India, June 7 -- During his travels in the Himalayas, Guru Nanak Dev, has a dialogue with a group of spiritual adepts, the sidhas, The dialogue, titled Sidha Gosht, is documented in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. A simple version is also found in the writings of Bhai Gurdas, who was born in 1551 in Goindwal, a small village in the Punjab. Bhai Gurdas travelled to Varanasi where he studied Sanskrit and vedic scriptures, and also wrote in Brajbhasha, Persian, and Punjabi. His works in Punjabi are collectively called Varan Bhai Gurdas, and are known as the key to an understanding of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Varan Bhai Gurdas mentions the Sidhas asking:

O Nanak! What is the state of society in the mother land?

Guru Nanak Dev replies with an equally ...