The Beggar (Set of 3 Volumes)

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Bhakti-Tirtha Swami was born John E. Favors in a pious, God-fearing family. As a child evangelist he appeared regularly on television. As a young man he was a leader in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil rights movement. At Princeton University he became president of the student council and also served as chairman of the Third World Coalition. Although his main degree is in psychology, he has received accolades in many other fields, including politics, African studies, Ideology and international law.

His Holiness has served as Assistant Coordinator for penal reform programs in the State of New Jersey, Office of the Public Defender, and as a director of several drug abuse clinics in the United States. In addition, he has been a special consultant for Educational Testing Services in the U.S.A. and has managed campaigns for politicians. Bhakti-Tirtha Swami gained international recognition as a representative of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, particularly for his outstanding work with scholars in the formerly communist countries of Eastern Europe.

As the only African-American Vaishnava guru in the world, Bhakti-Tirtha Swami directly oversees projects in the United States (particularly Washington D.C., Potomac, Maryland, Detroit, Pennsylvania, West Virginia), West Africa, South Africa, Switzerland, and France. He also serves as the director of the American Federation of Vaishnava Colleges and Schools.

In the United States, Bhakti-Tirtha Swami is the founder and director of the Institute for Applied Spiritual Technology, director of the International Committee for Urban Spiritual Development and one of the international coordinators of the Seventh Pan African Congress. Reflecting his wide range of interests, he is also a member of the Institute for Noetice Sciences, the Center for Defense Information, the United Nations Association for America, the National Peace Institute Foundation, the World Future Society and the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders.

A specialist in international relations and conflict resolution, Bhakti-Tirtha Swami constantly travels around the world and has become a spiritual consultant to many high-ranking members of the United Nations, to various celebrities and to several chiefs, kings and high court justices. In 1990 His Holiness was coroneted as a high chief in Warri, Nigeria in recognition of his outstanding work in Africa and the world. In recent years, he has met several times with then-President Nelson Mandela of South Africa to share visions and strategies for world peace.

In addition to encouraging self-sufficiency through the development of schools, clinics, farm projects and cottage industries, Bhakti-Tirtha Swami conducts seminars and work-shops on principle centered leadership, spiritual development, interpersonal relationships, stress and time management and other pertinent topics. He is also widely acknowledged as a viable participant in the resolution of global conflict.

The Beggar series is a collection of meditations and reflections written and shared over the years by His Holiness Bhakti-Tirtha Swami, the world's only African-American guru in the Vaishnava tradition. Although new to the Western world, the Vaishnava tradition, brought primarily to the West by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has been handed down in an unbroken line from teacher to student for over five thousand years.

One of the principal texts of the Vaishnava tradition is the Bhagavad-gita, a transcript of a conversation between the Lord and His devotee, the great general Arjuna. During the course of this conversation, the Lord explains that the ultimate goal of life and the true source of lasting happiness is to be reunited in loving devotional service with Him and His associates. The Lord goes on to explain that, simply out of His love for the living entities, He occasionally descends or sends messengers to remind us of our higher calling. Although the names may change-Christ, Allah, Krishna, Jehovah, Yahweh-and there may be some external "religious" differences based on time, place and circumstance, the fundamental message is always the same: Continuous loving service to the Lord, often expressed in this life-time by how we serve and care for each other.

Bhakti-Tirtha Swami makes several references to the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures in the course of these meditations, in some cases speaking to us as if calling out from within the pastimes themselves. While an understanding of Vedic literature does enhance the reading experience, these meditations are definitely not meant exclusively for those in the Vaishnava tradition. Anyone who has ever struggled to persevere on the spiritual path, or whose life has been touched by the causeless love and compassion of a genuine spiritual guide will identify with these meditations and find a new appreciation of why and how this guidance has come.

