Shaligram Swami took the vow of monkhood in the Narayana Ashram in South India. At that time, he was named Dayanand Saraswati. After he met Bhagawan Nityananda, he was renamed as Shaligram Swami. The shaligram is a dark black oval-shaped pebble found on the banks of river Ganges. The shaligram stone is considered to be infused with the power of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.

Shaligrams are often offered in temples where they are placed on the Puja. Even if there is statue of a deity in the temple, it is the shaligram which is said to attract the Shakti of Shiva and Vishnu to that place. For this reason, people have come to worship the shaligram stone. Swamiji once said, "The name Shaligram is not my surname, it is a responsibility bestowed on me by Bhagawan Nityananda. The Shakti of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu fuse in Shaligram."