Heart, SELF, & SOUL ularly attending our weekly meetings. They are encouraged to ask ques- tions of the sheikh, which gives the sheikh an opportunity to assess their sincerity and their inner state. They are also expected to begin reading some of our order’s books on Sufism. Often prospective Sufis will be assigned an older dervish who will answer their questions privately and teach them how to perform prayers and carry out other basic practices. Before becoming a dervish, the sheikh generally makes the indi- vidual a muhib, an intermediate status sometimes defined as “friend of the order.” Muhib literally means “lover,” and one cannot deeply study Sufism (or anything else for that matter) without loving it. In the past, it was a common practice in some orders for a student to be tested for at least three years before initiation as a dervish. The Sufi Shaykhs observe the following rule. When a novice joins them with the purpose of renouncing the world, they subject him to spiritual discipline for the space of three years. If he fulfills the requirements of this disci- pline, well and good; otherwise, they declare that he cannot be admitted to the Path. .. . The first year is devoted to ser- vice of the people, the second year to service of God and the third year to watching over his own heart.” A young man named Shibli came to Junaid and wished to become his student. Shibli had been the governor of an impor- tant region of Persia and had renounced his position to become a student of Sufism. He said to Junaid, “You have been recom- mended as an expert on pearls [of wisdom]. Please give me one or sell it to me.” Junaid replied, “You could not afford the price if I sold it, and if | gave you one for nothing, you would not real- ize its value. You must do as I have done. Dive into the sea and wait patiently until you obtain your pearl.” Shibli asked Junaid what he must do to become his stu- dent, and Junaid told him to go and sell sulphur for a year. When Shibli returned, Junaid told him that his work brought him only notoriety and commerce, and that now he should go and beg for a year. Shibli returned a year later, and Junaid said, “Now you realize your own worth. You have found that you count for 198Sheikh and Dervish nothing in the eyes of others. Return to your former province and seek the forgiveness of those you ruled as governor.” Shibli went from house to house until only one man he had wronged remained. He kept trying but he could not trace the man. Finally, Shibli distributed one hundred thousand dirhams in charity, but still his heart could not find rest. After four years, Shibli returned to Junaid. The sheikh pointed out that a trace of pomp and pride still lingered in him, and so Junaid told Shibli to beg for another year. Every day Shibli brought Junaid all he received from beg- ging and Junaid gave it to the poor. After another year, Junaid finally accepted Shibli as a dervish. He then told Shibli to serve all the other dervishes. After a year of this service, Junaid asked Shibli what he now thought of himself. Shibli replied, “I regard myself as the least of God's creatures.” “Now,” said Junaid, “your faith is complete.” Junaid prescribed the most difficult of remedies to eradicate any tendencies of pride and conceit in Shibli. It took many years for Shibli to free himself of these traits, but Shibli eventually became one of the greatest Sufi sheikhs. True and False Sheikhs Throughout Sufi history there have been a few great sheikhs, many sincere sheikhs, and also some who were corrupt. In medicine as well, some physicians exploit their patients or mistreat them due to ignorance or arrogance. However, the exploitation or ignorance of a few does not mean that the entire field of medicine should be ignored or discarded. Those who know say that a sincere student will find the truth, even through an ignorant or false teacher. Of course, a false teacher can be spiritually or even physically dangerous. Seekers must use their best powers of discrimination and intelligence in choosing a teacher. Rumi writes, “True teachers knock down the idol that the student makes of them. One of the signs of sincere teachers is that they will not allow students to put them on a pedestal. “ 199Heart, SELF, & SOUL Ideally, the prospective dervish spends time visiting a Sufi group, keeping an open and critical mind. Only after they are as certain and con- fident as possible should they ask for initiation and accept someone as their sheikh. Even then, the founder of our order insisted that the door always remain open, and that people feel free to leave if they make a wrong choice. Hazrat Inayat Khan, founder of the Sufi Order of the West, writes: Then there arises the question of how to find the real guru [or spiritual teacher]. Very often people are in doubt, they do not know whether the guru they see is a true or a false guru. Frequently a person comes into contact with a false guru in this world where there is so much falsehood. But at the same time a real seeker, one who is not false to himself, will always meet with the truth, with the real, because it is his own real faith, his own sincerity in earnest seeking that will become his torch. The real teacher is within, the lover of reality is one’s own sincere self, and if one is really seek- ing truth, sooner or later one will certainly find a true teacher. And supposing one came into contact with a false teacher, what then? Then the real One will turn the false teacher also into a real teacher, because Reality is greater than falsehood.” Dream Interpretation In the Jerrahi tradition, the sheikh’s interpretation of the dervish- es’ dreams is considered a gift from God. There is no school where dream interpretation is taught. It is a secret between the interpreter and God, who inspires in the interpreter the meaning of the dreams. Once, a man told his sheikh a dream. The sheikh instructed him to go to a particular shop where he would find three people talking, Their conversation would contain the interpretation of his dream. The man found that, in fact, there were three men in this shop and that their con- versation was a clear interpretation of his dream. Some sheikhs have told dervishes to go to a particular mosque on Friday and to find the inter- 200