SHRI SADGURU VASUDEVANAND TEMBE SWAMI

He was born in the village of Managaon near Savantwadi, then a princely state in southern Maharashtra, in a traditional, religious Brahmin family, devoted to Lord Dattatreya. His grandfather Haribhataji used to recite Shri Gurucharitra regularly. He also used to make manuscripts of the holy book to supplement his meager income. His father Shri Ganesh Bhataji Tembe was a devotee of Dattatreya, spending long periods, sometimes years together, in the remote Ganagapur temple of the Lord in Karnataka. His mother Ramabai also used to spend her time in religious pursuits like jap (recitation of mantras), pradakshina, path(reading holy books), atithisatkar (hospitality) etc. After a particularly long stay in Ganagapur, Lord Dattatreya appeared in a dream and instructed Shri Ganesh Bhataji to return to Managaon and attend to the duties of a householder (grihastha), promising to incarnate as their son. It was after his return from Ganagapur that his eldest son Vasudeo was born on the 5th day of the dark fortnight of the month of Shravana of A.D.1854. Tembe family was endowed with spiritual riches (daivi sampat) but had little temporal wealth. Their priestly duties were not adequate for the livelihood and Vasudeo's grandfather took to agriculture as a side business.