Sri Ramakrishna passed away on 16 August 1886. A devotee brought the sad news to Girish, but Girish would not believe it. He said to the man: “This is a lie. The Master cannot die.”
“Sir, I have come from that place.”
“You had better go back there.”
“But I have seen him with my own eyes.”
Girish covered his eyes with his hands and retorted: “You say whatever you want. I have not seen it with my eyes, so I do not believe it.”
Girish later said: “I heard of the Master’s passing away, but I did not go to Cossipore to see him. I knew it would be hard for my weak mind to maintain faith in the Master’s immortal nature if I were to see his dead body. Moreover, my eyes would stand against my faith and would tell me: ‘Sri Ramakrishna is dead. Did you not see it with your own eyes?’ For this reason I intentionally kept a conflict between my eyes and my ears about the Master’s passing away. If my ears tell me, ‘Sri Ramakrishna is dead,’ I shall tell them: ‘You have heard so many rumours about the Master. Are you going to believe everything you hear?’ Let people say whatever they want. I did not witness the Master’s death, so I do not believe it.”
Girish had the firm conviction that the Master was God Himself, and that his body was eternal and full of pure consciousness. Disease or death could not touch his body. Because he was born as a human being, he acted as a human being, and death was also a part of his acting. (Source: They Lived with God)
Note: After Swami Vivekananda attained Mahasamadhi, Swami Brahmananda didn’t allow anyone to take pictures, saying that it would break many hearts.