The Holy Words of the Promised Messiah(as)
The Relationship between a Disciple and a Spiritual Guide
The Promised Messiah(as) said: The relationship between a disciple and their spiritual guide is such that a mother and father do not love their children as much as a spiritual guide loves a disciple. A mother and father strive to train and teach their children physically, but a spiritual guide gives birth to his followers in a spiritual sense and is responsible for their inner education and training, provided that he is pious. If a so-called guide is guilty of ostentation and deceit, he is worse than an enemy.1
1 Al-Hakam, vol. 3, no. 20, dated 9th June 1899, p. 1