Sri Lord Dattatreya
Dattatreya is the manifestation of Trimurti’s Lord Shiva, Maha Vishnu and Lord Brahma.
According to puranas, he was born in an Indian hermitage to Anasuya Ma and Maharishi Atri. As explained in the famous holy book Sripada Sree Vallabha Charithra, That formless, attribute less phenomenon whose great resolve resulted in the creation, sustenance and liquidation of countless crores of universes incarnated in ancient yuga as Sree Dattatreya taking a form of attributes.
It is true wonder how even the Lord wanted us to know and master the path of Dwaita (God and individual as distinct) that will take us to the ultimate state of Adwaita (nonduality). Young Dattatreya is famous in the Hindu texts as the one who started with nothing and without teachers, yet reached self-awareness by observing nature during his Sannyasi wanderings and treating these natural observations as his twenty four teachers.
As per the holy texts there is a story regarding the birth of Lord Dattatreya .
Sri Pada Sree Vallabha
Sri pada Sreevallabha is the first incarnation of Lord Dattareya as a Kali yuga avatar. In the Treta Yuga, Maharshi Bharadwaj performed Savitru Kathaka Chayan. It was the result of this yagya, that Lord Datta took avtar as Sri Pada Sri Vallabha, son of Shri Dhandikot Appalraj Sharma and his wife Sumati Maharani. He had Ardhanareeswara Tattwa, union of Shiva (masculine energy) and Shakti (feminine energy). He shared a special bond with his maternal grandfather, Sri Malladi Bapannavadhani. Sripada Srivallabha is 'Chiranjeevi' (immortal) and his human body disappeared in Kuruvapuram or Kurugaddi, a river island on river Krishna near Raichur, Karnataka. However, he still exists in 'Tejorup' (in Pure energy form) besides his faithful devotees.
It is an astonishing fact that Sreepada Sreevallabha had stated in his charithamrutham, written by Shriman Shankar Bhatt, that it will come to light only in the 33rd generation of Sri Baapannavadhani and that is what happened. Late Shreeman Malladi Govind Deekshit, the 33rd descendent of Malladi Bapannavadhani became the cause to bring this book to reality. Anybody who calls to him with love and devotion will reap both materialistic and spiritual benefits.
Sri Narasimha Saraswati
Shree Narasimha Saraswati Swami (1378 – 1459) was the second avatar of Dattatreya in Kali Yuga after Sripada Sri Vallabha. He was born to Maa Amba Bhavani and Sri Madhava in Karanja, Maharashtra, as per Sri Pada Sri Vallabha’s blessing to Maa Amba Bhavani in her previous birth, where he promised her that he would incarnate and take birth as her son and to continue worship of Lord shiva rather than trying to commit suicide. Shri Narasimha Saraswati/ Narhari was a quiet child, only speaking Aum since birth. This led his parents to worry about his speech ability; however, Narahari showed through hand gestures that after his upanayana or munji (sacred thread ceremony), he would be able to speak. He started reciting the Vedas after his munja. He was an ascetic and left home at the age of 7. He settled in Gangapur for the last 20 years of his life. His life is mostly covered in the holy text of Guru charitra.
Sri Swami Samarth
He was the fourth incarnation of Lord Dattareya and lived between 1858 to 1878. His birth and parental lineage remains a mystery. He told his devotees that he originated from the Banyan tree. He lived in Akkalkot in Maharashtra. His teachings are widely popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka. He took mahasamadhi in 1878. Akkalkot still remains popular among pilgrims. Swami Samarth travelled across the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent before settling at Akkalkot. He considered Manik Prabhu maharaj as his brother and is said to have had deep spiritual conversations with him.
Manik Prabhu Maharaj
He was the third incarnation of Lord Dattareya in Kali yuga and firmly taught advaita (non duality) Vedanta. He was born to Ma Baya Devi and Sri Manohara Naik in Basavakalyan, Karnataka. He preached oneness of all religions and had followers from various religions. Shri Prabhu was also associated with the First War of Indian Independence in 1857. It is believed that Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi, Shri Swami Samarth of Akkalkot, Shri Bramhachaitanya of Gondavale and many other contemporary saints visited Maniknagar to interact with Prabhu regarding spirituality.
Gajanan Maharaj
Gajanan maharaj is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Ganesha and Lord Dattareya. Even the temple premises where he attained samadhi and his sitting position with one hand at the top, resembles the elephant form of Lord Ganesha. His origins are not known. He lived in Shegaon Maharashtra and took samadhi in 1910. Gajanan Maharaj was an ardent user of marijuana and hashish. He performed many miracles such as giving a fresh lease on life to one Janrao Deshmukh, lighting the clay pipe without fire, filling a dry well with water, drawing sugar cane juice by twisting canes with his hands, curing leprosy of a man, healing himself of many honey bee bites, etc. He was a great scholar of yoga shastras.
Shirdi Sai Baba
Shirdi Sai baba is the fifth incarnation of Lord Dattareya. He is revered both by Hindus and Muslims. He preached the importance of self-realization. He treated all creatures with love and respect. He fed and shared his food with animals. His birth place and origins are unknown, however it is mentioned in Sai Satcharitra that he was found meditating under a neem tree for days. He was a true ascetic and a Fakir. Sai Satcharita accounts the below
The people of the village were wonder-struck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat or cold. By day he associated with no one, by night he was afraid of nobody.
His mosque which is popularly known as Dwarakamai has sacred fire or Dhuni and the udi is given to the devotees. This udi has miraculous healing powers even to this day. He delivered spiritual teachings to his visitors, and recommended the reading the Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita for Hindus and the Qur'an for Muslims.
He asked his devotees to always have Shraddha (faith) and Saburi (patience). He took mahasamadhi in 1918 on Vijaya Dashami day. His remains were interred at Buti Wada in Shirdi, which later became a place of worship that is known today as Shree Samadhi Mandir or Shirdi Sai Baba Temple.