Shloka

साङ्ख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः |
एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम् ||५-४||

Transliteration

sāṅkhyayogau pṛthagbālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ .
ekamapyāsthitaḥ samyagubhayorvindate phalam ||5-4||

Translations

Dr.S.Sankaranarayan

5.4. The childish, and not the wise, proclaim the paths of knowledge and the Yoga as different. He, who has properly resorted to even one [of these two], gets the fruit of both.

Shri Purohit Swami

5.4 Only the unenlightened speak of wisdom and right action as separate, not the wise. If any man knows one, he enjoys the fruit of both.

Sri Abhinav Gupta

5.4 See Comment under 5.5

Sri Ramanuja

5.4 Those who say that Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga are distinct because of the difference in results, are children, i.e., are persons with incomplete knowledge; they do not know the entire truth. The meaning is that they do not possess true knowledge, who say that Karma Yoga results in Jnana Yoga only and that Jnana Yoga alone results in the vision of the self and that the two are thus distinct because of the difference in their fruits. But on the contrary as both have only the vision of the self as the fruit, a person who is firmly set in one of them, wins that one fruit common to both.

Sri Krsna further expounds the same:

Sri Shankaracharya

5.4 Balah, the fools; na panditah, not the learned ones; pravadanti, speak of; sankhya-yogau, Sankhya [Sankhya, i.e. monasticism, is that which is suited for sankhya, Self-iniry.] (the Path of Knowledge) and (Karma-)yoga; as prthak, different, having opposite and different results. The learned ones, the wise, however, admit one, unconflicting result. How? Any one who samyak, properly; asthitah, resorts to, i.e. follows; ekam api, even one, between the Path of Knowledge and (Karma-) yoga; vindate, gets; phalam, the result; ubhayoh, of both. For, the result of both is that Liberation itself. Therefore there is no conflict with regard to the result. Objection: After beginning the topic with the words, ‘renunciation’ and ‘(Karma-) yoga’, how is it that the Lord speaks of the identity of the results of the path of Knowledge and (Karma-) yoga, which is beside the point? Reply: This defect does not arise. Although the estion was put by Arjuna merely with regard to renunciation and Karma-yoga, yet the Lord, without actually avoiding them, and by adding something special which was intended by Him, gave the answer by expressing them through other words, ‘Sankhya’ and ‘(Karma-) yoga’. Those very ‘renunciation and ‘Karma-yoga’, when they are (respectively) associated with Knowledge and such of Its means as eanimity etc., are meant by the words ‘Sankhya’ and ‘yoga’. This is the Lord’s veiw. Therefore there is no discussion out of the context. How can the result of both be attained by the proper performance of only one? The answer is:

Swami Adidevananda

5.4 Children, not the learned, speak of Sankhya (Jnana Yoga) and Yoga (Karma Yoga) as distinct; he who is firmly set in one, attans the fruit of both.

Swami Gambirananda

5.4 The fools, not the learned ones, speak of Sankhya (the path of Knowledge) and (Karma-) yoga as different. Any one who properly resorts to even one (of them) gets the result of both.

Swami Sivananda

5.4 Children, not the wise, speak of knowledge and the Yoga of action or the performance of action as though they are distinct and different; he who is truly established in one obtains the fruits of both.

Commentaries

Swami Sivananda

5.4 सांख्ययोगौ Sankhya (knowledge) and Yoga (Yoga of action or performance of action)? पृथक् distinct? बालाः children? प्रवदन्ति speak? न not? पण्डिताः the wise? एकम् one? अपि even? आस्थितः established in? सम्यक् truly? उभयोः of both? विन्दते obtains? फलम् fruit.Commentary Children the ignorant people who have no knowledge of the Self? and who have only a theoretical knowledge of the scriptures.Children or ignorant people only say that knowledge and the performance of action are different and produce distinct and opposite results. But the wise who have the knowledge of the Self say that they produce the same result only? viz.? Moksha or liberation. He who is duly established in,one? he who truly lives in one? Sankhya or Yoga? obtains the fruits of both. Therefore there is no diversity in the result or the fruit. This is the gist of this verse. (Cf.VI.2)