Sri Swami Samarth Maharaj, the incarnation of Lord Dattatrey, had manifested Himself in a human form and carried out miraculous works. He was Superhuman. His lustre was divine and brilliant. He was blessed with long arms extending up to his knees. Such lustre of divine brilliance was being emitted from his body, that none could look at him directly. He was white-complexioned. He had a straight long nose. He had curved eyebrows, long ears, broad chest, thighs like banana-tree, and lotus like feet. He had sandal mark on his forehead and his arms.

He would wear loincloth. It might be right to say that the attendants themselves clothed Sri Swamiji with a loincloth. Sometimes Sri Swamiji would remove and throw away the loincloth and get naked. Sometimes he would wear an ear cap; sometimes he would wear a red-ochre costume. Sri Swamiji would always look very graceful. The nature of Sri Swami Samarth Maharaj, Lord Dattatrey incarnate, was very simple and straightforward. He was like a child. He was very generous, very kind to the devotees and always showered love towards his devotees. Mentally he was not narrow-minded. He would treat everyone equally without any difference. His kindness was showered equally on everybody like a king or a beggar, a small child or an old person, a woman or a man, a Hindu or a Muslim, a Varkari or a Lingayat, a Brahmin or a Shudra.

Sri Swamiji would get very happy on seeing the love of the devotees, but by seeing the worldly ailments like arrogance, hypocrisy, injustice, and immorality etc, he would get unhappy and very angry. From his heart, Sri Swamiji wished welfare of all devotees, but if he sees any devotee getting degraded due to misdeeds then he would punish the degraded devotee by becoming heartless. However, if any devotee repents on his wrongful action then Sri Swamiji would forgive him. Sri Swamiji was very tolerant. Whatever his attendants would do Sri Swamiji would endure in silence. For example Sri Swamiji bore with tolerance the actions in excess of Sundarabai.

For Sri Swamiji the earth and gold were alike. He would sometimes sleep on a bed and at times on stone, sometimes there would be the insignia of royal with elephants and horses but sometimes he would sit on a heap of rubbish. He would sometimes take bath a number of times in a day but sometimes for eight days he would not take bath at all.

He would sometimes be sitting in the house of a Brahmin and at times in the locality of Shudras. He would sometimes be staying in a Palace but sometimes on the verandah of a temple. He would sometimes be sleeping on a cot and sometimes in a pit. In all locations and under all circumstances he would be absorbed in himself.

Sri Swami Samarth was an ocean of knowledge. The pride of all learned persons and reputed scholars would sink in the presence of Sri Swami Samarth. He would place his bountiful hand on the head of a boy or a crazy person and cause him to recite the stanzas from the Vedas, the Upanishad, and the Bhagvad Geeta. The secret meaning of the Vedas would also get revealed in the presence of Sri Swami Samarth.

Sri Swamiji was temperate in speech. Occasionally he liked to adopt silence. He would speak in Marathi. Sometimes Sri Swamiji would speak out Sanskrit dictums. Out of fun or anger Sri Swamiji would speak out in Hindi language. He was very outspoken. He would shower abuses. Whether a person is rich, honourable or even a woman, Sri Swamiji would speak openly and clearly and expose them stark naked if necessary. His speech would be either indicative or symbolic. Sri Swamiji, the incarnation of Lord Dattatrey, had the power by which he was able to do and undo things. He would fill up water in a dried well and cure the most incurable diseases in no time. He would make a poor man rich. He would prevent death and revive dead body. All accomplishments stood before him with folded hands (i.e. All the siddhis bowed before him). Sri Swamiji was an ancient person. The Supreme Lord of the ancient Hindu mythology had manifested in the form of Sri Swami Samarth. As per the opinion of people of the same period he was an aged ascetic with a very long life. In this form he would manifest himself anywhere, anytime and protect the devotees and give them advice too. The inner-spirited Sri Swamiji would appear himself in the dreams of the devotees and bless them with visionary intuition.

In the form of Sri Swami Samarth, the attribute-less Supreme Lord Himself, had manifested with attributes. The Supreme Lord himself had incarnated as God and descended on this earth. How could one describe the infinite attributes of the Lord?

“Sab Dharati Kagaj Karo.
Lekhani karo Banray!
Sat Samundarki Masi karoo,
Guru Gan likha na jay!”.

(Let us make the whole world as paper and make entire forest as a pen. Let us make the seven seas as ink. Even then we will not be able to write entirely the attributes of our Guru- Sri Swami Samarth)

In the incarnation of Sri Swami Samarth the entire lustre, power and attributes had manifested. That is indescribable. You can only experience this with full devotion.