The Prophet had a place in his mosque set apart to discourse privately with his elect companions, who trod the Path. There were senior disciples such as Abû Bakar, Omar, Osman, Alî and Salmân; and mediocre ones, such as Belal and others. The Arab chiefs and his ordinary companions were not admitted there. The elect companions were about 70 in number. When the Prophet wished to shew his special regard to a particular companion (Sûfî), he favoured him with a piece of his garment (N. B. The word Sûfî may be derived either from Safâ, purity, or from Sûf, dress.—Trs.)
The first Theosophist was Adam, and the last Mohammad; and Theosophy has continued amongst the followers of Mohammad.—Letter 22.
Seeking the Path.
The aspiration of the Seeker should be such that, if offered this world with its pleasures, the next with its heaven, and the Universe with its sufferings, he should leave the world and its pleasures for the profane, the next world and its heaven for the faithful, and choose the sufferings for himself. He turns from the lawful in order to avoid heaven, in the same way that common people turn from the unlawful to avoid hell. He seeks the Master and His Vision in the same way that worldly men seek ease and wealth. The latter seek increase in all their works; he seeks the ONE alone in all. If given anything, he gives it away; if not given, he is content.
The marks of the Seeker are as follows. He is happy if he does not get the desired object, so that he may be liberated from all bonds; he opposes the desire-nature so much, that he would not gratify its craving, even if it cried therefor for seventy years; he is so harmonised with God that ease and uneasiness, a boon and a curse, admission and rejection are the same to him; he is too resigned to beg for anything either from God or from the world; his asceticism keeps him as fully satisfied with his little all—a garment or a blanket—as others might be with the whole world.... He vigilantly melts his desire-nature in the furnace of asceticism and does not think of anything save the True One. He sees Him on the right and on the left, sitting and standing. Such a Seeker is called the Divine Seer. He attaches no importance to the sovereignty of earth or of heaven. His body becomes emaciated by devotional aspirations, while his heart is cheered with Divine Blessedness. Thoughts of wife and children, of this world and the next, do not occupy his heart. Though his body be on earth, his soul is with God. Though here, he has already been there, reached the Goal, and seen the Beloved with his inner eye.
This stage can be reached only under the protection of a Perfect Teacher, the Path safely trodden under His supervision only.... It is indispensable for a Disciple to put off his desires and protests, and place himself before the Teacher as a dead body before the washer of the dead, so that He may deal with him as He likes.
Virtue and vice have their uses and evils. Often a virtue throws one the farther from God, and a vice leads one the nearer to Him.... The virtue that begins in peace and ends in pride throws one the farther from God; the vice that begins in fear and ends in repentance leads one the nearer to Him.—Letter 23.