Lord Vishnu was the first sadguru of this sampradaya. In his incarnation as Hamsavatar he appeared before the four saints Sri Sanakadi Rishi. It is mentioned in the Srimad Bhagvad Purana that he appeared before Sanakadi Rishi to impart spiritual knowledge. The four saints were the sons of Lord Brahma, who created them to procreate and increase the tribe of men on earth. But these pure minded souls showed no inclination towards worldly matters and requested their father Brahma to impart them spiritual knowledge and to instruct them on how to attain salvation. Brahma was busy in the creation process and was unable to answer their query. Brahma then meditated upon Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu appeared in the in Chaturbhuj (four armed) form as Hamsavatar and instructed the four saints on the path to salvation. Hamsa (swan) is a bird which can separate water from milk even when they are mixed together. Similarly the Hamsavatar can distinguish between Avidya (ignorance) and Vidya (knowledge), discard Avidya and receive Vidya. It was for this reason that this incarnation of Lord Vishnu was called Hamsa