Swami Vivekananda in Yogic posture

Judging from Swamiji’s appearance, this photo seems to have been taken around the same time as the two following photographs, 4 and 5. Shortly before Sri Ramakrishna gave up his body at Cossipore, Swamiji had an exalted spiritual experience there. Seeing him Sri Ramakrishna said: “Now then, the Mother has shown you everything. Just as a treasure is locked up in a box, so will this realization you have just had be locked up and the key shall remain with me. You have work to do. When you have finished my work, the treasure box will be unlocked again; and you will know everything then, as you did just now.” ❊ ❊ ❊ Cossipore, Wednesday, April 21, 1886 Narendra: I want truth. The other day I had a great argument with Sri Ramakrishna himself. M. (smiling): What happened? Narendra: He said to me, “Some people call me God.” I replied, “Let a thousand people call you God, but I shall certainly not call you God as long as I do not know it to be true.” He said, “Whatever many people say is indeed truth; that is dharma.” Thereupon I replied, “Let others proclaim a thing as truth, but I shall certainly not listen to them unless I myself realize it as truth.” (GSR, 962)