When a man calls himself a disciple, he ought to justify the title to the fullest extent and firmly tread the straight Path. He should constantly use the collyrium of turning back (Taubâh), put on the robe of detachment from connexions and from self, drink the wine of Seeking out of the cup of Purity, draw the sword of Magnanimity from the sheath of Religion, dismiss the cravings of the infidel Desire, practise absorption, and not care for the higher or the lower worlds. When he has become proficient in the truths of discipleship and the subleties of Seeking, has gathered the fruits of purification and asceticism, begun to tread the Path and passed through several stages of the journey—then, if asked whether he is a disciple, he can say: “I may be one, God helping.” Thus is discipleship justified, and pretension avoided.
This is the way of those endowed with insight and divine Wisdom. Not to look to personality at any stage, nor to depend upon its possessions. Many saints with a life-long devotion have slipped down from dizzy heights … A disciple who concentrates in himself the purity of all the angels and the piety of all men is self-conceited and sure to fall, if he knows himself to be better than a dog. … The beginner has a tongue, the proficient scholar is silent—Letter 54.
A disciple is a worshipper of his Teacher. If his rest and movements are in accordance with His commands, he is a disciple; if he follows his own desires, he is a follower of his desires, not of his Teacher. A disciple is he who loses himself in the Teacher. He shakes off his desires, as a serpent casts its slough. If he has even the least remnant of desire left in him, and doubts and protests find room in his heart, he is a worshipper of himself, not of the Teacher … A disciple should be a worshipper of the Teacher, so that he may become a worshipper of God. One who obeys the Messenger verily obeys God—Fawâed-i-Ruknî.
God has concealed precious gifts under the difficulties He has imposed upon these men (i. e. the disciples). A disciple should manfully discharge his duties without fail, in spite of the hardships and trials of the Path. God does not work in one way only, and it is difficult to know which way will lead the disciple to Him—joy or sorrow, gifts or privation. There is a divine secret underneath all sufferings and enjoyments in the world. —The Series of 28 Letters, Letter 1.
“A long journey is needed to ripen the raw.” As a fruit requires both sunshine and shadow for its maturity, so a pilgrim requires the dual experience —joy and sorrow, union and separation, presence and absence,—for his perfection.—Ibid, Letter 5.
There is no bar to the reception of the Divine Light. If there is any, it is due to lack of capacity. How can an unpolished mirror reflect an image? … The pilgrim needs patience and endurance, not hurry and unrest. God knows each man as he is, and sheds the Light when he deserves it—Ibid, Letter 4.
Contentment is a sine quâ non; one without it should abandon occultism and go to the market.
The performance of duties to the best of one’s abilities cannot be dispensed with, as it is ??necessary for the safe passage of the pilgrim. While sane, he should follow Truth. Truth in words and conduct is ever beneficial, never harmful—Ibid, Letter 15.