8750686 vivekanandas rare images

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDAS

PHOTOS GALLERY

CALCUTTA, circa 1885

Photograph 1

The best descriptions of Swamiji

around this time have been givenby his master, Sri Ramakrishna. On

a certain occasion the Master said

to the disciples present, pointing to

Narendranath, Behold! Here is

Naren. See! See! Oh what power of

insight he has! It is like the

shoreless sea of radiant knowledge!

The Mother, Mahamaya Herself,

cannot approach within less than

ten feet of him! She is barred by the

very glory which She has imparted

to him!


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CALCUTTA, circa 1886Photograph 2

Sri Ramakrishna once said of Swamiji: He is a burning, roaring fireconsuming all impurities to ashes.


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COSSIPORE GARDEN HOUSE, 1886Photograph 3

Judging from Swamijisappearance, this photo seemsto have been taken aroundthe same time as the twofollowing photographs, 4 and5.

Shortly before Sri

Ramakrishna gave up hisbody at Cossipore, Swamijihad an exalted spiritualexperience there. Seeing himSri Ramakrishna said: Nowthen, the Mother has shownyou everything. Just as atreasure is locked up in a box,so will this realization youhave just had be locked upand the key shall remain with

me. You have work to do.When you have finished mywork, the treasure box will beunlocked again; and you willknow everything then, as youdid just now.

COSSIPORE GARDEN HOUSE, AUGUST 16, 1886


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Photograph 4

1. Atul 2. Amrita 3. Vaikuntha Sannyal 4. BhavanathChatterjee 5. Baburam (Swami Premananda) 6. Narendra(Swami Vivekananda) 7. Ram Chandra Datta 8. Gopal Ghosh

(Swami Advaitananda) 9. Sharat (Swami Saradananda) 10.Balaram Bose 11. Latu (Swami Adbhutananda) 12. Shashi(Swami Ramakrishnananda) 13. Rakhal (SwamiBrahmananda) 14. Nityagopal 15. Yogindra (SwamiYogananda) 16. Devendra Nath Mazumdar 17. Tarak (SwamiShivananda) 18. Young Gopal 19. Nitya Niranjan (SwamiNiranjanananda) 20. Narayan 21. Manilal Mallick 22. Fakir23. Surendra 24. Bhupati 25. Harish 26. Girindra 27. Vinod28. M. (Mahendra Nath Gupta) 29. Kali (SwamiAbhedananda) 30. Navagopal Ghosh 31. Gangadhar (SwamiAkhandananda) 32. Mahimacharan 33. Manomohan Mitra.

The pictures [4 and 5] show the following: . . . There are atthe four corners of the cot [cot not shown] upright membersfor supporting a mosquito curtain. The top and bottomuprights of the cots left side are tied with garlands. Part ofthe Cossipore garden house is shown behind. A pile ofbedding (possibly bedding used by Ramakrishna, set out tosun) can be seen on the left. More than fifty people -devotees and friends -are seen in the picture, rangedbehind the cot. About half of these people have beenidentified.

Balaram Basu is seen holding a staff with a symbol on thetop of it. Chakrabarty identifies this as a symbol of theharmony of religions. In the symbol the trident of theShaivites, the Om of the Advaitists, the kanthi (a handholding a necklace of tulsi beads) of the Vaishnavas, thehalf?moon of the Muslims, and the cross of the Christiansare seen. [This symbol seems to have been drawn on the


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top of one of the posts of the cot that Balaram Bose isholding on to.]

The two photos are similar except that some of the

devotees have changed their positions; and in one Narendrais wearing a chaddar over the upper part of his body, whilein the other [# 4] he is bare from the waist up. . . .

[After the Master entered mahasamadhi] the news hadspread all over Calcutta and people came in large numbersto have a last look at the Masters form. It was hoped bysome that the Master was not dead but only in an unusuallydeep samadhi. At about noon Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar, whohad been attending Sri Ramakrishna, arrived. He examinedthe body and said that life had departed only half an hour

before. Dr. Sarkars opinion was accepted as final.

Swami Vidyatmananda of Gretz copied the following excerptfrom Dr. Sarkars handwritten diary, which had been in thepossession of the late Swami Advayananda, AdvaitaAshrama:

Monday, August 16, 1886: His disciples, some at least, wereunder the impression that he was in samadhi, not dead. Idispelled this impression. I asked them to have hisphotograph taken and gave them Rs. 10/ as my

contribution.

Afterwards about 5:00 p.m. when Sri Ramakrishna had beendressed in an ochre cloth and decorated with sandal pasteand flowers, the photographs were taken.

Swami Abhedananda gave the following account of theincident:

Gradually the news of the Masters passing away spreadand people began to flock to the Cossipore garden house.

At 10:00 a.m. Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar came. He checked theMasters pulse and examined him carefully. Then hedeclared that the Master had breathed his last a half hourearlier. . . . Listening to the doctors report, we lost all hope.Arrangements were then made for cremation of theMasters divine body. Dr. Sarkar gave ten rupees so aphotograph could be taken and then left with a heavy heart.At that time we all felt completely helpless. We felt that our


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entire source of strength and hope had gone. We thought:Now what shall we do? On whom shall we depend? And howshall we pass our days? . . .

The Bengal Photographers Studio was called to takephotographs of the Masters mahasamadhi. SriRamakrishnas body was placed on a cot which wasdecorated all over with flowers. Then the Masters body wasadorned with sandal paste on his face and garlands aroundhis neck. Ram Datta stood in front of the cot and askedNarendra to stand by his side. The rest of us stood silentlybehind on the staircase. The Bengal Photographers took twogroup photographs.

COSSIPORE GARDEN HOUSE, AUGUST 16, 1886

Photograph 5

See photo information under photograph 4.

BARANAGORE MATH, JANUARY 30, 1887

Photograph 6


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A Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna was published by the San FranciscoVedanta Society in 1912 under Swami Trigunatitas direction. A quaintvariation of this Baranagore Math photograph was printed in the 1912edition of the Gospel. Perhaps Swami Trigunatita, not wanting to offendWestern sensibilities, had this photo reproduced with the monks anddevotees fully clothed. On a photo removed from one of the Gospels,Swami Trigunatita made the following identification in his ownhandwriting:

1. Our King -Swamiji2. Niranjanananda

3. Saradananda4. Ramakrishnananda5. Abhedananda ( Hootka) Gopal*6. Sivananda7. 'M'-author8. Devan9. H. Mastafi10. our cook*

11.Swami Trigunatita -the servant of all.

* in some publications (Hootka) Gopal has often been misidentified as

Swami Brahmananda and the cook as Swami Premananda.

In one of his articles on the Baranagore Math, Swami Prabhananda ofthe Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, said, Agroup photo of the monks and a few householder devotees, taken on 30January 1887 shows some of them wearing only a loin cloth and otherswearing ochre cloth. The following incident has been recorded aboutthis photograph. After the Masters death Devendra [Devendra Nath


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Mazumdar] visited from time to time the Baranagore monastery and theKankurgachi Yogodyana. Once when Devendra was at the monasterywith his uncle [H. Mastafi], Swami Vivekananda asked him to become amonk. Devendra replied that Sri Ramakrishna had told him to lead the

life of a householder. Swamiji himself then dressed Devendra in theochre cloth of a monk, and a group photo was taken at the monastery.Devendra felt such intense renunciation that day that he told his unclehe would not return home. Only after much persuasion did Devendrafinally consent to go back with his uncle, but his dispassionate moodcontinued for a month. Devendra later acknowledged that it wasbecause of Swamijis power that he had felt that way.

JAIPUR, 1891 (probably)

Photograph 7

Photos 7 and 8 were probably takenon the same day in Jaipur, 1891.The Life mentions: At Jaipur thedisciple [perhaps Lala GovindaSahai whom Swamiji initiated inRajputana in 1891] insisted on theswamis posing for a photograph.The swami, much against hiswishes, finally consented. This wasthe first time that a photo of him asa wandering monk was taken.

Another reference to photo # 7having been taken in Jaipur appearsin Swami Vivekananda: A ForgottenChapter of His Life, by Beni ShankarSharma: Furthermore, very few


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people know that the turban that the swami always wore . . . was wornat the suggestion of Ajit Singh [the Maharaja of Khetri]. SwamiVivekananda being a Bengali did not wear a turban, or any headgear,and in the first of his photographs, which was taken at Jaipur at the

request of his Alwar friends in 1891, before he met the Maharaja ofKhetri, we find him without his now inseparable turban. It was after hismeeting with the Maharaja and his visit to Khetri that we find him withhis characteristic turban. When Swami Vivekananda visited Khetri asVividishananda for the first time, it was summer and the loo, or hotwinds of Rajasthan, during this period are well?known. Besides, fromSwamijis letters, we find that he was mortally afraid of the loo. Whenthe Maharaja saw his discomfort, he advised him to wear a turban, justas he himself and all the people of the locality wore, to save himselffrom the loo, a suggestion which the swami readily accepted. TheMaharaja in fact himself taught him how to wind the turban.

In all the subsequent photos of Swamiji during his wandering days he is,in fact, pictured wearing a turban.

