The first lesson that the pupil learns on the path of discipleship is what is called Yaqin in Sufi terms, which means "confidence." This confidence he first gives to the one whom he considers his teacher, his spiritual guide.

In the giving of confidence, three kinds of people can be distinguished.

One gives a part of his confidence and cannot give another part. He is wobbling and thinking, "Yes, I believe I have confidence; perhaps I have, perhaps I have not." And this sort of confidence puts him in a very difficult position. It would be better not to have it at all. It is like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold. In all things this person will do the same, in business, in his profession. He trusts and doubts, he trusts and fears. He is not walking in the sky, he is not walking on the earth; he is in between the two.
Then there is another kind, the one who gives his confidence to the teacher, but he is not sure about himself, he is not inwardly sure if he has given it. This person has no confidence in himself, he is not sure of himself; therefore his confidence is of no value.
And the third kind of person is the one who gives confidence because he feels confident. This confidence alone can rightfully be called Yaqin.

Jesus Christ had people of all these categories around him.

Thousands of people of the first category came, thronged round the Master, then left him. It did not take one moment for them to be attracted, nor one moment for them to leave the Master.
In the second category are those who go on for some time, just as a drunken man goes on and on; but when they are sober again things become clear to them and they ask themselves, "Where am I going? Not in the right direction."
Thousands and thousands in this category followed the masters and prophets, but those who stayed to the end of the test were those who before giving their confidence to the teacher first had confidence in their own heart. It is they who, if the earth turned to water and the water turned to earth, if the sky came down and the earth rose up, would remain unshaken, firm in the belief they have once gained. It is by discipleship that a person learns the moral that in whatever position he is, as husband or wife, son or daughter, servant or friend, he will follow with confidence, firm and steady wherever he goes.