John Edward Favors ’72

One of 1972's most distinguished and widely traveled members, His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, died June 27, 2005, of complications from melanoma, at Gita Nagari, the Krishna community in central Pennsylvania. He was a leading guru and governing body commissioner of the worldwide Hare Krishna movement.

John Favors came to Princeton after graduating from Hawken School in Cleveland. He was at the forefront of political activism on campus, a leader of the Association of Black Collegians (ABC) and a founder of the Third World Center. He majored in psychology.

After Princeton he joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and began a career of worldwide travel, study, teaching, lecturing, and writing. He became a celibate monk in 1979, and rose to a prominent leadership position in the Krishna movement; he was its highest-ranking African American. He met with prominent world figures such as Nelson Mandela and Zambia's Kenneth Kaunda, was frequently interviewed in the media, and wrote 15 books.

John is survived by four sisters, Bernadette Satterfield, Julia Henderson, Frances Myers, and Marguerite Brooks; a brother, Paul Favors; and numerous nieces and nephews. The class sends its sincere condolences to his family, friends, and many disciples.

The Class of 1972