His Holiness addresses the Lord using many different names from the Vedas, to emphasize different moods and relationships between the soul and the Lord-just as the names "Mr. Smith" "Daddy" and "The Boss" may refer to the same person, but illustrate different relationships between the speaker and the subject. We have provided a glossary at the end of the text that includes brief definitions of these names and other terms from the Vedas that may be unfamiliar.

We are very pleased to have the opportunity to share this first set of meditations in The Beggar series, and we wish all of our readers a renewed faith in the love and the mercy of the Lord, as they flow to us through the compassionate messengers we know as guru.

What initially attracts most people to a spiritual lifestyle is the prospect of a life filled with peace, harmony and tranquility. Yet we sometimes face more trials and tribulations when taking up a spiritual lifestyle than ever before. As we look at the lives of the great spiritual teachers, we see that they often undergo great challenges and hardships. Even in our own lives, we find that as we endeavor to live a more righteous lifestyle, we often get bombarded with so many temptations, fears and doubts that we may even wonder if being "spiritual" is really worth the effort.

In 1965, Bhakti-Tirtha Swami's spiritual mentor, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, came to the West to spread the science of bhakti yoga, continuous loving service of God. Despite his advanced age and poor health, Srila Prabhupada worked tirelessly to translate the ancient Vedic scriptures and share this advanced knowledge of God consciousness, which had until then been preserved in very closed circles. His superhuman determination and unwavering faith in God and his own spiritual master empowered him to perform the miracles of turning hundreds of otherwise lost, hopeless "hippies" into focused, determined devotees who have now taken up his mission all over the world.

A guru or acharya is one who leads by his own example. Srila Prabhupada always faced difficulties with an inimitable poise and wisdom that almost magically turned every challenge into an opportunity to glorify the Lord. He never pretended that spiritual life was easy. Rather, he equipped us with tools of love, faith, courage and humility that would enable us to emerge victorious in all our struggles.

I have known Bhakti-Tirtha Swami for many years, and have seen him cling to his firm faith in God and in Srila Prabhupada's teachings to overcome his own obstacles and to help others succeed in their struggles. The meditations in The Beggar series begin in states we can easily relate to: depression, fear, loneliness and desperation. These familiar mindsets entrap all of us at one time or another; many remain stagnated in such conditions for years, even lifetimes. As the author shows us, however, challenges can serve as great opportunities for growth. He explains that by reaching out rather than closing ourselves off, and by opening ourselves up to those who have succeeded before us, we too can succeed in helping others.

Bhakti-Tirtha Swami does not portray an overly simplistic path from lost soul to pure devotee. He shows us that at every step new struggles emerge and must be overcome. The route to victory in each case is to make ever stronger connections with the spiritual mentors and guides who, out of compassion and causeless mercy, make themselves available to help us, even though we may stumble and disappoint them many times along the way. The author teaches us how a deep relationship with such advanced souls can pull us through our stagnation and turn our despair into determination.

Bhakti-Tirtha Swami dedicates this book to those who have taken on the role of spiritual mentors in their communities. He tells us that as we explore our own dependence on the guidance, assistance and love of those who have gone before and cared enough to turn back and reach out to us, we should not forget our own responsibility to do the same for those who will come after us. Even though we may not be fully pure, as we progress we may see others fighting battles we have fought, crying out in ways that we ourselves have cried. At these times, Bhakti-Tirtha Swami implores us to remember how important those helping hands have been, and reminds us that we should develop true compassion, integrity and love to share with those under our care.

We are all born into this world with at least five senses that we come to recognize and rely on as we grow and develop perceptions and memories based on those five senses. Memories and perceptions are further influenced by added instructions from trusted parents and elders, and others who would influence what we should think, say and do.

Very early in our lives we get the perceptions and conclusions that we are independent, separate beings, and want to be in charge of the choices and directions of our lives.