These photos (# 7 and 8) have sometimes been identified as havingbeen taken in various places other than Jaipur such as Trivandrum,Bangalore, or Mysore, 1892, and sometimes as Chennai, 1893. Photo 7appears as the frontispiece in the 1901 edition of Inspired Talkspublished in Mylapore, Chennai, during Swami Ramakrishnanandasstay in Chennai. It bears the caption: From a photograph taken justbefore leaving Madras for the Parliament of Religions at Chicago,

showing the swami in the orange robe and with the shaven head of thesannyasin. It is not known where this information originated. Some areof the opinion that the photo was taken in Chennai simply because itappeared in a book which was published during SwamiRamakrishnanandas time. It should be noted, however, that SwamiRamakrishnananda was not in Chennai in 1893 when Swamiji wasthere, but was sent there after Swamiji returned from the West the firsttime in 1897.

Another reference to the possibility of this photo having been taken inChennai can be found in the reminiscences of A. Srinivas Pai, who was a

student in the Presidency College, Chennai, in 1893. He mentions: Thebare?headed photographs in the book, Swami Vivekanandas Speechesand Writings, published by Messrs. G. A. Natesan & Co. give a good ideaof the appearance of the swami. But no photograph or description cangive a correct idea of the power of his eyes. They were wonderful. Likethe Ancient Mariner in Coleridges famous poem he held you by theeye. This is one of the photographs that appears in that book.


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Clearly there are diverse interpretations as to where these photos (7and 8) were taken.

.JAIPUR, 1891 (prob

Photograph 8

See photo information under

BELGAUM, OCTOBER 1892

Photograph 9

Haripada Mitra was one of Swamiji'shosts while he was staying inBelgaum in 1892. In hisreminiscences, he recalled his firstimpression of Swamiji when he was


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told:

Here is a learned Bengali sannyasin who has come to meetyou. I turned back and found a serene figure with his eyesflashing like lightning and a face clean shaven. His body

was covered with an ochre robe, in [on] his feet he hadstrapped sandals of the Maharashtrian type; and on hishead was an ochre turban. The figure was so impressivethat it is still vivid in my memory.

Haripada convinced Swamiji to accept both him and his wife asdisciples. In his reminiscences, he remarked further:

I had a desire to have his photograph. He would not agree. Ipersisted, and after a long drawn tussle, he gave hisconsent and a photograph was taken on the 28th. [This

photo was taken prior to the twenty-eighth, since Swamiji isreported to have left Belgaum on the twenty-seventh.] AsSwamiji had not agreed to be photographed on an earlieroccasion, in spite of the earnest request of anothergentleman, I had to send two copies of this one to him onrequest.

Another source states:The small wooden stand that can be seen at the left corner is still

preserved at the studio. The name of the studio was S. Mahadev &Son and the photograph was taken by one Govinda Shrinivas Welling

(d. 1926). The studio still exists (Welling Camera Works, Welling House,B.C. 86, Belgaum Cantt. 590-001), but is no more in business, havingclosed down in 1970.

Another reference that certainly seems to apply to this photo is given inSailendra Nath Dhars biography on Swamiji. Around this timeMahendra Nath Datta, Swamijis brother, received a photograph in themail from someone who preferred to remain anonymous, but who hadobviously been directed by Swamiji to send it. Dhar says:

The photo was of the swami dressed in a long coat reaching

up to his knees and stuffed with cotton which made themhappy specially because it showed that he had improved inhealth.

This photograph is the only one taken during Swamijis wanderings thatfits this unique description.

While in Belgaum, Swamiji met one Dr. V. V. Shirgaonkar and expressed


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to him his wish to visit some seminaries in Goa so that he might studyChristian theology from some old Latin manuscripts. Swamiji thenproceeded to Margaon in Goa. Dr. Shirgaonkar contacted his friendSubrai Naik in Margaon, requesting him to assist Swamiji. Naik warmly

welcomed Swamiji, helped him to visit one of the oldest Catholicseminaries, which was about four miles from Margaon, and also tookhim into his own home and accommodated him in a room adjoining thetemple of Damodarji, his family deity. The room, together with whateverfurniture Swamiji used, has been preserved to this day as a memorial tohis visit. Before Swamijis departure Naik asked him for his photograph.The photograph presented to him by Swamiji has also been preservedby the descendants of Naik. The photograph that Swamiji gave Naik ismost likely this one which was taken in Belgaum.

TRIVANDRUM, DECEMBER 1892Photograph 10

This photo was taken by Prince

Martanda Varma of Travancore. K.

Sundararama Iyer, the tutor of

Prince Martanda Varma (the first

prince of Travancore), remarked in

his reminiscences: The Prince was

struck, like all others who had come

into contact with him, with the

swamis striking figure and

attractive features; and being an

amateur photographer, asked the

swami for a sitting and took a fine

photograph which he skillfullydeveloped into an impressive picture and later on sent as an interesting

exhibit to the next Fine Arts Exhibition held in the Chennai Museum.

PLACE UNKNOWN (at present), circa 1892 or early 1893

Photograph 11


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This photo is usually identified as "probably Belgaum," 1892 and thenext photo, # 12, as Hyderabad, 1893. This information seemsdoubtful. Upon close examination it appears that both of thesephotographs were taken on the same day, wherever it may have been.There are reasons to believe that photo #11 was not taken in Belgaum.Haripada Mitra, Swamijis disciple in Belgaum, with whom he stayed for

nine days (October 1927, 1892), arranged for photo # 9. InitiallySwamiji resisted being photographed, so it is not likely that he wouldhave agreed to have a second and a third photograph taken while inBelgaum. (See note under photo # 9)

Vivekananda: A Biography in Pictures mentions another account whichsays that this photo (# 11) was the first one taken of Swamiji inChennai. It is said that when Swamiji saw this photo, he remarked that"it looked like the picture of a leader of a gang of dacoits!"

Within the last couple of years, Swami Chetanananda of the Vedanta

Society of St. Louis found a Bengali reference in the Udbodhan archivesthat he thinks refers to this photo. It reads: "Swamijis sitting pose:Jaipur after Alwar beginning of April 1891." There was no actual photowith this description.

The photographs of Swamiji during his wandering days in 1892 andearly 1893 clearly confirm the accounts given by those who met him atthat time. When Swamiji first arrived in Belgaum, he stayed with the


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father of G. S. Bhate who remembered that the swami "was ratherstriking in appearance and appeared to be even at first sight somewhatout of the common run of men. . . . Though he wore clothes bearing thefamiliar color of a sannyasins garments, he appeared to be dressed

differently from the familiar brotherhood of sannyasins. He used to weara banyan [tee shirt]. Instead of the danda he carried a long stick,something like a walking stick. His kit consisted of the usual gourd, apocket copy of the Gita, and one or two books." B. G. Tilak remarked:"The swami avoided mixing with society. There was absolutely nomoney with him. A deerskin, one or two clothes and a kamandalu werehis only possessions."

PLACE UNKNOWN (at present), circa 1892 or early 1893

Photograph 12

Another interesting anecdote about

Swamijis appearance around this

time comes from D. B. Raghunath

Rao, the youngest son of D. R.

Balaji Rao of Chennai, who was a

close friend of Swamiji. Balaji told

his son: "Swamiji was an arresting

personality with handsome

features, always smiling and had a

robust constitution. His voice had a

pleasant ringing tone." Raghunath

Rao continues: "My father who was

fond of tying his turban in various

modes, presented one such length

of cloth to Swamiji. It is this that

adorns his head in the popular

photographs published; and the

sash around his waist which we also see in the photos [Chicago, 1893]


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was presented to him by the Maharaja of Khetri."

IN AMERICAPhotograph 13

This photo is often referred to asprobably at the Hale residence,Chicago, 1893. But "Mrs. Herbert E.Hyde (Mary Hales niece) could notrecognize this as being a room inthe Hales house or in the WaltonPlace flatboth of which places sheknew very well as a child." Sister

Gargi (Marie Louise Burke) hasspeculated that if the photo weretaken in 1893 before the Parliamentof Religions, then it could possiblyhave been taken in the Lyonshouse in Chicago.

The organizers of the Parliament ofReligions lodged Swamiji in thehome of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Lyon.When Swamiji first came to theirhome, Mrs. Lyon was a littleapprehensive about how he wouldbe received by their other guests. Inthose days there was strong racial prejudice. However, Mr. Lyon clearedthe air. He had found Swamiji in his library one morning beforebreakfast. He later told his wife: "I dont care a bit, Emily, if all ourguests leave! The Indian is the most brilliant and interesting man who


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has ever been in our home and he shall stay as long as he wishes."

CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 1893 -- The East Indian Group

Photograph 14

This photograph appeared for the first time in Neelys History of theParliament of Religions and Religious Congresses at the WorldsColumbian Exposition published in Chicago in 1893. From left to right:

"Narasimha Chaira [Narasimhacharya of Chennai], Lakeshnie Narain[Lakshmi Narain, a barrister from Lahore], Swami Vivekananda, H.Dharmapala [Anagarika Hewivitarne Dharmapala, a Buddhist fromCeylon and later the founder of the Mahabodhi Society in Kolkata], andVichand Ghandi [Virchand Gandhi, a lawyer of Mumbai and the chiefexponent of the Jain religion.]"

