BY THE RIVER AND THE TEMPLE

Monday, June 22nd, 2026

Naperville, Illinois

It was a mere ten years ago that I came to this area in trekking across the U.S. along historic canals. Billy the Kid, the notorious boy bandit, was known to have worked on the barges on the lock system of these canals that connected waterways together. But now in the Naperville region I found myself walking along the Dupage River with two brothers, Vacaspati and Sripathi. This river is a very fast flowing body of water which many people take advantage of. The trail is nice and the pedestrians on the river's trails are also nice.

Yes, summer has begun and many creatures are happy about that—egrets, rabbits, fox, squirrels and more. Birds here are robins, red-winged blackbirds, goldfinch, red cardinals, meadowlarks. They are diverse.

Vacaspati and I have one thing in common. We both like theatre. He writes scripts and I direct them. Before our walk by the river, we actually viewed a filmed stage version of “The Prince of Egypt,” a production done in London not so long ago. It’s inspiring as a work of art as far as the singing, acting, and dancing is concerned.

We both like walking and that investment in moving the body is the best kind of preoccupation. Japa meditation has that reputation of getting around and benefitting even the plants as the combination of chanting while walking is a real bonus.

Both morning and evening were times for singing and dancing before a beautiful murti of our guru, Prabhupada. In Naperville, ISKCON, they have this beautiful image of a smiling Prabhupada.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU

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