The former [Nafs-e-Ammara] is the individual whose whole existence is on the surface, engaged in the satisfaction of his senses in eating, drinking, in amusements, and in sexual indulgence.
The Nafs-e-Lawwama is the individual whose physical greed is controlled by intelligence, to the extent of making him discriminate between his pleasures. The Nafs-e-Lawwama rejects those desires and enjoyments that fall below a certain standard of taste which his intelligence sets for him.
The Nafs-e-Mutmaina represents a third and higher stage of development, in which the senses are under the control of mind. In this stage of evolution a man is absorbed in some ideal, or devoted to the achievement of some object in life, outside of self -- art, invention, trade, and so on -- and directs his energies into one channel.

In his sexual passion he may be compared with the deer that comes to drink from the pool of fresh water lying hidden in the depth of the forest pure and untroubled, to be frightened away by the least flutter of reflected shade that disturbs or distracts his attention. For him passion only exists when he loves; he cannot feel passionate when he does not love. Here at last is found the admiration of woman, the beginning of love, and the real lover. What do the Nafs-e-Ammara or Lawwama know, who think of love as a pleasure?
The furthest stage in development is the Nafs-e-Salima, in which man's consciousness is removed to an abstract plane. In the heart of a man at this point of evolution, love is raised from admiration to worship; his love is part of his being, and his passion, which is never expressed except in the intensity of love, may be compared to the alighting of a bird on earth to pick up a grain of corn. This man lives on a higher plane of life, judging by different standards, though his inspiration springs from the common life of existence. Thinker, visionary, or man of action, he becomes absorbed in the contemplation of the essence of things. He alone becomes unable to regard anything as common or unclean; although in his contemplation of the mystery of life, his devotion to the pursuit of truth, and his self-sacrifice to the cause of humanity, he may become gradually etherealized above every material object. Having reached this point he is truly justified if he should strike the path of celibacy.