This same photograph, as it appears in The Worlds Congress of


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CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 1893

Photograph 16

Swami Vivekananda on the Platform of the Parliament

From left to right: Virchand Gandhi, Hewivitarne Dharmapala, SwamiVivekananda, and (possibly) G. Bonet Maury.

From all appearances this photo seems to have been taken on theafternoon of the opening day of the parliament, September 11, 1893.Swamiji appears apprehensive.

"Through all this [the parliament proceedings] Swamijiremained seated, meditative and prayerful, letting his turnto speak go by time and again. It was not until theafternoon session, after four other delegates had read theirprepared papers, that, urged by the kindly and scholarlyFrench pastor, G. Bonet Maury, who was seated next to him,

Swamiji, inwardly bowing down to Devi Sarasvati (theGoddess of Knowledge), arose to address the Congress and,through it, the world."

Sister Gargi has an interesting footnote on G. Bonet Maury which bearsquoting in full: This information comes from a letter written by SwamiSiddheswarananda to Miss Josephine MacLeod, dated June 11, 1946.The relevant passage reads: "For a long time I have been in contact


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with a man of science (Paul Bennet-Maury) . . . The other day the oldmother of Paul Bennet-Maury came to see me. She is about 80 yearsold and she told me that her father-in-law, a Protestant pastor, was oneof the delegates to the Chicago Parliament of Religions and a very close

friend of Swamiji. In the dais of the Parliament Pastor Bennet-Maury [G.Bonet Maury] had his place next to Swamiji and she told me how shehad heard from him that when Swamiji was each time giving his placeto another to speak, it was Bennet-Maury, the pastor, that encouragedSwamiji to get up and speak in spite of the hesitation that Swamiji had.And as the old lady told me the story she got up from her seat and withtrembling emotion told me of what she had heard of the tremendousimpression produced by Swamiji when he addressed the audience asSisters and Brothers of America."


Photograph 17

Swami Vivekananda and Narasimhacharya

This unposed snapshot is one of the first pictures of Swamiji in America."Perhaps it is not so clear as one would like his pictures to be, but itnonetheless belongs to his history." It can be reasonably assumed thatit was taken in the room marked "No. 1-keep out."


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The following appeared in the Boston Evening Transcripton September30, 1893:

There is a room at the left of the entrance to the Art Palace

marked "No. 1-keep out." To this the speakers at theCongress of Religions all repair sooner or later, either to talkwith one another or with President Bonney, whose privateoffice is in one corner of the apartment. . . . The moststriking figure one meets in this anteroom is SwamiVivekananda, the Brahmin monk. He is a large, well-builtman, with the superb carriage of the Hindustanis, his faceclean shaven, squarely molded regular features, whiteteeth, and with well-chiseled lips that are usually parted in abenevolent smile while he is conversing. His finely poisedhead is crowned with either a lemon colored or a red

turban, and his cassock (not the technical name for thisgarment), belted in at the waist and falling below the knees,alternates in a bright orange and rich crimson. He speaksexcellent English and replied readily to any questions askedin sincerity.


Photograph 18

An Actual Scene at One of the Sessions of the Parliament


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This photograph was taken on the morning of September 21, 1893-theeleventh day of the parliament. It was published in 1893 as thefrontispiece of John Henry Barrows, The Worlds Parliament ofReligions, Volume 1.

In New Discoveries we find this reference:

In passing it should be noted that in Barrows history thereare three published photographs of the "historic group onthe platform." These were taken on the morning ofSeptember 14, the morning of September 21, and theevening of September 27. In the second of these, [photo18] which has been reproduced in the second edition of theLife, Swamiji has been tentatively identified in the front rowof the delegates; I am sorry to say that a comparison with

an enlarged and annotated copy of the same picture showsthat this is not Swamiji but that "loafer" Narasimhacharya.


Photograph 19

Swami Vivekananda, India

This photograph was published for

the first time in volume two of

Barrows history in connection with

Swamijis talk on "Hinduism" which

was given on the ninth day of the


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parliament, September 19. But to date, there is not sufficient proof that

it was taken on that day.

CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 1893 (Harrison)

Photograph 20

This is the famous Chicago pose. The nextseven photographs are part of what theVedanta Society of Northern California callsthe "Harrison series." Swamiji hasautographed five of these photos andinscribed them with English translations ofSanskrit sayings, some of which have theoriginal Sanskrit written in Bengali characters.These photographs were taken by aphotographer named Thomas Harrison, whowas located in Chicago at that time at

"Central Music Hall, Cor. State & RandolphSts." Most of the Harrison photographs in theVedanta Societys collection have thisinformation at the bottom of the pictures.

According to listings of photographers from1847 to 1900 in the Chicago city directories,Thomas Harrison was in business from about


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1873 through 1900. The Chicago Historical Society states: "He hadseveral addresses ["Central Music Hall" is listed as his 1893 address]and probably went into business with D. R. Coover for a short time. Wehave many cabinet card portraits of Chicagoans taken at the Harrison

studios, all with the same identification stamp."

The original photos of Swamiji taken at Harrisons studio were actuallycabinet card portraits, which were the predominant type of media thatHarrison used. The cabinet card was a new style of portrait photographywhich came into vogue around 1867. It had several new featuresincluding various styles of posing, improved lighting, and the use ofbackground scenery or props to add flair to the photograph. The variousposes of Swamiji taken at Harrisons studio show his successful use ofthese different techniques.


Photograph 21

Swamiji has written in Bengali

characters, as well as in English: One

infinite pure and holy-- beyond thought

beyond qualities I bow down to thee" -

Swami Vivekananda


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MacLeods] dying brothers bed, had greeted Miss MacLeodwhen she had arrived from Ridgely Manor. Astounded, shehad asked Mrs. Blodgett, What do you know about him?and Mrs. Blodgett had told her story. I know him, Miss

MacLeod had said, and then, Why dont you ask himhere? To my cottage? He will come. And in hermemoirs she relates: In three weeks my brother was deadand in six weeks Swamiji was there. (Later on MissMacLeod brought this poster, which showed Swamijistanding in his robe and turban, to Ridgely Manor, whereshe mounted it in a toweringly high-backed Gothic chair. Foryears it remained thus in her bedroom. One would hardlydare go into her room, Mrs. Frances Leggett told me,--thisenormous thing appearing there!)


Photograph 23

Swamiji has inscribed this photo:Samata sarvabhuteshuetanmuktasya lakshanam. Equalityin all beings this is the sign of thefree -- Vivekananda


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Photograph 24

This photograph of Swamiji bears the

inscription: Thou art the only treasure in

this world -- Vivekananda

CHICAGO, SEPTEMBER 1893(Harrison)

Photograph 25


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Thou art the father the lord the mother the husband andlove -- Swami Vivekananda

Swamiji mentioned the Harrison photographs early on to Alasinga

Perumal, particularly with reference to stimulating an interest in hiswork amongst some of his admirers in India, such as Ajit Singh, theMaharaja of Khetri, and His Highness the Maharaja of Mysore (ShriChamarajendra Wadiyar). In a letter written to Alasinga from Chicago onNovember 2, 1893, he mentioned that he had sent one of these photosto the Maharaja of Khetri.

Again on May 28, 1894, he wrote to Alasinga from Chicago: As for thephotographs, I have not them at present. I will ask for some to be sentover. In the meantime, you apply to the Maharaj of Khetri for somecopies he has had printed from those I sent over to him. Then again on

July 11, 1894, he wrote to Alasinga: I have sent a letter to H. H. ofMysore and some photographs. You must have got yours by this time.Present one to the Raja of Ramnad. Work on him as much as you can.Keep correspondence with Khetri and try to spread.

Swamiji also mentioned the Harrison photographs, often in a somewhatsurly manner, in a number of his letters written to Mrs. George Hale,who seems to have handled Swamijis Harrison photo orders. In mid-July1894, Swamiji wrote to Mrs. Hale from Fishkill Landing, New York:

As to the photographs, the first time the Babies got a few

copies, and the second time you brought a few copies; youknow they are to give 50 copies in all. Sister Isabelle knowsbetter than I.

Swamiji makes this humorous remark about the Chicago pose (photo#20) and this photo (#25) in a letter dated August 5, 1894, to Mrs. Halewritten from Greenacre Inn, Eliot, Maine:

The Harrison people sent me two nasty standing photos--that is all I have out of them, when they ought to give me40 minus the 10 or 15 I have got already!!!

Again he wrote to Mrs. Hale from Annisquam on August 20, 1894:

The photographs have not reached me--except two ofFishkill when I was there last

. Three days later he wrote:The photographs reached safely yesterday. I cannot tell exactly


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whether Harrison ought to give me more or not. They had sentonly two to me at Fishkill--not the pose I ordered though.

Clearly, Swamiji was having his difficulties with Harrison. And yet we aredeeply indebted to Harrison for the beautiful, soul-stirring images he

produced of Swamiji during his early days in America.

He penned a letter to Mary Hale from Annisquam on August 31, 1894, Isent two pictures to Mother Church yesterday and hope you will likethem. On the same day he wrote to Alasinga: I have sent over myphotograph and written to the Raja of Mysore. Five days later in aletter to Mrs. Hale, he mentioned: The new arrival of the phonographfrom Khetri has not come yet. But I am not anxious because I just nowgot another letter from India wherein there is no mention of thephotographs I sent showing that parcels reach later than letters.

