Why did the narrator believe he couldn't see Pir Maulana, and what larger conclusion did he draw from this inability?

The narrator believed he couldn't see Pir Maulana because his own pride and a period of what he terms "ill-luck" stood in the way. As detailed in Chapter 21, he was the Magistrate in Bandra and felt that being pressured by a servant to visit the Siddha was beneath his station. He reflects that "one fears one's own shadow when ill-luck stands in the way." The larger conclusion he drew from this experience was that the company of saints is not accessible to the unfortunate and is a matter of divine will. He states that this principle is proven by his own story, concluding that the union with saints is "easy only when God’s grace is present; otherwise, this union is difficult to attain."