Shree Gurudev was born in 1934 in a small village of Raitale in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra in India. At the age of seven, Gurudev experienced the Divine realization in form of 'Sakshātkar' (Divine Vision). Then, Shree Nrusimha Saraswati Swāmiji (of Gānagapur), an incarnation of Lord Dattātreya Himself, initiated Him as His disciple and instructed Him to perform 'sādhana' (penance). Gurudev was engrossed in the 'sādhana' for 25 years after which Shree Nrusimha Saraswati Swāmiji blessed Him and instructed Him to take up the mission of preserving and protecting the Vedās. He led a life of a resplendent celibate. His was a difficult life similar to other divine incarnations like Sant Dnyāneshwar and Shree Rāmkrishna Paramhans.
Gradually, people started recognizing the spiritual authority of Gurudev and came to seek His guidance. Gurudev was a boundless reservoir of compassion, love and divine power. He would instruct them on the principles of 'Dharma' in a lucid and simple language. Gurudev did not give public discourse; His guidance always had an informal setting and was dialogue between 'Guru' (teacher) and 'Shishya' (disciple).
Shree Gurudev's darshan was enough to remove the cobwebs of ignorance and create happiness and tranquility in one's mind. It was through His mere darshan that atheists turned into staunch followers and eventually became His devout disciples. Slowly, the number of devotees started growing and eventually Shree Datta Devasthan Trust was formed for the purpose of protection of Vedās.
Shree Gurudev encouraged His devotees to spread the importance of Vedās, propagate the principles of Vedānta and collect funds for this purpose through 'Bhikshā' (offerings) from the people. He asked them to go to each house to explain His mission and seek the participation of the people. To organize this effort, He formed 'Satsang Mandals' in various cities and today there are around 20 Satasanga Mandals in various cities in and out of Mahārāshtra and new ones are coming up to participate in this movement. The Guru Paramparā emphasizes the importance of the Padukā. The darshan of Shree Gurudev's Padukā give the same Divine experience to the devotees the way they used to get before He left His embodied self in 1999.