Photo of Cover of the scholarly book Aatmavidyaa by Hari Ganesh Godbole, Artist S.H.Godbole’s father

Shankar Hari Godbole was born around 1885 in Wai in Maharashtra. Wai was an important religious centre on the bank of the Krishna river. Godbole’s ancestors were in traditional priestly occupations, well-versed in the Vedas. Godbole’s father was Hari Ganesh Godbole. His scholarly works ‘Aatmavidyaa’ and ‘Jivitavidya’ are bought and read even hundred years after  they first appeared. Hari Ganesh Godbole educated himself in the British colonial education system and became the headmaster of government high schools in Pune, Nasik, etc.