The Sufis from time immemorial have recognized the necessity of a “Shaikh” or “Pir” or “Spiritual Director” to whom humanity may be entrusted for guidance and instruction. Staunch obedience was to be offered to this director, who was supposed to possess topmost Spiritual powers and to be well acquainted with all the paths of “Tariqat”. The disciple was required to remain with him for a number of years until he had familiarised himself with ‘mystic’ experiences and could himself graduate as a leader.
Since Ali possessed a noble, religious and philanthropic spirit to the highest degree, the Sufi recognize in him their first Spiritual Director; it was he who showed the way to eternal bliss. They hold that if Muhammad (may peace be upon him) was the seal of Prophets, Ali the spiritual sovereign of all the Sufi denomination was, undoubtedly, the seal of Saints. Without intercession of Hazrat Ali no saint can attain the degree of Wilayat and Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishty (R.A.) is direct descendant of Hazrat Ali (Alehissalam)
The quintessence of Sufi teachings is service to humanity regardless of caste, creed, colour, of faith. The Sufis believe, al khalq-o-ayalullah, meaning that the whole creation is the ‘family of God’. Love of God is not complete without loving his ayal (family). The Sufis believe that true worship is not in the performance of rites, rituals and supererogation. True worship is in the service of humanity. As Shaikh Saadi says:




Ibadat bajuz khidmat-e-khalq neest Ba tasbih-o-sajjadah-o-dalq neest Without service of humanity, prayer means nothing It is not counting beads, sitting on the mat Or wearing tatters. S.M. Zaman's 'Role of Social Service and Women in Sufism.' On the question of Khidma, says Zaman, the Sufi manuals are full of instructions and injunctions to be observed in providing service in Ribats to Muslims as well as non-Muslims. It was the single factor most responsible for making Sufism a strong force for the propagation of Islam. Thus humanism helped the Muslim saints in understanding India and the basic character of its composite society. For them India was neither dar-ul-Harb nor dar-ul-Islam. It was God's earth with variety of men, and stores of wisdom, a land where Adam and Eve first walked and where the Prophets Shis and Ayyub lay buried. Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari Mukhdum-I-Jahanian once said:





So many gifts of God and such a variety of men and Treasures of knowledge as one finds specifically in India Are not to be found anywhere else in the whole world.

(Siraj-ul-Hidayah)
For both Vedanta and Sufism, there is a common discipline. It includes purification of self, mastering of passions and desires, filling of the mind exclusively with the thought of God, obtaining control over bodily functions and mental processes till the objective world ceases to distract consciousness, till man passes away (fana/nirvana) from phenomenal existence and attains union with the divine. The soul stands self-enlightened and unperturbed by temptations and apprehensions.

The Sufis were held in high esteem among the masses who followed their simple teachings with eagerness and understanding. They laid stress upon the dignity of man, for they thought that every individual should reach the highest goal of human life by his own effort.

This essential unity of India has manifested itself in a beautiful synthesis of music and dance, drama and painting, literary and philosophical discourses which are also indicative of the rich and varied Indian panorama. Love of humanity is the key to the understanding of that essential unity. Maulana Rumi, the jem of the Sufi poets, perceived the same unity in Islam like the poet of Upanishads. In his words,

    O love! You are my greatest stimulator, you are the
    Medicine for all my ailments. Your are the true friend,
    Philosopher and guide of my soul and you are like
    Hakeem Jaalinus. You are the surest remedy for my
    vanity and pride. My being has adored the Vedas and
    Temples of Hindus, the Zendavesta of Parsis, the
    Quran of the Muslims, the Enjeel (the Bible) of the Christians
    And the Atishkada (fire-temple) of the Parsis.
    There is no second God for me other than love.

This is the essence of Sufism.