Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 5 (BG 5.5) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

Here the Lord speaks with clarity: the goal of both Sankhya and Yoga is one and the same. Therefore, through the practice of one, the fruits of both are attained. Thus, the person who understands these two as yielding identical results is truly the knower of the truth expounded in the Vedas. The word "perceive" is employed here in its scriptural sense. It does not refer to the perception of external objects through the faculty of sight. According to the principle of non-dual knowledge, the atman, being the eternal witness itself, can never be perceived as an object. The witness experiences itself through itself alone. The word "perceive" is used merely to convey that the experience of this atmic principle can be as clear and free from doubt as the perception of gross material objects in the external world. The synthesis of these two does not mean their mixture or fusion. The practice of Yoga and Sankhya must be undertaken in sequence. We may regard them as one because through karma yoga, the mind becomes purified, and then through Sankhya—that is, through meditation—we can directly experience the Supreme Reality. All seekers must remember that Yoga and Sankhya are to be practiced in order, not simultaneously. Now hear how the goal of karma yoga is renunciation.