Obviously the Harrison photographs had made their way to India asearly as November 1893. In a letter written to Alasinga on September27, 1894, he says:

Bhattacharya [Manmatha Nath Bhattacharya of Chennai]writes he has not got any of my photos. I have none atpresent. I will have to order for some new ones & then willsend them over.

Yet another request came from Kolkata. Swamiji wrote to Mrs. Hale onOctober 27, 1894:

Will you kindly [order] for a 100 photographs to Harrisonand send them over to India to Ramdayal Chakravarty, c/oSwami Ramakrishnananda, Varahanagar Math, Alambazar,Calcutta. I will pay for it when I come to Chicago.

Although it is not certain which two photos (if they are still extant) thefollowing remark of Swamiji refers to, it is ingenuous and candid andworth repeating. From Detroit he wrote on March 10, 1894, to Mrs. Hale:

The photographer here has sent me some of the pictures he

made. They are positively villainous. Mrs. Bagley does notlike them at all. The real fact is that between the two photosmy face has become so fat and heavywhat can the poorphotographers do? Kindly send over four copies ofphotographs.

In this case Swamiji seems to have decided that Harrisons photos werethe best of a bad bargain!


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Photograph 26

Swamiji's inscription reads: "Eka eva

suhrid dharma nidhanepyanuyati yah.

Virtue is the only friend that follows us

even beyond the grave. Everything else

ends with death - Vivekananda"

This photograph was first published in

Neely's History of the Parliament of

Religions and Religious Congresses at

the World's Columbian Exposition in

1893 without the inscription, but

bearing the caption Swami

Vivekananda. It is interesting to note

that Neely published more photographs

of Swamiji than any other delegate to the parliament.


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Photograph 27

Sister Devamata related a story of

how she first heard about Swamiji.

After the Parliament of Religions, she

along with her mother and sister met

a Swedenborgian minister in Ohio,

who had attended the parliament in

Chicago. He enthusiastically

described various aspects of the

sessions to them: " 'But,' he

continued, 'there was one speakerwho stood out above all others,

because of his learning, his

eloquence and his impressive

personality. No other could compare with him except two or three

Roman Catholic prelates, and they had sent their best men.' He paused,

leaving his brilliant figure without name or nationality. 'Who was he?' I

asked eagerly. The minister replied quietly: 'A Hindu -- Swami

Vivekananda.' "


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Photograph 28

This photograph was taken during the closing session of theparliament on the evening of September 27. We know that Swamiji waspresent on the platform that evening because he had been invited to

give one of the final addresses. It was in this talk that he made hisfamous sweeping remark: "The Christian is not to become a Hindu or aBuddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But eachmust assimilate the others and yet preserve its individuality and growaccording to its own law of growth."

According to New Discoveries (1:134, 36) "it is probable, though notat present certain, that Swamiji does indeed appear, seated with regalunconcern in the second row of delegates." To date it has not beenascertained for sure that the person in the second row, left of center, isin fact Swamiji.

Barrows' history describes the last session:

More than seven thousand persons were crowded into the Halls of Washington and

Columbus [Barrows writes]. For more than an hour before the time announced, the eager

crowds swept up against the doors of the Art Palace. The throng extended from thedoorways to Michigan Avenue and thence for half a block in either direction . . . . An

eyewitness reports: ". . . The last and closing scene of the great Parliament of Religions is


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iva kesheshu mrityuna dharmam acharet. When in searchof knowledge or prosperity think that you would never havedeath or disease, and when worshipping God think thatdeath's hand is in your hair.

Early prints of this photo, and of photos 21 as well as 23 to 26 (copies ofwhich are in the present volume), were acquired originally by SwamiVishwananda.

It was through the kindness of the late Swami Vishwananda,then in charge of the Vivekananda Vedanta Society inChicago [1937-1965], that these photographs and otherinvaluable material regarding Swamiji came to our hands,and the story of how this material was discovered by theswami is worth telling here, for it is an example of those

coincidences that occur so frequently in matters concerningSwamiji. Swami Vishwananda told us that a young man,unconnected with Vedanta, had received from hisgrandmother a bundle of unpublished letters, photographsand other material, all pertaining to Swami Vivekananda.Knowing that his grandmother had cherished them, theyoung man had kept them, and indeed might still possessthem, or perhaps by this time have discarded them, had itnot been that a friend of his was a student of SwamiVishwananda. How this friend came to know of the bundleof old documents is not known, but one day she told Swami

Vishwananda of its existence. The swami forthwith visitedthe young man and found, with what joy we can imagine, averitable feast of hitherto unknown material! The youngman gladly gave him the bundle, which had originallybelonged, the swami learned, to the McKindley sisters,nieces of Mr. and Mrs. Hale. It is such unlooked?for andfortuitous discoveries which give us hope that eventuallymore hidden material regarding Swamiji will come to light,slowly pushing its way up through the years.

GREENACRE, AUGUST 1894

Photograph 30


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Swami Vivekananda, Sarah Farmer (seated to his left), Charles Malloy

(standing), with white hat and walking stick.

This is yet another, heretofore unknown, picture of Swamiji seatedunder his pine with one of his classes. Elva Nelson acquired this photo,as well as # 32, from the Baha'i Archives now located at Green Acre inEliot, Maine.

"On July 28 an article headed VIVEKANANDA AT GREENACREappeared in Boston's brahminical and world?famous Evening Transcript.It was almost certainly written by Ralph Waldo Trine, who was later tobecome a well?known author on metaphysical subjects. (At that time,

he was a special correspondent for the Transcriptat Greenacre, wherehe had built for himself 'a little cabin . . . on the edge of a pinegrove.')The article read in part:

Friday an extra lecture will be given by Swami Vivekanandaof India, who is spending a few weeks at Greenacre. He isdeeply interested in this unitary work which has beeninaugurated, and each morning may be seen, attired in hisflowing red robes and yellow turban, sitting cross?legged onthe ground near a wide?spreading pine, and surrounded bya group of eager listeners, men and women, to whom he

pours out freely his treasures of knowledge and experience.It is a rich opportunity to us who are privileged to enjoy it,and our only regret is that so many hungry souls aremissing it.

Greenacre is very full, as are also a half?dozen or morecottages in the vicinity: still there is room. The townspeopleare opening their rooms to accommodate the numbers who


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desire to attend the lectures, which are free to all."

GREEN ACRE, AUGUST 1894

Photograph 32

From left to right: Swami Vivekananda, Sarah J. Farmer, M. H. Gulesian,and Dr. Edward Everett Hale.

In New Discoveries a reference is made to another photo that CoraStockham took at Green Acre. From the Portsmouth Daily Chronicle ofAugust 9 one learns that Miss Stockham took another group picture (yetto be unearthed) in which Swamiji was present. This time it was in theTent following a lecture given by Dr. Edward Everett Hale on Thursday,August 2. The pertinent passage reads in part:

. . . Swami Vivekananda, as a representative of the far east,sat upon the platform, gorgeous in his scarlet and gold. At

the close of the lecture he and Dr. Hale, Mr. Gulesian [anative of Armenia] and Miss Farmer were photographed in agroup by Miss Stockham of Chicago.

This photo from the Bahai Archives certainly seems to be the picturethat was lying unearthed until now.


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GREEN ACRE, 1894

Photograph 34

This picture was taken during Swamijis stay at Green Acre in 1894, but

was reproduced in 1899 in a Watertown, Massachusetts newspaper

article on Green Acre.


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NEW YORK, 1895 (probably between February and June)

Photograph 35

Photos 35 to 37 were taken at the Prince Studio, 31 Union Square, NewYork. A report of Swamijis first talk of a lecture series that he was togive in January of 1896 appeared in the New York World Telegram,January 6, 1896. It was entitled:

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA LECTURES

The Hindoo Monk tells New Yorkers about the Truth andUtility of Religion.

This report was accompanied by a line drawing of SwamiVivekanand, [based on this photo] standing solidly on theplatform of the hall, his hands behind his back. The drawing ishardly that of a tall man, of handsome face and figure, but it isreproduced in this book [New Discoveries] for the readersamusement or indignation, as the case may be. Swamiji himself


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different import. It was as if he made you realize that you were ineternity. It never altered. It never grew. It was like the sun thatyou will never forget once you have seen. . . . His presence, yousee, was dynamic. You cannot pass that power on unless you

have it.V

NEW YORK, 1895

Photograph 37

This photograph has also been mistakenfor Chicago, 1893. One reason for themisidentification of photo nos. 36 and 37may be their resemblance to Swamijis1893 Chicago photographs. However infull reproductions of both of thesephotos, it is clear that they were taken in

the same New York studio as # 35.

Sister Devamata recalled in herreminiscences her first impression ofSwamiji when she heard him speak inNew York in 1895:

A sudden hush, a quiet step on the stairs,


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and Swami Vivekananda passed in stately erectness up the aisle to theplatform. He began to speak; and memory, time, place, people, allmelted away. Nothing was left but a voice ringing through the void. Itwas as if a gate had swung open and I had passed out on a road leading

to limitless attainment. The end of it was not visible; but the promise ofwhat it would be shone through the thought and flashed through thepersonality of the one who gave it. He stood thereprophet ofinfinitude.

