As prayers cannot be duly performed without the outer purity, so the Divine Knowledge is impossible without the inner purity. As fresh water--not water already used--is necessary for the one, so pure Monotheism--not mixed--is necessary for the other.[7] [7] See "Monotheism"--_Trs._ * * * * * The inner purification is hinted at in the Prophet's prayer: "O God, purge out hypocrisy from my heart."--_Letters 29 & 30._ THE MOTIVE. The value of a disciple's act lies in his motive. The motive is to the act as life is to the body and light to the eye. As the body without life or the eye without light is useless, so the acts of a disciple without a pure motive are mere forms. With the Seers, forms are denial and destruction, not faith and salvation. A valid motive arises from purity, as rays from the sun and sparks from the flame. When the motive is not biassed by worldly attractions, it is called _ascetic_ purity by the Sûfîs. When the motive is not biassed by heavenly attractions, it is called _spiritual_ purity. It is said that the motive of a man is according to his knowledge and wisdom. If desire and love of the world predominate in the heart of a man, all his acts will be worldly--even his prayers and fasts. If desire and love of heaven predominate in his heart, all his acts will be heavenly--even his eating and sleeping. Again there are others, of loftier aspiration, caring neither for earth nor for heaven, but for God only. All acts done by such men will be purely divine.... A disciple should always be careful to purify his motive and to get out of mere forms. For this, he should obey the instructions of a Teacher, his motive, though in the beginning mixed with hypocrisy and insincerity, will ultimately be purified by obeying His instructions.... The disciple should act as the earth, so that the Teacher may act as the sky--wet him with His rains, warm him with His sun, shade him under His clouds, perfume him with the fragrant breeze of His compassion--and thus help his growth.--_Letter 31._ PRAYER. The daily routine of a disciple, in the absence of his Teacher, should be such as to secure purity of heart, whether by prayer, sacred study, mutterings, or meditation. The secret of prayer is inexpressible. When the disciple, renouncing separateness, stands for prayer in a mood of self-surrender, his body ranks with =Kâbâ's= shrine, his heart with =Arsh= (the Divine Throne); and his spirit sees the Vision Divine.... The devotee mostly prays with the fire of Love without observing external forms (_e. g._ kneeling and prostration), takes all devotees as one, and does not stigmatise any man with the brand of infidelity and damnation. In the state of prayer, one merged in the Divine cannot be conscious of anything else; as Alî, while praying, was operated upon, and an arrow drawn out of his thigh, but he did not feel it.--_Letter 32._ INVOKING THE DIVINE HELP.