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Background
Nineteenth Century Indian society epitomized
cultural confusion. The Vedic religious traditions that withstood a millennium
of Islamic tyranny were shaking at their very foundations by the systematic
intellectual onslaught of the British rulers. The people were loosing their
faith in the traditions, having forgotten the essentials of their own
religion. The doctrines of Vedic religion appeared ambiguous and
contradictory, the practices so diverse as to be conflicting and mythology
bereft of any meaning. There was a dire need for a person who could not only
make the people clearly understand these doctrines but also demonstrated, in
the form of his own dedicated life, the ideal practice of religion and finally
guided them on to the divine path. Such a person indeed was Shri Vasudevanand
Saraswati (Tembe) Swami, the great saint and ascetic who revived the ancient
Dattatreya tradition and embodied in his short life the ideals of
Brahmacharyashram, Grihasthashram and Sanyasashram.
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Family & Birth
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.
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Elementary Education
At the age
of three years Vasudeo started attending the private school held in the Yakshini
temple in the village. He had to learn writing with his fingers on a
layer of dust, a very tiring and painful practice. Apart from the secular
education in the school, Vasudeo also received traditional oral education from
his grandpa Hari Bhataji. With his sharp intellect and quick memory Vasudeo
soon mastered the basics of Sanskrit grammar and poetry.
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Brahmacharyashram
As per the
tradition, Haribhataji performed the
Maunjibandhan
of his beloved grandson Vasudeo, at about
the age of 8 years. This consists of initiation to the Gayatri Mantra and thus
to the first of the four
Ashramas,
Brahmacharyashram,
literally meaning the phase of celibacy. This period in a Brahmin’s life stage
devoted to the Vedic studies. The and Immediately after this, the young Vasudeo
started the daily rituals ordained by the scriptures viz.
Sandhya
twice a day,
1000
recitations of Gayatri
mantra, daily reading of
Shri Gurucharitra – the bible of Shri Datta tradition etc. He also completed 2.4
million recitations of
Gayatri.
He strictly followed the religious disciplines prescribed by scriptures,
specifically the
Gurucharitra.
He then commenced his studies of
Vedas,
the holiest
of the Hindu scriptures, under the guidance of Shri Tatya Bhataji Ukidave.
He woke up daily before sunrise and
took his bath and insulated himself from all impurities and contamination during
the religious practices. He only took fresh pure (sattvik)
and vegetarian food prepared by himself or by his mother and never ate outside
his home. The food thus prepared, he used to offer to sacrificial fire (Vaishvadev),
the cow (Gograas),
to the crow (Kaakbali)
and finally to the Lord Datta, before partaking it in the manner ordained by
scriptures. During the meal any impurity in the environment led him to leave his
food and fast for the day. He used to observe the fasts on the 11th days (Ekadashi)
of each fortnight, without even drinking water and abjuring sleep during day or
night.
Vasudeo, with his sincerity, sharp intellect and phenomenal memory, soon completed his
study of the Vedas and became proficient in the priestly duties. As a result he
became a respected and beloved figure in the Managaon and neighboring villages
and started contributing to the family livelihood.
During this
period, he also studied some astrology and Sanskrit poetry with one Shri Sadhale
Shastriji. However his perfection in astrological calculations soon started
embarrassing Sadhale Shastriji by being more accurate than the latter’s. This
led Sadhale to stop Vasudeo’s tuition.
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Mantrasiddhi
Vasudeo’s
austerities, dedicated practices and devotion soon led to his acquiring
Mantrasiddhi
i.e., supernatural powers manifested through Vedic mantras. There are numerous
examples of these. Once he was traveling by foot with a fellow priest, to a
nearby village through a forest. Suddenly they saw a snake slithering ahead of
their path. His companion asked Vasudeo whether he could try a mantra on it.
Quickly, Vasudeo holding some dust nearby in his hand and invoking an
appropriate mantra, sprinkled it in a circle around the passing snake. Suddenly,
the snake was stopped in his tracks. It could not cross the circle and started
moving round and round within it. The two priests went about their way. Having
finished their business in the neighboring village, they returned to Managaon,
forgetting all about the snake. Only the next afternoon, Vasudeo suddenly
remembered the snake and went to the spot along with his friend. To his horror,
the snake was lying listless in that circle apparently totally exhausted after
unsuccessfully trying to break through the circle. Quickly, Vasudeo took some
more dust and reciting a remedial mantra, sprinkled it over the poor creature.
The snake, as if suddenly released from the bondage, sprang away into the
bushes. This so deeply affected Vasudeo – we better now address him Vasudeo
Shastriji, or simply Shastriji, that he never again used any restraining mantras
on living creatures.
Once at his
sister’s place, Vasudeo displayed his mantric prowess by turning her intractable
cow docile. He also helped local police by providing an accurate description and
modus operandi of a particularly evasive gang of robbers. Another time, he
correctly predicted the capture of the accused by the police of another state.
He also helped people in distress by relieving them of their chronic ailments.
This augmented his reputation in Managaon and the surrounding area. He was now
respectfully addressed as Shri Vasudeo Shastriji.
However, it
must be emphasized here that Shri Vasudeo Shastriji never employed his powers
for either monetary gain or to impress others in any way. He only used his
powers to help the needy and to relieve suffering. We shall see that this
compassion for his fellow beings continued to be a major motivation in his
entire life.
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