'A Teacher is not the body, the head, or the beard, visible to man. He is in reality the inner being by the side of Gd, in the region of Truth, clothed in Divine Mercy and glory.....Perfect discipleship consists in perfect love for the beauty of the teacher's godly strength... O brother, know for certain that this work has been before thee and me (i.e., in bygone ages), and that each man has already reached a certain stage. No one has begun this work for the first time.'

Shaikh Sharf-ud-din, 'Master of the Kingdom and the World', showed signs of spiritual greatness from an early age. After his initiation into the Sufi Order he lived for many years in the woods and hills of north India. He was equally proficient in secular learning and esoteric knowledge, and possessed superhuman powers. His tomb in Bihar is still resorted to as a place of sanctity by devout Muslims.