We soon realize that we have this thing called the mind that talks to us constantly, and supports us in our individuality and our efforts to get what we desire as individuals. We become aware that what we can perceive with our five senses as "me" is our body. Some call this ego, or "body-mind" or "me mind." We falsely and mistakenly believe that this is who we really are. When things don't turn out the way we want them to, this collection of beliefs, experiences, and desires brings all of its doubts, fears, frustrations, ravings and ranting to bear to convince us that we must still listen to it, and keep it in charge, because it is real and the only thing that we can trust. Once in a while, something inside so strong manages to remind us that something greater than we are is inside and around us, and it needs to be listened to, especially when we don't know what to do, or where to turn for advice and guidance.

Now comes John E. Favors who tells us who he was before he became this internationally known and revered spiritual leader now known as His Holiness Bhakti-tirtha Swami Krishnapada. Bhakti-tirtha Swami talks and writes to leaders around the world on servant leadership (see Leadership for an Age of Higher Consciousness), and to individuals about the challenges that face us all in his Spiritual Warrior series of books. Bhakti-tirtha Swami loves us enough to share his most intimate and painful prayers and meditations to his spiritual master, teachers, and the common CREATOR of us all in his series of books called The Beggar.

In this latest book, The Beggar III: False Ego-The Greatest Enemy of the Spiritual Leader, Bhakti-tirtha Swami deliberately presents himself as being subject to the same fears, doubts, and self-inflicted anguish that we experience as the false ego (me mind) continues to try to convince us that it is all there is, and that we are hopeless and helpless in the face of the major challenges facing all of us in the world today. But wait! In the answers to his prayers and meditations, we experience the wisdom, love and "causeless mercy" that are always there to guide us if we ask earnestly and honestly to be led in service to the Godhead.

Bhakti-tirtha Swami courageously and humbly lets us in on his false ego's chatter as he meditates and waits for his false ego to become quiet enough for him to hear his higher Self or Soul and the advice of his spiritual masters. Bhakti-tirtha Swami's revealing of his inner conversations, begging, meditations and prayers is most helpful because he helps us, the readers, to realize that we are not alone in our struggles with the false ego. These struggles are part of our humanity, and make us stronger as we bow down and listen to our higher self's God consciousness (Krishna consciousness, Christ consciousness, etc.). The great works that Bhakti-tirtha Swami has been able to perform worldwide testify to the value of rising above the attacks of the false ego and the notion that we are defined by our body. We must all find a way to live and act out of love, using our life energy to move toward our greatest potential and highest good, and teach by loving example that we can share that love with others-unconditionally, as does the CREATOR.

I find this struggle to be a daunting process as my false ego seems so persistently powerful and clever at finding ways to insert itself between me and the higher Self that I know is there. Trusting the process seems to be my biggest challenge. This challenge must be overcome if we are to be leaders in raising the collective consciousness, elevate our own consciousness and learn to love, and love to learn. The Beggar III is a gift of love to help us in our struggle. We will realize the magnitude of this gift as we trust the process of surrender, prayer and meditation, and as we follow the teachings of this powerful spiritual leader and the books, tapes and speeches he shares with us. The Beggar III will make us think, and, more importantly, help us grow toward the perfection that the CREATOR so lovingly and graciously gave to each of us.

It was in response to Bhakti-tirtha Swami's openness, honesty, and non-proselytizing spiritual leadership that I had the pleasure of inviting him to speak to my colleagues at the National Medical Association Convention. I have also enjoyed his gracious visits to the studio of WEAA-FM radio (88.9FM) in Baltimore, Maryland to share his wisdom as a guest on my radio show Healthline 2010. Bhakti-tirtha Swami has consented to come into the studio as each of his books has been published to interact with my two-way talk audience.

Bhakti-tirtha Swami's books are all written to facilitate us in keeping our highest Self in charge of our lives as we move toward our greatest potential and highest good. The Beggar III is his latest contribution to helping us do the often-difficult inner work of understanding that our life force is our God force. Typical of all true leaders, he teaches by loving, living example. I beg you to join us in the process!

**Contents and Sample Pages**