Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati Tembe Swami Maharaj

A compact Biography.

• Devatas
  Devatas or the benevolent entities function as deputies of the supreme God carrying out well-defined functions and endowed with divine powers. The interaction of Devatas with human beings are dictated by the Karmic chart of the individual, the Devatas thus dispensing ill-effects of sins and the rewards of good deeds, impartially. Thus an individual will suffer a particular defect in his life, for example poverty, because of his Karmic deficiency. The respective Devata dispenses this defect (in this case poverty). The individual can, within limits, mitigate such blemish in his life by propitiating the particular Devata. Since all Devatas are manifestations of the One Supreme Being (God if you please), propitiating Him in the form family deity (Kul Devata) or personal Deity will also benefit the person. However, most people are not aware of the reasons of their miseries and even if they could guess these, they would not know the remedy. If by some stroke of luck, they somehow deduced the way, ordinary human beings will find it near impossible to tread the path. That is where the role of saints like Shri Swami Maharaj comes. They not only clearly visualize the causes of the particular imperfections in the human life, but also know the way/s to remedy those and have the capacity to help the people towards it. It is indeed the great good fortune to come into contact with such a saint! People with chronic and incurable diseases, men facing ruin in their life because of career or financial problems, women with marital problems, infertility, abortions or stillbirths, parents of handicapped children, in short all imaginable difficulties in human life, came to Shri Swami Maharaj. 
  In those cases where he perceived the problem to be mainly of Adhidaivik origin, he would advise the individual/s to some form of prayers or services to propitiate the particular deity. These services could be a specified worship, jap (verbal or mental repetition of a specific mantra), Saptah (seven-day service consisting of the ritual reading of a particular sacred book) of Shri Gurucharitra, circumambulation of the sacred Audumbar tree( Ficus glomerata) or a temple or sacred book. The duration and magnitude of practices were related to the severity of affliction. A gentleman from Savantwadi once came to Shri Maharaj at Chikhalada. He could not hold food in his stomach and had as a result become very weak. Shri Maharaj told him that this is the consequence discontinuation of the services to Kul Devata and gave him Datta Mantra and Devi Mantra for Jap and also some medicine. 
  During his last stay at Narsobawadi (1910), Shri Swami Maharaj directed the priests there to offer Abhishek (ritual shower accompanied by Vedic chants) to the Padukas as measure to restrain an imminent epidemic of cholera. When people asked him, “how does Abhishek help prevent an epidemic?” Shri Maharaj explained, “ death is also a manifestation of the God and the epidemics are his Shaktis (powers or consorts). By mollifying God through the services prescribed in scriptures, his Shaktis are also appeased.” Accordingly the Abhishek was performed and the epidemic averted.
  One Shri Vasudeo Thakur of Indore came to Wadi and sought the help of Shri Maharaj regarding his wife’s health. Shri Maharaj told him that this was the consequence of the Samadhi (memorial) of his saintly ancestor being neglected. Shri Thakur went his hometown and sought out the Samadhi and made arrangements for its upkeep and regular worship. This brought about the improvement in his wife’s health. Similarly a visitor whose offspring did not survive, had thriving issues after he followed Shri Maharaja’s advice to perform Mangal (Mars) Vrat (propitiatory fast).