What he considers to be of the utmost importance in this spiritual path is
the motive of the disciple.The motive is likened to the life in the body, and the
significance of light to the eyes. Just as the body without life or the eye without
light is useless, the acts of a disciple without a pure motive are as good as mere
form. If desire and love of the world dominate the heart of a man, all his acts will
be worldly, even acts of worship. If desire and love of heaven predominate in his
heart, all his acts will be heavenly, even such acts as eating and sleeping.
Therefore, a disciple must attach importance to purifying his intentions.
To be successful in this task he has to obey the instructions of his teacher.
In one of his letters the Shaykh speaks of man’s love for God and signs
that attest to it:
1.Being given to prayer and seclusion
2.Preferring the DivineWord to human words; the Divine Presence to
the sight of man; the service of God to the service of the world; and not
grieving for any loss save separation from Him.
3.Being full of humility. It has aptly been said:‘Humility is the messenger
from God to man.’ The seeker must get rid of his self-conceit and self-
respect with asceticism and purification.
He holds knowledge to be as important for purification as ablution for
prayer. Knowledge is of two kinds, one received from books and the other
through inspiration.
The traveller on the divine path partakes of three states. 1. Action 2.
Knowledge 3. Love.These can be negotiated by one who wishes to discover
the truth with the help of a teacher. An experienced teacher instructs his
disciple in accordance with his spiritual capacity.
