krsna Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Posted June 29, 2005 All glories to Srila Prabhupada! June 27, 2005– His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, a guru and Governing Body Commissioner of the worldwide Hare Krishna movement, passed away of complications from melanoma cancer on June 27, 2005, at Gita Nagari, the Krishna community in Pennsylvania. He was 55 years old. Bhakti Tirtha Swami was the world’s first African-American Vaishnava Hindu guru. Born as John E. Favors to an evangelical Baptist family in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 25, 1950, Swami took part in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights movement during his youth. After earning his psychology degree from Princeton University in 1972, he began studying the 5,000-year-old Bhagavad Gita and other ancient Hindu scriptures. He soon became a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and brought the ancient Vaishnava tradition to the West in 1965. Bhakti Tirtha Swami lectured and wrote extensively on topics ranging from mysticism and bhakti-yoga to leadership for the modern age. Ken Shelton, editor of the professional journal Executive Excellence said of Swami, his "work on leadership sets a new standard, expressly because it explores the spiritual dimension in ways that popular gurus like Stephen R. Covey, Kevin Cashman, and Ken Blanchard have not done." The Honorable Pierre Admossama, retired Director of the International Labor Organization for the United Nations, called Swami "an example in the truest sense of global principle-centered leadership." More… In the 1970s, as a representative of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, said to be the world’s largest publisher of Vedic literature, Swami traveled behind the Iron Curtain at great personal risk to meet with scholars throughout Eastern Europe. In 1979, he took formal vows of sannyasa, dedicating himself to the service of God and humanity as a celibate monk. Later, as an ISKCON leader, he headed community development projects in the United States and around the world, and founded the Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology. Thanks and appreciation from dipika.org to our sponsor and host, Swami traveled internationally, meeting and sharing his spiritual perspective on contemporary issues with world leaders and scholars, including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nelson Mandela. In 1990, Bhakti Tirtha Swami was coronated as a High Chief in Warri, Nigeria, in recognition of his outstanding work in Africa. He was regularly featured on television and radio programs around the globe, and hosted his own weekly cable show in Washington, D.C. Swami authored over fifteen critically acclaimed books, including the popular Spiritual Warrior and Beggar series. Many of his books have been translated for international distribution. In August 2004, Swami was diagnosed with melanoma cancer. In the months that followed he continued to teach, drawing upon his condition to address the fears, struggles, and pains associated with facing death. At the same time, he began what would be his last book, a treatise on viewing death as an opportunity for spiritual growth, entitled Die Before Dying. On June 27, 2005, Bhakti Tirtha Swami passed away, surrounded by friends and followers and the chanting of God’s names. For more information on the life and teachings of about Bhakti Tirtha Swami please go to www.BTSwami.com. dipika.org June 29, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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