NEW YORK, APRIL 6, 1895

Photograph 38


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Swamijis palm impression appeared in the book Language of the Handby Cheiro. Cheiro was a famous palmist in the late nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries. No doubt, one of Swamijis wealthy friends in NewYork took him to Cheiro to have his palm read.

We have been trying to locate Language of the Hand, which is out ofprint, to check for details that Cheiro might have given about the linetracing of Swamijis palm. So far we have been unable to find the book.

When Swamiji was young he and other boys would try to foretell thefuture by reading each others palms. Naren was the chief palmist ofthem all. He told them that he would be a monk: there was no mistakeabout it. See! he would say triumphantly, there is the sure sign of asannyasi. And he would point out certain lines on his hand which an oldman had once told him were characteristic of the tendency tomonkhood.

THOUSAND ISLAND PARK, JULY 1895

Photograph 39

Swamiji used to take walks in the village of

Thousand Island Park with his students, Sister

Christine, and others.

We know of two such walks the group took

through the village. One of them took place

before the morning class and perhaps before


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many people were abroad. They stopped at the Thousand Island Park

Studio, which specialized in Portrait Photography, Instantaneous

Pictures, [and] Thousand Island Park Views, and at the request of his

students Swamiji had tintypes taken of himself, two of which may well

have been this poseone full?length with a painted river?view for a

backdrop, and the other [# 40] a simple head and shoulders. He was

so full of fun, so merry, Mrs. Funke wrote of this occasion.

THOUSAND ISLAND PARK, JULY 1895

Photograph 40

This is the "head-and-shoulders"print made at Thousand Island Park.

The original print of this head-and-

shoulders photo bears the name of

the studio: Lamson & Van Camp,

1000 Island Park, N.Y.


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LONDON, 1895

Photograph 41

"The formal meeting between SwamiVivekananda and England--the beginning ofwhat was to be a long and mutuallysatisfactory friendship--took place on theevening of Tuesday, October 22, in PrincesHall, London. Fittingly, Swamiji chose for hissubject Self-Knowledge, the key, as hesaid in an interview, to his philosophy."

Announcements began to appear in various

London newspapers. "In addition, the DailyGraphic, a smaller paper than the Gazette,but, as it said of itself, The most popularhome newspaper in the world, publishedon October 21 [actually 22] a brief articleabout Swamiji accompanied by aphotograph. (The Daily Graphic alsoboasted that it was the only illustratedmorning newspaper published in theworld.) Its article ["An Indian Monk in

London"] reads:

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

An interesting figure has lately arrived in this country in theperson of Swami Vivekananda, an Indian Yogi--one whoformally renounces the world, and gives himself to study anddevotion. He left India to express his interpretation of the


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Vedanta philosophy to Western people at the Parliament ofReligions held at Chicago in 1893. Since that event he hasbeen teaching and lecturing in America. He has now reachedEngland, but will, after a short visit, return to America to carry

on his self-appointed task there during the winter. He willlecture at Princes Hall, Piccadilly, tomorrow evening."

In New Discoveries it is mentioned that "the portrait of Swamiji thataccompanied the above [41] was taken at the Walery Photographers, thenlocated on Regent Street in London, and is all the proof needed that thisnow well-known picture, which shows him in profile, wearing a blackastrakhanlike hat and a clerical collar, was taken in London in 1895 andnot, as had long been supposed, in Cairo five years later. We may judge,incidentally, that Swamiji had come into London some time before Sunday,October 19, to sit for his photograph, for on Monday, the twentieth, he

wrote from Caversham to Miss MacLeod, who had recently arrived in thecity, that he would not be able to come in to see her until the day of thelecture."

It can be reasonably assumed that the next five photographs (42 to 46)were taken at the same sitting. In two of these photographs Swamiji iswithout his cap, but in every other detail he appears the same, includinghis robe and buttoned clerical collar.

+

LONDON, 1895

Photograph 42

Mr. Desai who attended Swamijisfirst public lecture in London recalled:

That was the first time I saw thecommanding figure of the greatswami. He looked more like an Indian


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Prince than a sadhu (holy man). He had a bhagva patka (ochrecolored turban) on his head. He electrified the audience by hisgrand and powerful oratory. The next day the report appeared inthe papers that he was the next Indian after Keshab Chandra Sen,

who had surprised the English audience by his magnificentoratory. He spoke on the Vedanta. His large eyes were rolling likeanything, and there was such an animation about him that itpasseth description. After the meeting was over, the swami tookoff his turban and put on a huge and deep Kashmiri cap lookinglike a big Persian hat.

V

LONDON, 1895

Photograph 43

An excerpt from an article that

appeared in the London Daily Chronicle

of October 23, on Swamijis lecture

stated:

THE SWAMI VIVEKANANDA:


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Attired in picturesque Oriental costume, this famous

preacher last night addressed an audience at Princes Hall

on "Self-Knowledge." He is an Indian Yogi, that is to say, one

who has formally renounced the world and gives himself to

study and devotion, and not, as he amusingly pointed out

last night, one who did juggling tricks or flew through the

air.

LONDON, 1895

Photograph 44

On November 19, 1895, theWestminster Gazette ran an article on

Swamiji entitled: "An Indian Yogi inLondon." The following is an excerptfrom that article:

The Swami Vivekananda is a strikingfigure with his turban (or mitreshapedblack cloth cap) and his calm but


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kindly features.

On my inquiring as to the significance, if any, of his name, the swamisaid: "Of the name by which I am now known (Swami Vivekananda), the

first word is descriptive of a sannyasin, or one who formally renouncesthe world, and the second is the title I assumed--as is customary withall sannyasins--on my renunciation of the world; it signifies, literally, thebliss of discrimination."

LONDON, 1895

Photograph 45

Reverend H. R. Haweis--one of the

leaders of the Anglican Church in thelate 1800s--made a penetratingcomment about Swamiji which givesus insight into his first season inLondon:

This remarkable personappeared in England in the


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autumn of 1895, and although he led a very retired life, [he]attracted numbers of people to his lodgings, and createdeverywhere a very deep impression. He seemed completelyindifferent to money, and lived only for thought. He took

quite simply anything that was given to him, and whennothing came he went without, yet he never seemed to lackanything.

LONDON, 1895

Photograph 46

Swamiji had a deep and subtle

influence on the hearts and minds of

the English people. It was such

characteristics as these--his

immense personal magnetism, his

directness, his lucidity, his vision--

which gave convincing force to his

utterances and bound indissolubly


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to himself large groups of the very finest and the most devout disciples.

LONDON, 1896

Photograph 47

Swamiji returned to England thesecond time in April of 1896. Heremained in England until July 19,when he left with a party of three(Captain and Mrs. Sevier, and MissHenrietta Muller) for a Europeantour. On September 19, 1896, hecame back to England once again,to remain until he left for India in

December of the same year. Swamijicontinued to attract and deeplyinfluence people in England as thefollowing excerpt from an article inthe Indian Mirrorpublished in theJuly 1896 issue ofPrabuddhaBharata clearly illustrates:


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He who has once listened to the great swami, is tempted toattend every lecture that he delivers. We cannot but ownthat the man possesses a great magnetic power or somepower divine by which he even draws so many Londoners

towards him.

LONDON, DECEMBER 1896

Photograph 48

Miss Emmeline Souter, an admirer of Swamiji and a wealthy friend ofthe Reverend Hugh R. Haweis, arranged for some photographs to bemade of Swamiji. In a letter written from Kolkata on May 5, 1897, toMargaret Noble (Sister Nivedita), Swamiji said: "The only help I got in


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the world was in England, from Miss Souter and Mr. Sturdy."

According to New Discoveries Miss Souter had Swamiji professionallyphotographed before he left for India: "As the time for Swamijisdeparture from England drew near, Miss Souter, as though to stay the

sun in its passage, had the professional photographer, Alfred Ellis, take[about] twelve studio pictures of him."

However, "in recent years a proof sheet from the photographic studio ofAlfred Ellis has come to light in which six (not twelve) poses of Swamijiare shown. They are: (# 48) the well-known meditation pose; (nos. 49and 50) two full-length with robe and turban; (# 51) one bust with robeand turban (right profile); (# 52) one bust with bare head; and (# 53)one full?length with robe and bare head. Three of the originalphotographs from the Ellis studio (nos. 49, 52, and 53) are in thearchives of the Vedanta Society of Northern California.

There is another view regarding where this photo (# 48) was taken.According to Swami Prabhananda of the Ramakrishna Mission Instituteof Culture, oral tradition has it that this photograph (which isworshipped in many shrines of the Ramakrishna Order) was taken whenSwamiji went into samadhi while demonstrating asanas during a rajayoga class in London.


Photograph 49

Eric Hammond in his reminiscences of

Swamiji in London describes his

appearance while lecturing:

It was a novel sight, a

memorable experience. His

dark skin, his deep glowing


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eyes, even his costume, attracted and fascinated. Above all,

eloquence acclaimed him, the eloquence of inspiration.


Photograph 50

During his classes on jnana yoga:

Swamiji seemed to rise to a state

bordering on the divine--awesome

and yet infinitely gracious.

