His Eminence is a spiritual master—may God preserve him. He does not concern himself much with people who are already good; he says they have found the way. Of course, he helps them, too, so that they may progress, but he focuses more on those who have lost their way. He seeks them out and guides them to the straight path.
When his students complained that Satan was troubling them and hindering their progress, he would tell them, “Go and make friends with Satan.”
I thought I would try it myself. I sat down to speak with Satan and said, “Satan, why do you trouble us? You worshipped God for a long time and tasted the sweet pleasure of that worship. Now we want, in our brief lives in this world, to taste even a drop from that boundless ocean, but you stand in our way.”
He said, “I have sworn an oath.”
I said, “True, but you swore a wicked oath. Come, let us be friends.”
He said, “Agreed.”
I said, “Leave me alone, and in return I promise to ask God to forgive my shortcomings as far as possible.”
He said, “Agreed.” Then he added, “But if you stray too far and make too many mistakes, I will come back.”
I said, “All right. I’ll try not to stray or make too many mistakes.”
Then he turned and went on his way.
Your Eminence, please explain the advantages and disadvantages of this friendship with Satan. Thank you.