I was very amused one day. A member who used to go from one society to another came to the Sufi Order from the Theosophical Society. This person had some influence in Holland. Therefore, her leaving of the Theosophical Society was very disappointing to many [of its] members. That was a tender spot in her heart also. After having come to the Sufi Order, she had a tender sympathy for the Theosophical Society. And Mrs. Besant was visiting The Hague. And she went with a guilty conscience to Mrs. Besant.

She said, "I regret I had to leave [the Theosophical Society]. But you understand, I was for discipleship. I went to Inayat Khan." And Mrs. Besant said, "Go. Many like you have come and gone from our society; your going is no loss to us." And would you believe, from that day all the little sympathy she had for the Theosophical Society was wiped off. And that little prick in her conscience of having left the Theosophical Society was taken off by Annie Besant. She came smiling to me, "I am very happy that she has told me like this."

You can see the psychology of this. If Mrs. Besant would have controlled [herself] more, she [our member] would have had sympathy for the Theosophical Society. She had a tender spot in her heart. And just by that one crude answer, she [Mrs. Besant ] antagonized her for her whole life. She never looks at the Theosophical Society. Imagine!

It has nothing to do with teachings, only with the attitude of the worker, how it acts upon a person. In our everyday life a psychological consideration is of the greatest importance, in spiritual work even more. You would be surprised if I tell you my spiritual experience. Every day there is no end to them. And such amusing experiences.

Some come and say, "I don't like a personal thought for any teacher. I like to study the teachings."
And another one comes and says, "It is you who are the Sufi Movement or Order. If you were not the teacher, I would not have thought of it. I am against it. It is you."
And a third person comes and says, "Murshid, if you were to teach me, I would learn from you for my whole life. But I cannot tolerate the other members."
And there the other one says, "I am most interested in learning, in taking the spiritual path, only I don't want to be bound by any discipline."
Another one says, "Yes, I believe in all you teach, but I don't want to become a Sufi." I told him that, "You do not want to become wise? Sufi means 'wise'. That only shows you don't want to be wise."
Then another one says, "I don't want to join a society." You join the membership of a nation. You cannot exist without the nation, without being a citizen. And you do not want to have the privilege of a community? You want to have the highest privilege in life, which is wisdom, and you cannot be joining a group? Imagine!
Another says, "Murshid, I cannot do mechanical practice of repeating a word; it makes me disgusted." One who goes to the teacher of voice, he makes such faces with his mouth open in order to make his voice better; in developing voice, he makes all sorts of grimaces. And when it comes to the highest and most important and valuable thing, he cannot sit and repeat hundred times something, and he says, "It makes me agitated."

Imagine, they will not join, they will not have discipline, they will not respect the teacher, not regard the members, they will not study, not practise, but they want to be spiritual. Do I not meet such examples every day, and how many? You cannot imagine.

And at the same time I take them all in. One by his finger, one by his wrist, one by his hand, one by his leg, some way or other they are got in. After some time they understand.