[Mahendra Nath Datta, one ofSwamiji's younger brothers,

remarked] "Face shining, he had lost

his human nature and seemed like

someone from a higher plane, as if

his previous self had vanished and in


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my heart. The whole world becomes filled with it, as it were.Even as he said this, Swamiji began to dance like a child for alittle while. Then he said with affection to those who werepresent, Be happy, don't be depressed; the Mother is

everywhere; all will be filled with bliss!

LONDON, DECEMBER 1896Photograph 53

Another day when sobersided Mr.

Sturdy was not there, Swamiji and

Swami Saradananda themselves tried

(without much success) to ride a

bicycle in front of the house. That

day, Mahendra, [who was withSwamiji in London at that time]

recalled, he was his boyish self, all

jokes, and in a sweet voice he sang a

Bengali song.


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COLOMBO, JANUARY 1897

Photograph 54

Swamiji returned from the West for the first time in January 1897. It wasa triumphal time of great rejoicing. He never expected such atremendous reception from his countrymen. Arriving in Colombo onJanuary 15, he left on the nineteenth for Kandy. Sometime during thisfour-day period three photographs of Swamiji were taken (nos. 54, 56,and 57). An early print of # 54 bears the name of the photographer "A.W. Andree, Columbo." Since Swamiji was in Colombo such a short time,it seems reasonable that the other two photos were taken at the samesitting. His appearance also suggests this. In all three pictures the tail ofhis turban, which is draped over his left shoulder, is tucked under his

chaddar.

Upon request Mrs. Poomani Gulasingam, a devotee of the RamakrishnaMission in Colombo and a lecturer at Colombo University, researchedthe provenance of Swamiji's photos taken in Colombo. Mrs. Gulasingamreviewed newspapers of the period and tried to contact Andree'sdescendants with no luck.

For months she, along with others, exhaustively pursued variousavenues of information about the photos, including contacting some ofthe descendants of the families who had come into close contact with

Swamiji during his visit, some of whom had participated in the receptionaccorded to Swamiji. Collections of old photographs and documents,both public and private, as well as the Colombo Archives werethoroughly searched. Mrs. Gulasingam had said earlier: "There is astrong belief among old devotees that one of these photographs wastaken on 16 January 1897 during the public lecture in the Floral Hall andthe others on 19 January 1897 at the Public Hall." So far her researchhas not substantiated this.

Although it is true that Swamiji gave talks in both of these places inColombo, it remains to be seen if the photographs were actually takenin these halls on those occasions. From all appearances they seem to bestudio photographs.


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Photograph 56

This pose of Swamiji is reminiscent of thefamous Chicago pose of 1893. J. J. Goodwin,one of Swamijis beloved English discipleswho was with him at the time, wrote a letter

on January 22, 1897, to Mrs. Ole Bull inwhich he described their reception inColombo. On Sunday, January 17, Swamijiand his party visited a local temple in theTamil quarter of the city. In his elaborateaccount of the honor accorded Swamiji,Goodwin makes an interesting comment:The Seviers and I, but particularly myself,have come in for an enormous amount ofattention. We are always sprinkled with rosewater and given sandalwood. One man

wanted me to be photographed with theswami so that he might worship me withSwamiji.

The question naturally arises: on thisoccasion was a photograph actually taken of Swamiji, either withGoodwin or just by himself? Since the letter is not published in full, ananswer to this question is not known at present; however, futureresearch may throw more light on this incident.


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Photograph 57

An excerpt from a Colombo local paper, the Ceylon Independent,

describes how Swamiji was received when he arrived there: As the day

was closing and the night approached, when the auspicious and sacred

hour ofsandhyanoted by the Hindu shastras as the best suited for

devotion came round as the harbinger of the coming great events of

the day, the sage of noble figure, of sedate countenance with large,

luminous eyes, arrived, dressed in the orange garb of a sannyasin,

accompanied by the Swami Niranjanananda and others. . . . No words

can describe the feelings of the vast masses and their expressions of

love, when they saw the steam launch bearing the sage, steaming

towards the jetty.


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CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 1897

Photograph 58

A quaint and charming article appeared in the April 1897 issue ofPrabuddha Bharata concerning photos 58 and 59:

THE PHOTO-TYPE OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA: Herewith, we gladly sendthe photo-type of Swami Vivekananda. It is the best likeness we havebeen able to send to our subscribers. It is from a half-tone blockprepared for us by Messrs. S. K. Lawton and Co., of Jaffna, Ceylon, froma photograph specially taken here by Mr. T. G. Appavan Mudaliar, No. 3,Veeraraghava Mudali Street, Triplicane, Madras. We are sure manywould be glad to have the likeness of the swami in his simple Indiansannyasi dress and position. We are sorry to announce that many of oursubscribers have not as yet sent us the small amount of two annas, weasked of them, to meet the extra cost in printing these photo-types onseparate sheets. Nevertheless, we have sent a copy of the above


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photo-type to each of our subscribers, in the fullest hope that such ofour subscribers as have not already remitted the amount, will not fail toremit the same at their earliest convenience. We can never bringourselves to believe that any of the subscribers of the "Awakened India"will fail to send this small amount of two annas for both the photo-

types. We tender our thanks to those of our subscribers who havealready remitted the amount so promptly; we regret that we cannot findspace to publish their names.

We, of course, tender our thanks to Mr. T. G. Appavan Mudaliar fortaking such beautiful photos of Swamiji. In the February 1897 issue ofPrabuddha Bharata there is some information about Mr. Mudaliar. Hewas a well-known photographer of South India of those days and washimself a bhakta or devotee. The subject matter of his photographswhich was mainly religious--temples and images--reflected his ownreligious temperament. He could not have found a more divine being

than Swamiji to photograph and he surely must have recognized that.

The Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, was consulted as to whether theyknew anything further about Mr. Mudaliar. The Chennai Math researchedthe matter. Apparently the house that is located at Mudaliars oldaddress was built in the 1920s; it is uncertain what existed on that lotbefore 1920. Another possibility is that No. 3 Veeraraghava MudaliStreet (in the 1890s) may have been renumbered later. Renumberingshave taken place in many parts of the city. Unfortunately the Math hasbeen unable to trace Mudaliars residence or family.

In future if the Mudaliar descendants could be located, perhaps furtherinformation about Swamijis Chennai photos could be brought to light.Investigating the company in Ceylon that prepared the halftone blocksfor Swamijis photos is precluded by the present political situation inthat area.

V


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Photograph 59

It is not known to date who arranged for Mr. T. G. Appavan Mudaliar to


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take these two photos. However, it seems likely that one of Swamijisadmirers was behind it, like K. Sundararama Iyer, or Biligiri Iyengar, whoprovided his residenceCastle Kernan (later named VivekanandaHouse, and presently being maintained by Sri Ramakrishna Math,Chennai)for Swamijis nine?day stay in Chennai, or perhaps one of

Swamijis ardent disciples from Chennai. K. Sundararama Iyer said ofSwamiji at that time:

I enjoyed the infinite pleasure and privilege of once morelooking at his wonderful eyes direct, recalling to myrecollection all he had achieved and mentally running overwhat his future career might be as the future minister of theVedic religion.


Photograph 60

Sitting on chair (left to right): Tarapada (a monk from another order),Swami Shivananda, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Niranjanananda, andSwami Sadananda.Standing (left to right): Alasinga Perumal, J. J. Goodwin, M. N. Banerjee,and other local devotees.Front row (left to right): (second) Biligiri Iyengar, (fourth) M. C. NanjundaRao.3


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This photo appears to have been taken a few days after the two singleones (nos. 58, 59) of Swamiji. In all respects his appearance is thesame, except that his shaven head shows signs of a few days growth. Itseems quite possible that Mr. Mudaliar took this group photo as well.

One can well imagine that he could have come to Castle Kernan whereSwamiji was staying. It seems unlikely that so many people, especiallythe local devotees, would go to a studio to have an official photographtaken.

Mr. Sundararama Iyer mentioned in his reminiscences:

At last the train steamed into the station to the great delight of allwho had gathered there and been kept waiting owing to thelateness of its arrival. The swami alighted in company with two ofhis fellow disciples of Sri Ramakrishna [Swamis Shivananda and

Niranjanananda] and another who was his own disciple [SwamiSadananda] and had been attracted to him while he was formerlya stationmaster in some railway line in North India. They hadgone to Colombo to meet him and to give him new kashaya(ochre) clothing for his wear as an Indian sannyasin in lieu of hisEuropean costume. The swami was also accompanied by Mr.Goodwin, the Englishman who had been engaged to take down inshorthand his lectures in America and who had become hisdisciple and refused to accept any wages for his work and nowhad got himself attached to the swami for the rest of his life. Hewas clothed in purely Indian and brahmin costume to the surprise

of us all.

He goes on to say that when Swamiji was with his brother disciples at

Castle Kernan: Their simple ways and hearty greetings, their easy

manners and frank unconventional behavior towards each other, were

very attractive to all who had the privilege of getting into the interior of

Castle Kernan.


Photograph 61


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Crop from previous group photo.

KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 28, 1897

Photograph 62


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This photograph was taken at a reception in Kolkata, February 28, 1897.(The x identifies Swamiji.)

