Besides sense and reason, however, there is another source of knowledge called "Ḏẖauq"--the inner perception which reveals non-temporal and non-spatial planes of being. The study of philosophy, or the habit of reflecting on pure concepts, combined with the practice of virtue, leads to the upbringing of this mysterious sense, which corroborates and corrects the conclusions of intellect. B. _Action._ Man as an active being has the following motive powers: (a). Reason or the Angelic soul--the source of intelligence, discrimination, and love of knowledge. (b). The beast-soul which is the source of anger, courage, dominance, and ambition. (c). The animal soul which is the source of lust, hunger, and sexual passion. The first leads to wisdom; the second and third, if controlled by reason, lead respectively to bravery and chastity. The harmonious use of all results in the virtue of justice. The possibility of spiritual progress by virtue, shows that this world is the best possible world. Things as existent are neither good nor bad. It is misuse or limited standpoint that makes them so. Still the fact of evil cannot be denied. Evil does exist; but it is far less in amount than good. It is peculiar only to a part of the world of darkness; while there are other parts of the Universe which are quite free from the taint of evil. The sceptic who attributes the existence of evil to the creative agency of God, presupposes resemblance between human and divine action, and does not see that nothing existent is free in his sense of the word. Divine activity cannot be regarded as the creator of evil in the same sense as we regard some forms of human activity as the cause of evil.[145:1] [145:1] S̱ẖarh Anwāriyya fol. 92b. It is, then, by the union of knowledge and virtue that the soul frees itself from the world of darkness. As we know more and more of the nature of things, we are brought closer and closer to the world of light; and the love of that world becomes more and more intense. The stages of spiritual development are infinite, since the degrees of love are infinite. The principal stages, however, are as follows:-- (1). The stage of "_I_". In this stage the feeling of personality is most predominant, and the spring of human action is generally selfishness. (2). The stage of "_Thou art not_". Complete absorption in one's own deep self to the entire forgetfulness of everything external. (3). The stage of "_I am not_". This stage is the necessary result of the second. (4). The stage of "_Thou art_". The absolute negation of "_I_", and the affirmation of "_Thou_", which means complete resignation to the will of God. (5). The stage of "_I am not; and thou art not_". The complete negation of both the terms of thought--the state of cosmic consciousness.