Bhagavad Gita 14.21
अर्जुन उवाच । कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो । किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ॥ २१ ॥
arjuna uvāca | kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho | kim ācāraḥ kathaṁ caitāṁs trīn guṇān ativartate ||21||
Translation
Arjuna said: by what marks, O Lord, is one known who has transcended these three gunas? What is his conduct, and how does he transcend these three gunas?
Reflection
If someone you knew had transcended the gunas, what mark would you look for first?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Fourteen
Arjuna asks the natural and intelligent question. If such a person exists, what does he look like in practice? Three sub-questions are folded in: what are his lakshanas, his outward signs; what is his acharas, his daily behavior; and how, mechanically, did he transcend in the first place. Krishna will answer each, in order, over the next five verses. The structure of the answer matters. Outward marks first, daily conduct next, method last. Most seekers want method first; Krishna gives marks first, because the marks teach the eye what success looks like before the method risks faking it.