Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati Tembe Swami Maharaj

A compact Biography.

• Grihasthashram
  Shri Vasudeo Shastri was married at an early age of 21 years (1875 AD) much against his wishes. One Babaji Pant Hawaldar of Ranganagad, a nearby village, approached his teachers Ukidave and Alavani to get his rather plain looking daughter with defective foot, married to Vasudeo.  Together, they practically settled the marriage without a word to Vasudeo. When his mother learnt of this, she was dismayed that her son has taken such a major decision without even consulting her. When Vasudeo later told her that he knew nothing of the matter and had not even set eyes upon the girl, she was somewhat pacified. Eventually, Vasudeo had to bow to the wishes of his teachers and thus married to Babaji’s daughter Bayo whom, as per the custom Vasudeo’s mother christened as Sou. Annapurna. Soon after the wedding Vasudeo commenced the worship of ritual fire (smartagni) and completed a Gayatri purashcharan.

  Subsequent to marriage, the need to earn some extra money took Vasudeo to Goa for a few months. He studied astrology with Shri Neelkanth Padye, a renowned astrologer in those days. Vasudeo’s sharp intellect and adherence to religious discipline, earned him the affection and respect Shri Padye. However, Vasudeo had soon to return to Mangaon because of his father Shri Ganesh Bhataji’s illness. Despite Shri Padye’s having held his belongings to ensure Vasudeo’s return, he never did.

  Vasudeo lost his pious and simple father at the age of 23(1877 AD). Shri Ganesh Bhataji was a spiritually evolved soul and knew the time of his death beforehand. He was only 56-57 at the time.

    Shastriji’s married life was not exactly a bed of roses. Sou. Annapurna never got along well with her mother-in-law. She had to suffer a lot of verbal and at times corporal abuse at the hands of Vasudeo’s mother. Shastriji being a devoted son never even uttered a word in his wife’s defense in spite of sympathy for her, lest his mother be offended. Annapurna felt neglected and at times rebelled by not cooperating in the various religious rituals, which formed such a major portion of Shastriji’s life. These continuing domestic clashes sharpened his inherent detachment. The thoughts of renouncing it all for an itinerant life were growing stronger by the day. One day, he left home quite determined to get initiated as a monk (Sanyasi) and went to Savantwadi. There, in a chance encounter, a spiritual being (brahma-pishach) told him through the medium of Shri Aanaavkar, quite unexpectedly, that his thoughts of renunciation are premature and he has much work to do at Mangaon. This made him change his mind. This particular brahm-pishach, on his own admission was the spirit of a learned and virtuous predecessor of Aanaavkar (a Brahmin) who accidentally killed a cow while trying to drive her away from his garden. He never told this to anybody nor did he perform the necessary absolutions (prayaschhitta). On his death, the Chitragupta (the angel of judgment) gave him a choice between the births of tiger or a brahm-pishach. He opted for the latter since this would preserve his memory and knowledge. According to him this birth would last for from hundreds to thousands of years. This Aanaavkar spirit was indeed very knowledgeable and was several times instrumental in solving Shri Vasudeo Shastriji’s problems in astrology and scriptural interpretations.