The following is an excerpt from The Amrita Bazar Patrika of March 1,1897, which published a report of the reception accorded to Swamiji:

Welcome address to Swami Vivekananda

As announced before a meeting was held yesterday eveningat the residence of the late Rajah Sir Radhakanta DebBahadur to present Swami Vivekananda with an address ofwelcome. The meeting was very largely attended, the

specious [archaic meaning] natmandirwhere the meetingwas held, its wings and passages leading to the place,being filled with an expectant crowd to hear for the firsttime the swami. Among those present we noticed RajaRajendra, Narayan Deb Bahadur, Mr. Justice ChundraMadhab Ghose, Raja Peary Mohun Mookerjee, Rajha [sic]Benoy Krishna, the Honble Guru Prasad Sen, and others.Punctual to time, the swami accompanied by some of hisdisciples, including a European lady and gentleman[Captain and Mrs. Sevier], arrived and was escorted to [the]dais raised in the northern extremity of the quadrangle. On

account of the unavoidable absence of the Maharaja ofDurbhanga, Raja Benoy Krishna took the chair. After makinga few suitable remarks he read out an address to SwamiVivekananda who, on rising to reply, was received with loudapplause. He said he was glad to be again among them andasked them to take him as the same Calcutta boy he was.


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KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 28, 1897

Photograph 63

Crop of photograph 62.

KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 1897

Photograph 64

This austere and somewhat awesome photograph of Swamiji was takenat the Calcutta Art Studio, 185 Bow Bazar Street in Kolkata. Early printsof this photograph, some of which may well be originals, have the


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above information stamped on the back. This photo is usually labeledas probably Gopal Lal Seals. However, from all appearances thisphoto, as well as the next (# 65), was taken in the same studio on thesame day. The negative of photograph # 65 includes the same studioslogo. The speculation that # 64 was taken at Gopal Lal Seals may have

arisen from Swamijis custom of spending his days with his disciplesand friends at that devotees riverside garden home in Cossipore duringthis period.


Photograph 65

This photograph also bears the samephotographic studios name, i.e., theCalcutta Art Studio. As in # 64, exceptfor the turban, Swamiji is without ashirt and his cloth is draped over hisleft shoulder.


Photograph 66

This photograph has been publishedas London, 1896. However, from allappearances it certainly seems tohave been taken in Kolkata in 1897. Itis said that having reached hismotherland, Swamiji shaved his head


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during his nine-day stay in Chennai. The photographs of this periodtestify to this fact. It is obvious, even in this photo where Swamiji ispictured with a turban on, that he is shavenheaded. In this photograph(66) Swamiji looks the same as he does in the following group photo(67), minus the turban. Several notices appeared in the Indian

newspapers about both photographs, 66 and 67.

The March 4, 1897, issue ofThe Statesman and Friend of India had thisadvertisement:

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA:

The Art Workers League, 34, College St., have taken twophotographs of Swami Vivekananda. One [66] is a cabinet-

size photograph of the swami, who is dressed in a longchapkanlike garment, but wearing apuggree much after thestyle of a Madrassi. The other is a group picture [67] of theswami and his disciples, which include Mr. & Mrs. Xavier[sic] and Mr. Goodwin, who have arrived from England. Bothphotographs are clear and distinct, and indeed, very welldeveloped.

The Bengalee paper ran this notice in its July 24, 1902,issue:

PHOTOS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA: With reference to anannouncement made sometime ago in these columns aboutthe photos of Swami Vivekananda available at the ArtWorkers League at 56-1, Sukeas Street [the managersaddress], we are informed that the bust of the swami is ofsimple cabinet-size and that the group (comprising bothEuropean gentlemen and ladies as well as Indiangentlemen) is in panel size or 12 x 10. The prices are Rs. 1and Rs. 2 respectively.

KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 1897 - At Gopal Lal Seals Garden House

Photograph 67


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Standing (left to right): Shantiram Babu, Mr. Turnbull, SwamiPrakashananda, Singaravelu Mudaliar (Kidi) (?), Swami Vivekananda,Captain Sevier, Swami Shivananda, unidentified person.

Sitting (left to right): Alasinga Perumal, Swami Ramakrishnananda,Swami Premananda, Mrs. Sevier, Swami Adbhutananda, SwamiTuriyananda, G. G. Narasimhachariar.Floor (left to right): unidentified person, Mr. Harrison of Colombo.

The announcement that The Bengalee made "sometime ago in thesecolumns" about photos of Swamiji referred to a short notice which waspublished in 1902: "THE LATE SWAMI VIVEKANANDAS PORTRAIT--TheArt Workers League have executed very good cabinet-size photos of agroup consisting of Late Swami Vivekananda with his colleagues andEuropean disciples. The photos are to be had of the Manager of theLeague at No. 56-1, Sukeas Street.

In From Holy Wanderings to the Service of God in Man, SwamiAkhandananda said: Afterwards, at Gopal Lal Seals garden house inCossipore, Swamiji had a group photograph taken with Mother Sevier,some of his gurubhais on two sides of her and some devotees such asAlasinga and G. G. seated on chairs, and himself standing behindMother Sevier. In that photo Dr. Turnbull can be seen standing. FromSwami Akhandanandas remark it is clear that Swamiji had thephotographer from The Art Workers League come to Gopal Lal Sealsgarden house to take the photo.


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KASHMIR, 1897

Photograph 68

Sitting on chairs (left to right): Swami Sadananda, Swami Vivekananda,Swami Niranjanananda, Swami Dhirananda.

This photograph has often been dated 1898. However it appears tohave been taken during Swamijis first visit to Kashmir in 1897. In aletter to Swami Brahmananda from Amritsar dated September 2, 1897,Swamiji mentioned that his party which consisted of Niranjan (SwamiNiranjanananda), Latu, Krishnalal (Swami Dhirananda), Dinanath, Gupta(Swami Sadananda), and Achyut were accompanying him to Kashmir.Krishnalal was the familiar name of Swami Dhirananda. There is no

mention of Swami Dhirananda being in the party that visited Kashmir in1898.

During this first visit to Kashmir, Swamiji was trying to acquire someland for the Math. He was received by various officials of high rank andnobility, for example, the brothers of the Maharaja of Kashmir, RajasRama Singh and Amar Singh. Raja Rama Singh received the Swamiwith marked cordiality and honor, seating him on a chair, and himselfsitting with officials on the floor. The interview lasted two hours. Mattersof religion, and the problem of improving the condition of the poor, werediscussed. He was literally besieged by visitors and was busy filling

many engagements, private and public, and visiting places of historicinterest with which Kashmir abounds.

No doubt this photograph was taken on one of these occasions wherepeople had assembled to meet Swamiji. His second visit to Kashmir in1898 was under entirely different circumstances and was prompted byanother mood, which was sparked by the sudden death of his beloved


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disciple, J. J. Goodwin.

KASHMIR, 1897

Photograph 69

Crop of Swamiji from previous Kashmir group.

KASHMIR, 1898--In a Houseboat

Photograph 70


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Barely visible in the houseboat (left to right): Josephine MacLeod, SwamiVivekananda, Mrs. Ole Bull, Sister Nivedita.

Swamiji received the terrible news of Goodwins death while he wasstaying at Almora. Apparently he had become impatient and restless to

leave the place where he had received this sad news. According to theLife, It was decided to spend some time in Kashmir. On June l1, 1898,therefore, with the women disciples who had come with him fromCalcutta, he left Almora for Kashmir.

Although not shown in the photograph, Mrs. Patterson, wife of theAmerican consul general in Kolkata and friend and admirer of Swamiji,was also in the party. In the four dungas (houseboats) their memorabletravel began. Josephine MacLeod was fascinated by the practicality ofthe dungas. She described them:

These boats called dungas are about seventy feet long[perhaps thirty feet] and broad enough to have two singlebeds in them and a corridor between, covered with amatting house; so wherever we wanted a window we onlyhad to roll up the matting. The whole roof could be lifted inthe daytime and thus we lived in the open, yet knew therewas always a roof over our heads. We had four of thesedungas, one for Mrs. Ole Bull and me, one for Mrs. Patterson[who accompanied them only to Anantnag and then leftthem to join her husband] and Sister Nivedita and one forswami and one of his monks. [Until the end of their stay in

Kashmir Vivekananda was alone in the boat. It was only justbefore they left the valley that Swami Saradananda wassent for to join them.] We stayed in Kashmir four months,said Joe, the first three in these simple little boats until afterSeptember, when it got so cold, we took an ordinaryhouseboat with fireplaces and there enjoyed the warmth ofa real house.

The Western pilgrims were in raptures. In the words of Sister Nivedita,The whole was a symphony in blue and green and white, so exquisitelypure and vivid that for a while the response of the soul to its beauty

was almost pain! They were all enchanted by the company of Swamijiwho charmed them with his knowledge of the countryside and itshistory. He was often so deeply absorbed in his own thoughts andvarious exalted moods that he completely forgot all thought of food ordrink.


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her granddaughter [who had recently passed away]. The next day,Vivekananda gave a ceremonious farewell banquet to General and Mrs.Patterson." Perhaps the same friends who took this photo (71) and alsophoto 70 of the houseboat also took the following ones (nos. 72-73)

with a roll?film box camera, which had become the rage in the late1800s. George Eastman of Rochester, New York, had come out with thefirst roll?film box camera in 1888. During this time in India it seemsmore likely that Westerners, rather than some of Swamiji's Indianfriends, would have had such a luxury item like a camera.

