Fondly known to his disciples as Gurugaru, Swami Srilasri Swaprakasananda Theertha Avadhootha was born in 1915 in the small village of Vidurbarthi, in Andhra Pradesh. Hailing from the Dattatreya lineage, Sri Swaprakasananda received no formal education; yet with the Mother's blessings, he acquired vast knowledge of the Vedas and Sastras and became well-versed in Sanskrit.
During his 20th year, Sri Gurugaru came in contact with some of India's finest spiritual gurus. He received diksha from Sri Poornananda Yogi, a disciple of the Tibetian guru Maru Maharishi. He was introduced to SriVidya upasana by Sri Kesari Kameswara Rao of the Madhvacharya sampradaya. In his 32nd year, Sri Gurugaru received diksha into the Mahavidyas of Sri Rajarajeswari, Vanadurga and Saptasathi Chandi. He attained poorna diksha from Sri Gnanananda Saraswathi of Anakapalli.
