Sripad Bhakti Tirtha Swami
Bhakti Tirtha Swami (B.T. Swami) was born as John E. Favors. As a young man, he was a leader in Martin Luther King Junior’s civil rights movement. He studied at Princeton University, where he became president of the student council and served as the chairman of the Third World Coalition. Although his main degree was in psychology, he received accolades in many other fields, including politics, African studies, and international law. B.T. Swami is the author of several publications, many of which are used as reference texts in universities and leadership organizations throughout the world. His books have been printed in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Macedonian, Croatian, Russian, Hebrew, Slovenian, Balinese and Italian.
As a senior member of the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), B.T. Swami directly oversaw projects in the United States (particularly in Washington D.C., Maryland, Detroit, Pennsylvania, West Virginia), as well as abroad in West Africa, South Africa, Croatia, and Bosnia. He also served as director of the American Federation of Vaisnava Colleges and Schools.
In addition to encouraging self-sufficiency through the development of schools, clinics, farm projects and cottage industries, B.T. Swami conducted seminars and workshops on principle-centered leadership, spiritual development, interpersonal relationships, stress and time management. As a widely acknowledged specialist in international relations and conflict resolution, B.T. Swami constantly traveled around the world. Hence, he became a spiritual consultant to many high-ranking members of the United Nations, celebrities, chiefs, and court justices. For instance, during Nelson Mandela’s presidency in South Africa, B.T. Swami met several times with him to share visions and strategies for world peace. In 1990 His Holiness B.T. Swami was coronated as a high chief in Warri, Nigeria in recognition of his outstanding work in Africa and around the world.
H.H. B.T. Swami left his body on June 27, 2005 as a result of advanced stage melanoma cancer. His realizations during the year he was fighting cancer are profound, and they can be read in his book “The Beggar IV, Die Before Dying.” His passing was like his life; a deep expression of love and compassion, and a lesson for us all.