Virchand Gandhi “Lecture on India” poster, 1893
Published in Jainacharya Shri Atmanand Centenary Commemoration Volume, 1936
Swami Vivekananda and guests at Green Acre School, 1894
Eliot, Maine
Collections of Eliot Bahá’í Archives, courtesy of www.VintageMaineImages.com, 6208
Swami Vivekananda at the World’s Parliament of Religions, 1893
Chicago, Illinois
Photograph by Thomas Harrison
Held in Chicago, the first World’s Parliament of Religions attracted religious leaders from around the globe. There were several lecturers from India, among them Virchand Gandhi, a Jain, and Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu of the Vedanta school of philosophy. The latter lectured widely throughout the United States, including at the Green Acre School, a center for comparative religious study. Vivekananda’s many wealthy and influential American friends provided funding to open Vedanta Societies across the country.