Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 14: The Three Qualities of Nature

Bhagavad Gita 14.21

kairliṃgaistrīnguṇānetānatīto bhavati prabho | kimācāraḥ kathaṃ caitāṃstrīnguṇānativartate ||

By what signs, Lord, can one recognize a person who has gone beyond these three qualities? How does such a person behave, and how do they pass beyond the three qualities?

Modern context

Arjuna asks three practical questions: how do you recognise someone who has gone beyond the gunas? How do they behave? How do they get there? He wants signs, conduct and method. This is how to approach any teaching: not just 'what is the ideal?' but 'what does it look like in practice, and how do I begin?'