KASHMIR, 1898

Photograph 72


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This picture has often been misidentified as "Annisquam" and as the

first photo taken of Swamiji in the United States in August of 1893.

However, in some correspondence between Mrs. Gertrude Emerson

Sen, wife of Sri Boshi Sen, the famous scientist of Almora, and Swami

Ashokananda, she wrote that this photo (as well as no. 73) were taken

in Kashmir.

KASHMIR, 1898

Photograph 73

Sister Nivedita relates thatwhile in Kashmir, onemorning "when they wokeup, they found themselvesin the midst of thebeautiful valley,


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surrounded by the snow-peaks of the Himalayas on the horizon. Theytook a long walk in the morning across fields and came to a hugechenar tree in the middle of a pasture. The tree provided ample shadeand the Swami fantasized on how it could be used as a dwelling-placefor a hermit. Then he talked about the subject to which he always

seemed to gravitate: meditation."

BELUR MATH, JUNE 19, 1899

Photograph 74

Standing (left to right):Devendranath Mazumdar,Swami Nirmalananda,Swami Virajananda, SwamiShivananda, SwamiTuriyananda, SwamiAkhandananda, SwamiVijnanananda, SwamiSaradananda, SwamiSatchidananda, a friend ofSri U. N. Dev,*Mahendranath Datta[alternative identificationfor "a friend of Sri U. N.Dev "], Sri U. N. Dev.

Sitting on chairs (left to right): Swami Vivekananda and Nadu(Brahmachari Harendranath). [Nadu might be kneeling.]

Sitting on a bench [or on the edge of the veranda] (left to right): SwamiSomananda, Swami Kalyanananda, Swami Advaitananda, SwamiAtmananda, Swami Trigunatita, Swami Sureswarananda, SwamiBodhananda, *Br. Nandalal, *Kheda, Swami Prakashananda, Brojen,Swami Suddhananda. Below: Swami Nishchayananda, *probably HaruThakur [alternative identification for "Swami Nishchayananda].

* Cited in Prabuddha Bharata, vol. 86 (March 1981), 115.

This photo was taken at Belur Math on June 19, the day before Swamijiand Swami Turiyananda sailed for the West (the second time forSwamiji). In Swami Shraddhananda's book, The Story of an Epoch,which is based on his Bengali bookAtiter Smriti (Swami Virajananda


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and Contemporary Memoirs), he mentions:

As Swamiji's departure time approached, excitement spreadamong sadhus, devotees and admirers, both in the Math

and in Calcutta. It was not known how long he would beaway, and all were eager to have his company. True, hisbody was broken, yet Swamiji knew no weariness.Tirelessly, without rest, he discussed ideals and plans forthe samgha, and instructed, encouraged and enlivened allthose about him. . . . On the afternoon of June l9th, aphotograph was taken of all the sadhus with Swamiji.Virajananda, busy preparing food to be served to Swamiji,was repeatedly called and at last hurried to join the group.He had no time to don a shirt and appeared in the picturebarechested. After the photograph was taken, he returned

once more to his duty--but he felt like bursting into tears,for the good fortune of serving his guru would end in a fewshort hours.


Photograph 75

This photo was also taken at the Math on the same day as photographno. 74.


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Photograph 76

This photo is usually published as Calcutta, 1901. However, in SailendraNath Dhars,A Comprehensive Biography of Swami Vivekananda , he

mentions:

On 19 June, a day before sailing, photographs were taken,singly of the swami and, in group [nos.74 and 75], of himand the Brotherhood. One can easily understand from thesepictures how deplorable was the state of Swamijis healthand why, as we are told, his friends and disciples, who wentto receive him at his landing in London, were shocked at thesight of him.

This appears to be the photo of Swamiji taken singly on the occasionof the farewell gathering held in honor of him and Swami Turiyananda.Swamiji certainly looks unwell in this photo, as well as the followingone, no. 77.


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CALCUTTA, (JUNE 20?), 1899

Photograph 77

From left to right: Swami

Trigunatita, SwamiShivananda, SwamiVivekananda, SwamiTuriyananda, SwamiBrahmananda, SwamiSadananda (seated below).

This photo was taken at 8Bosepara Lane in Calcuttaat the rented house of SriBoshi Sen's family. The

Holy Mother was living inthis house at that time.Although this photographis published as having been taken in 1897, from the appearance ofSwamiji, Swamis Turiyananda, Shivananda, and Trigunatita, it seems tohave been taken in 1899 around the same time as the previous threephotos, nos. 74 to 76. It is quite possible that it was taken on June 20,the day that Swamiji and Swami Turiyananda sailed for the West withSister Nivedita and Swami Saradananda's brother. According to the Life,"On the day of departure the Holy Mother gave a sumptuous feast tothe swami, Swami Turiyananda, and all her sannyasi children of the

Math, at her Calcutta house."

In The Story of an Epoch, it is mentioned: "June 20, 1899, was the dateof departure. On that day, the Holy Mother, who was then living inCalcutta (in Bosepara Lane, Baghbazar), had invited Swamiji and all thesadhus of the Math for the noonday meal. In two large boats all themonks crossed the Ganga to Baghbazar. There they were royallyentertained by Sarada Devi."

The Life also mentions: "Sometime in the second week of June, Niveditaleft her house at 16 Bosepara Lane and moved to the Holy Mother'sresidence at 8 Bosepara Lane (Baghbazar), where she lived till she leftfor the West."

On June 18, two days before she left India, Sister Nivedita visited BelurMath accompanied by Swami Sadananda and Mr. MohinimohanChatterji. At the Math she was given a farewell tea party in her honor.Swami Sadananda returned with her to the Holy Mother's residence.


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Standing (left to right): Swami Turiyananda, Swami Abhedananda .

Sitting (left to right): Swami Vivekananda, Alberta Sturges, BesseLeggett (hidden), Josephine MacLeod, friend of Alberta's [sometimesmistaken for Sister Nivedita].

During the "great summer" of 1899 at Ridgely Manor, when Swamijispent ten weeks vacationing at Mr. Francis Leggett's estate, two groupphotos were taken on the circular portico at the back of the main house.These photos had to be taken sometime between September 8 and 17or 18 because it was during that time that Swami Abhedananda wasstaying at Ridgely Manor. Swami Abhedananda's diary entry forSeptember 8, 1899, reads:

Arrived at Kingston at 7:30 p.m. drove to Ridgely andarrived there at 9:30 p.m. Saw Swami V. and T. and livedwith them.

Swami Abhedananda left on September 17 or 18 for New York.


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RIDGELY MANOR, NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 1899

Photograph 80

This photograph was taken of the same people on the same day, at the

same place (as in no.79. Here "one sees Swamiji standing and looking

unwell and Alberta with her face in her hands, shielding her eyes from

the afternoon sun."


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RIDGELY MANOR, NEW YORK, 1899

Photograph 81

This is a photograph of a pastel drawingof Swamiji au Bedouin by Maud Stumm,a young artist who was one of theLeggetts house guests during the"great summer." "On a hot summer dayMiss Stumm and others asked Swamijito show how he wound his turban--ademonstration he had given perhapscountless times in the West forfascinated children and grownups alike.Now at Ridgely Manor he wound and

unwound the length of silk, disclosingthe mysteries not only of his own turbanbut of other kinds as well. When hearranged it as the desert people do, tokeep the neck from the great heat, MissStumm recounted, I asked him to pose,and he did, talking all the time. Thatwas the day he talked to us of purityand truth. "

" The lines of the mouth were so simple and lovely and yet so verydifficult! Miss Stumm wrote of her attempts to draw him."

A charming sequel to this account is that Swamiji himself took drawinglessons from Miss Stumm. She recalled:

At an appointed hour he came, promptly, bringing to me,with a curious little air of submission, a huge red apple,which he laid in my hands, bowing gravely. I asked him thesignificance of this gift, and he said, "in token that thelessons may be fruitful"--and such a pupil as he proved tobe! Once only did I have to tell him anything; his memoryand concentration were marvelous, and his drawingsstrangely perfect and intelligent for a beginner. By the timehe had taken his fourth lesson, he felt quite equal to aportrait; so . . . Turiyananda posed, like any bronze image,and was drawn capitally--all in the study of Mr. Leggett, withits divan for our seat, and its fine light to aid us.


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RIDGELY MANOR, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 1899

Photograph 82

Swami Vivekananda and Mrs. Ole Bull

This photograph was thought to have been taken in Green Acre in 1894.However, the Eliot Bahai archivist in Green Acre has indicated that it wastaken at Ridgely Manor in October 1899:

[The photo of] Swami Vivekananda and Sara Bull at Green Acre is a mysteryfor me. Some have suggested that it is at her cottage at Green Acre, howeverthe cottage was not built until 1897 and Vivekananda did not visit after 1896.One might think that it is on the porch of the [Green Acre] Inn but the railingfinials are not of that design! I do not believe it was taken at Green Acre.Joseph Frost, of Eliot, has in his possession a gla

8750686 vivekanandas rare images

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