(from ISKCON News)
One of ISKCON’s best friends and scholarly supporters, Professor Thomas J. Hopkins, passed away the morning of Saturday, February 20, 2021, at the age of ninety-one. Dr. Hopkins was Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Franklin and Marshall College, USA, and an expert in the study of Caitanya Vaishnavism.
Professor Hopkins met Srila Prabhupada and the early ISKCON devotees in 1966 at 26 Second Avenue in New York City, ISKCON’s first temple. He purchased a set of Srila Prabhupada’s original publication of the “Srimad Bhagavatam” during that visit. At one point, Professor Hopkins arranged for Srila Prabhupada to teach a course at Franklin and Marshall College, where he was a professor. In the end, Srila Prabhupada declined this offer because Srila Prabhupada was too busy establishing the ISKCON and its temple-centers.
