Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (Allah have mercy on him) used to repeatedly tell the salikeen that if a person gets the idea that he has acquired a praiseworthy trait or state and gotten rid of a blame-worthy one then he should be extremely suspicious of this.

He gave this example to make it easy to understand.

That is, if a person is aware that he is sleeping then his sleep is defective. It is not a  genuine sleep. A sleeping person is completely unaware of his sleep.

Similar is the case of a salik.

He should always rely completely on his Shaykh’s instructions and be suspicious of all his activities considering himself to a novice just initiated.

Min ifadat sayyidi wa sanadi Hazrat murshidi db