The time of initiation is meant to be a time for clearing away all the sins of the past. The cleansing of sins is like a bath in the Ganges. It is the bath of the spirit in the light of knowledge. From this day the page is turned.

The mureed makes his vow to the murshid that

he will treasure the teachings of the masters in the past and keep them secret,
that he will make good use of the teachings and of the powers gained by them,
and that he will try to crush his Nafs, his ego.
He vows that he will respect all the masters of humanity as the one embodiment of the ideal man,
and will consider himself the brother not only of all the Sufis in the Order to which he belongs, but also outside that order of all those who are Sufis in spirit although they may call themselves differently, and of all mankind, without distinction of caste, creed, race, nation, or religion.