Shreedhara Swami Maharaj was an Indian saint and religious poet in the Hindu tradition who was born on December 7, 1908, in Lad Chincholi, Karnataka. He was a devotee of Lord Ram and a disciple of Samarth Ramdas. His father passed away when he was three, and his mother and elder brother took care of the family. Shreedhara was admitted to a school in Hyderabad for his primary education, and he was spiritually inclined from an early age. One recorded incident from his childhood is that he chanted the name of Lord Ram to get through his exams and secured first rank. Shreedhara's elder brother died when he was ten, and his mother soon followed him. After her death, Shreedhara went to Gulbarga to live with his aunt and continued his education there. Later, he went to Pune and lived in an orphanage for some time. Here, his urge for spiritual enlightenment grew, and on the suggestion of one Mr. Palnitkar, he embarked on a journey to Sajjangad to seek spiritual knowledge at the place where Shri Samarth Ramdas had resided nearly three centuries earlier.
Sridhar Swami's journey towards spiritual awakening began with the guidance of his teacher, Shri Palnitkar Guruji, who recognized his intense inclination towards spiritualism. Guruji advised him to seek the blessings of Samartha Ramdas Swamiji, who resided at Sajjangad.
Sajjangad was the abode of Swami Samarth Ramdas for the last six years of his life. Legend has it that a stone structure, his Samadhi, emerged on its own at the cremation place of Shri Samartha on the very next day of his nirvana. Sridhar's yearning for spiritual awakening was evident as he started to give away all his money to the poor and threw away the rest.
Sridhar had a particular liking for a sweet dish, but he bought it, kept it in front of Lord Ram's idol, mixed cow dung in it, and ate it. This act showcased his devotion and renunciation towards materialistic pleasures.
On the day of his departure to Sajjangad, which also coincided with Vijayadashmi, Sridhar felt a sudden urge to seek the creator of the universe, who had control over all living and nonliving things, time and space. After a year and a half of his arrival at Sajjangad, Samarth Ramdas blessed Sridhar Swami and directed him to go to Karnataka and spread the message of Sanatan Vedic Dharma.
Thus, Sridhar Swami's journey towards spiritual awakening was guided by his devotion, renunciation, and the blessings of his gurus.
In the second half of the first month of the Hindu calendar, Swamiji's health began to deteriorate. Despite the pleas of his disciples to bring a doctor, he refused and reminded them of Samarth Ramdas's teachings about treating bodily pain as pleasure. He asked about the auspiciousness of the next day but kept the answer to himself. He took three baths, had a little milk, and spent the night in sahaj Samadhi avastha.
The next morning, Swamiji woke up at 5 am, completed his morning rituals, and meditated for a while. He came out of the meditation room at 8 am and agreed to have some milk before returning to meditation. Twice he said 'Om, Om' in meditation and then made his soul leave his body through the top of his head to merge eternally with Parbramha. Despite this, his posture and facial expressions did not change, and his aura became brighter for a while. This happened at 9 am on 19 April 1973, and Swamiji had achieved the Ultimate Samadhi.
Upon hearing the news, his disciples started coming to Varadpur, and his body was placed on a specially made bed of flowers. The news spread quickly, and it was announced over All India Radio.