oxford Don

HONG KONG: By day, Kenneth Valpey dons his academic robes to elevate his students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong to a higher orbit of understanding about Indian religions and cultures. But come evening, he assumes another avatar. He slips into something a little more comfortable — like a pristine white dhoti-kurta and a […]

Temple Schedule

As per August 24, 2021, this is our modified schedule during the pandemic. All visitors must wear face masks and observe social distancing of a minimum of 6 feet between non-family members. We have a maximum occupancy in the temple room of 30-40 persons on designated X-marked spots, first come, first served. Two family members may share one X-marked spot. If all spots are taken, please wait outside until a spot opens up. We are only open during actual arati times, please plan your visit accordingly. Prasad, when available, (such as during the Sunday Feast) will be served in pre-packaged to-go boxes for you to take home with you. No eating on temple property, so that masks can remain on at all times.
- 4:30am – Mangala Arati
- 5:10am – Tulasi Puja, altar closed
- 5:20am – Japa outside, altar closed
- 7:20am – Sringara Arati and Guru Puja
- 8:00am – Srimad Bhagavatam Class
- 9:00am – Temple closed until noon
- 12:00pm – Raja Bhoga Arati
- 12:30pm – Temple closed until 4:15 pm
- 4:15pm – Dhupa Arati
- 4:30 pm – Temple closed until 6:30 pm
- 6:30pm – Sandhya Arati
- 7:00pm – Temple closed for the day
Sunday Program Schedule

All visitors are required to wear face masks and remain socially distanced at least 6 feet from non-family members. If you, or anyone in your household, is not feeling well, please stay home and watch our program live on the ISKCON Alachua Temple YouTube channel.
- 4:00-6:30 pm Gift Shop open
- 4:15 pm – 6:30 pm Arati and kirtan with a continuous flow of visitors filing through the temple room for darshan of Their Lordships. You can stay for a few minutes and participate in the kirtan by standing physically distanced on the yellow X marks on the temple room floor. If all X spots are taken, please wait outside until one opens up. You can pick up a boxed prasad plate to-go at the exit gate in your car on the way out.
- 7:00 pm Temple closed
- Prasad will be distributed, 4:30 – 6:30 pm, in pre-packaged to-go boxes from the tent in the parking lot, where you can pick it up on your way out. No eating on temple property.
SB Class Schedule