|| 14.21 ||

अर्जुन उवाच कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो। किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते।।

Arjuna uvāca kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho kim ācāraḥ kathaṁ caitāṁs trīn guṇān ativartate

arjunaḥ uvāca (Arjuna said) kaiḥ (by which) liṅgaiḥ (symptoms) trīn (three) guṇān (modes) etān (these) atītaḥ (transcended) bhavati (is) prabho (O Lord) kim (what) ācāraḥ (behavior) katham (how) ca (and) etān (these) trīn (three) guṇān (modes) ativartate (transcends).

Arjuna said: O my dear Lord, by which symptoms is one known who is transcendental to these three modes? What is his behavior? And how does he transcend the nature modes?

Arjuna asks for the practical signs of a liberated person. He wants to know: 1) What are the specific ‘Liṅgais’ or physical/behavioral symptoms? 2) How does such a person actually act (‘Kim ācāraḥ’) in the world? 3) What is the method (‘Katham’) to achieve this transcendence? He is looking for a role model. Arjuna is a practical man. He knows that philosophy is great, but he wants to know how a ‘free’ person deals with a noisy world, an annoying neighbor, or a difficult duty. He is asking for the ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ of a saint. This question shows that Arjuna is now seriously considering the possibility of reaching this state himself. This teaches us to look for practical evidence of spiritual growth. Real spirituality is not invisible; it shows up in how we handle the modes of nature. By asking these questions, Arjuna helps Kṛṣṇa define the ‘Gunatita’ profile, giving all future seekers a target to aim for in their own character development.