Morari Bapu was born to Prabhudas Bapu and Savitri Ma Hariyani on the auspicious day of Maha-Shivratri (1946) in Talgajarda, a small village near Mahuva in the District of Bhavnagar and State of Gujarat, India. Born into the Vaishnav Bava Sadhu Nimbarak lineage (parampara) where every male is called “Bapu” from childhood, Morari Bapu is commonly referred to as “Bapu” (meaning Father). Bapu has five brothers and two sisters, and is married with one son, three daughters and several grandchildren
Tribhovandas Bapu, affectionately called Dadaji, was a principled and learned scholar of the Raam Charit Maanas. He would teach Bapu five couplets (chaupais) with their meaning each day.
At the age of 12, Bapu began to recite the Raam Charit Maanas by heart. For his first recital to local herdsmen, he made a small mud-based platform on which he placed a portrait of Lord Ram. This location is commemorated today with a temple of Hanumanji Maharaj and named Raam Vaadi (meaning Lord Ram's orchard) in Talgajarda.
In Bapu’s words, the summary of righteousness (dharma) is threefold: truth (satya), love (prem) and compassion (karuna). Bapu’s life is like the flow of the river Ganges (Ganga pravah) – similar to how new water continuously replaces the current stream, Bapu believes in flowing traditions (pravahi parampara) that evolve with the times.