Disciple = "learner, pupil, student" (Gk. mathetes, from the verb manthanein, "to learn")
Jesus is not the only "teacher" to have "disciples" in the New Testament;
there are also "disciples of John [the Baptist]" (Mark 2:18; Matt 9:14; Luke 5:33; 7:18; John 1:35; 4:1) and "disciples of the Pharisees" (Mark 2:18; 6:29; Luke 5:33) and "disciples of Moses" (John 9:28).
In the ancient world, students/disciples usually sought out a teacher (cf. Luke 9:57-62);
but Jesus usually reverses the dynamic, "calling" people to become his disciples (Mark 1:16-20; 2:14-17; 3:13; etc.).
Jesus did not establish a "school" in a particular location, but was an itinerant (wandering) preacher/teacher;
thus, his disciples literally had to "follow" him around (Mark 8:34; 10:21; Luke 9:57-62; John 1:43).
The word "disciples" is used 233 times in the Gospels for Jesus' followers, but one should not assume that it refers only to "the twelve";
the phrase "twelve disciples" occurs only three times (Matt 10:1; 11:1; 20:17), and "disciples" often refers to this core group;
but other people are also called "disciples" of Jesus (Matt 8:19-22; Luke 6:13, 17, 20; 19:37; John 4:1; 6:66; 8:31; 9:28; Acts 6:1-7; etc.).
The above is a scholarly explanation of who is a disciple. In this entry, a disciple refers to one who strives to be Christ-like. Since every one has gifts that are unique, lives imperfect lives and can make erroneous decisions along the way, paths to being Christ-like will vary. These paths, however diverse in their formation, eventually merge into a single road that leads to interior peace.
From this inner peace a pure love emerges, provided that pride is not allowed to interfere with one's goal to be a true disciple of Christ.
Can a life of holy discipleship be lived in a world filled with secular images and sounds that can awaken unholy passions, or does it have to be lived in place of silence that is conducive to unceasing prayer, such as a monastery away from the easy accessibility to a kaleidoscope of competing temptations and distractions in a Godless society?
What if one lives chastely in an urban setting, who is obedient to God, who possesses material things but who is emotionally detached from their ownership, whose charity comes from the heart, then is one a disciple who is Christ-like?
If the answer is one who pleases God is a disciple of Christ, then would that include a worker for an international aid organization, a priest who serves his parishioners, a nun who teaches, a preacher who adheres to the words of the Gospel, a contemplative monk in a hermitage who prays incessantly, one who is humble, and true to oneself and neighbor, and others not listed here who love with their hearts and not their minds?
Still, how would one know if one's discipleship pleases God? Until God speaks, one would not. God speaks to different people in different ways, but perhaps every conversation ends with a sense of peace so pervasive that it envelopes the whole being, a peace that continues to live within one's interior even when God stops speaking. Perhaps this peace will not come until the very end, at death, and when it does, it cannot be mistaken as anything else but something truly Heavenly, love from the heart of Christ (wounded by sins) that is like no other.
[1] http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Disciples.htm
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