His father, Shri Dilwali Seth was a Sahejdhari Khatri and Nanak Panthi. His family including his father, mother, mother-in-law, sister and his wife Nārāini Devi (called "Rādhāji" by followers and devotees) were followers of Param Sant Tulsi Sahib of Hathras, India.
At the age of five, Shivdayāl Seth was sent to school where he learnt Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Gurumukhi. He also acquired a working knowledge of Arabic and Sanskrit. Sant Tulsi initiated him at the age of six.
Shivdayāl was selected direct from school to act as a Persian expert to a government officer in Banda.
He returned home for devoting his entire time to religious pursuits. He started holding satsang publicly on Vasant Panchami (a spring festival) in 1861, and continued for 17 years.
Shivdayāl originally referred to the Supreme Being with the names "Sat Nām" (True Name) and "Anāmi" (Nameless). The term Rādhā Swāmi ("Rādhā"="Soul" and "Soami"="Lord", hence "Lord of the Soul") was used after Salig Rām became a disciple.
Shivdayāl has described the secret of divine and True Name (Sat Nam).
His bani (poetical compositions) and sayings from satsang were published in two books after his demise. Both are called Sār Bachan or Sār Vachan (meaning "essential utterances"):
Sār Vachan Vartik (Sar Bachan in prose)
Sār Vachan Chhand Band (Sar Bachan in verse)
Sār Vachan Vartik is in two parts: part one being an introduction written by Rai Saligram and part two compiled of notes taken from the discourses of Shivdayāl, which he delivered in satsang up to 1878. They cover important teachings of the faith.
His poems in Sār Vachan Chhand Band are replete with emotional appeal - a successful blending of popular poetic expressions from different languages of north India such as, Khari-Boli, Awadhi, Brijbhasha, Rajasthani and Gurumukhi.
