Tajrîd and Tafrîd are indispensable for a Disciple. The one is the renunciation of the world and of outer concerns; the other is the renunciation of self. No impurity in his heart, no burden on his back, no market in his bosom;—not reckoned with any class of people, not concerned with any particular object, his aspirations soaring above earth, heaven and the Divine Throne,—such a Disciple rests in his Beloved. The Beloved away, all the worlds cannot please; their absence leaves no void when He is there. As said by a noble soul, “No grief in the company of God; no joy in the company of the non-God.” One away from God is at the very centre of sorrow and suffering, albeit he may hold the key of all the treasures of the earth. One attached to God, however poor, is king of heaven and earth. Khwâjâ Sirrî Saqtî was wont to pray: “O God! punish me, if such be Thy Will, any way save by veiling Thyself.” This is the only real hell. . . . As observed by some one, “With Thee, the heart is a mosque; without Thee, ’tis but a shrine of idols. With Thee, the heart is a heaven; the heart without Thee is a hell.”
In short, when the Disciple realises the Greatness of God, feels the pangs of His seeking, knows that “Who gains Him gains all, who loses Him loses all,” and finds that he can dispense with all save Him,—he then overcomes his old habits and unfolds the vision, “I am from God and for God.” Life and death, acceptance and rejection, praise and blame, are thenceforth equal in his eyes. Heaven and earth find no place in his heart. He bows to none for food, clothes or money. His Goal being the Divine Sanctuary, he longs for naught save God.—Letter 62.