Once at his sister’s place, Vasudeo displayed his mantric prowess by turning her intractable cow docile. Vasudeo’s austerities, dedicated practices and devotion soon led to his acquiring Mantrasiddhi i.e., supernatural powers manifested through Vedic mantras. As a result he became a respected and beloved figure in the Managaon and neighboring villages and started contributing to the family livelihood. Vasudeo, with his sincerity, sharp intellect and phenomenal memory, soon completed his study of the Vedas and became proficient in the priestly duties. 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. During the meal any impurity in the environment led him to leave his food and fast for the day.
The food thus prepared, he used to offer to sacrificial fire ( Vaishvadev ), the cow ( Gogra), to the crow (Kaakbali ) and finally to the Lord Datta, before partaking it in the manner ordained by scriptures. He only took fresh pure ( and vegetarian food prepared by himself or by his mother and never ate outside his home. He woke up daily before sunrise and took his bath and insulated himself from all impurities and contamination during the religious practices. Their priestly duties were not adequate for the livelihood and Vasudeo’s grandfather took to agriculture as a side business.
Tembe family was endowed with spiritual riches ( daivi sampat ) but had little temporal wealth. 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. 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. 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. 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. He also used to make manuscripts of the holy book to supplement his meager income. His grandfather Haribhataji used to recite Shri Gurucharitra regularly. 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.
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