Vasudev Anand Saraswati was born on August 13th, 1894. He is also known as Tembe Swami which means a saint who is an incarnation of Dattatreya. His parents were devotees of Dattatreya. Ramabai his mother was indulged in various religious pursuits while his father too spent years worshipping the Lord at the remote Ganagapur Temple. At the private school he attended, he learnt writing with his fingers on dust layers, very painful and tiring task for him. Vasudev mastered the basics of poetry and Sanskrit grammar soon with his quick memory and sharp intellect.
Later on his followers started knowing him as Sri Vasudevanand Saraswathi. Before leading a spiritual life, he lived a tough life as a householder, especially due to constant fights between his mother and wife. Vasudev Anand Saraswati started making rapid progress as he turned towards spiritual life. Lord Dattatreya provided him with direct guidance while moving towards spirituality.
During his difficult times, he met Shri Govind Swami at Wadi who turned out to be his mentor and guide. When his wife died Vasudev Anand Saraswati made a decision to give up worldly life completely. He left for Ujjain where he came in contact with his Guru Shri Narayanand Saraswati. His Guru introduced him to monastic life and awarded him the title of Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati.
After attaining the title, Shri Vasudev Anand Saraswathi spent his life in service of Lord Dattatreya, for the next twenty three years. He travelled to a lot of places by foot and spread Vedic ideals to the people of India. He died in Gujarat in the year 1914. Saptashati Gurucharitra Saar, Datta Mahatmya, Datta Puran and Dwisahastri Gurucharitra are some of his important literary works.
