Bodhi Poojas and Friday Mosque prayers

While adhering scrupulously to all the Covid-19 health regulations, we should not neglect chanting /offering our ritual prayers to overcome this Coronavirus pandemic. The Buddhists should recite more often than not, in this new normal, the Jewel Discourse and also increase the frequency of conducting Bodhi poojas, Adhistana poojas, etc., and the Muslims should not neglect the Friday prayer to get over this pandemic. Even the Christians and Hindus, too, should have their respective religious rituals to get rid of this deadly and contagious disease.

I am aware that some of the mosques, without conducting the Jumuáh prayer, have the Luhr prayer in order to limit the congregation. Even in the mosques where the Friday prayers are held, it is limited to 50 devotees as per Waqf Board directive.

This is to request the Waqf Board, the Ministry for Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs and the Health Authorities to consider increasing the participants to at least 150 to 200 for the Friday prayer (when the Government has allowed 200 guests to attend wedding ceremonies or other social events). The other option is to conduct the Friday prayer at least twice to accommodate more worshippers. Over to the Board of Trustees of the respective mosques to see whether the above requests could be complied with.

In conclusion, let me remind the readers of what Lord Alfred Lord Tennyson said “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

MOHAMED ZAHRAN

COLOMBO