Swami Vivekananda at San Francisco

Sister Gargi’s thorough research has revealed that “two sets of photographs had been taken at the same studio [Bushnell]. In one set [nos. 93-95] Swamiji wears his robe and turban; in the other, [nos. 96-99] which shows him seated in an ornately carved chair, his head is bare, he wears his clerical collar and loose black coat. In all these photographs, he seems piercingly beautiful, the embodiment—almost translucently so—of grace in every meaning of the word. . . . “Attempts were made in San Francisco to recover the original negatives of these photographs, but to no avail. It seems fairly certain that they were destroyed by the Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Fortunately, however, the Vedanta Society of Northern California possesses some of the original prints and has made negatives from these prints. The two sets are the only pictures we have of Swamiji in San Francisco, and as Miss Partington has let us know, it is these photographs, not earlier ones, which show us how he was when he was here, how he looked when he lectured, when he talked to friends and interviewers, when he walked these streets.” 28 ❊ ❊ ❊ [Letter to Swami Brahmananda, March 12, 1900] Victory to the Guru! Victory to the Guru! You are my only refuge—you are my only refuge! Now that my mind is steady, let me tell you that this resignation is the permanent attitude of my mind. All other moods that come are, you should know, only disease. (Letters, 415)