Guruji Shivathma was born into poverty in 1962 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. As a child, he struggled for food and worked as a laborer while pursuing his education. Despite hardships, he excelled academically and was deeply moved by the suffering of the poor.

Motivated by a strong sense of purpose, he vowed to fight hunger and poverty especially for vulnerable groups like children, women, and the elderly. After completing his B.Com, a Diploma in Siddha Medicine, and Human Psychology, he became a successful Siddha practitioner and counselor. With savings and proceeds from his ancestral property, he purchased 8.68 acres of land near Coimbatore to build something meaningful.

In 2000, he established the Universal Peace Foundation a charitable trust dedicated to offer free food, accommodation, education and medical assistance for the needy. Today, it is maintained that it is one of the good Best NGOs in Coimbatore Coimbatore for the comprehensive humanitarian contribution towards people of all types without seeing the religion or caste.