Chapter 5 · Verse 4 · Karma Sanyasa Yoga
Bhagavad Gita 5.4
Sanskrit
सांख्ययोगौ पृथग्बालाः प्रवदन्ति न पण्डिताः। एकमप्यास्थितः सम्यगुभयोर्विन्दते फलम्।।5.4।।
Transliteration
sānkhya-yogau pṛithag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ ekamapyāsthitaḥ samyag ubhayor vindate phalam
In plain words
You're caught between two impossible choices—holding on or letting go, fighting or surrendering, trying or resting—and both feel like failure. Krishna says: you don't have to choose. Do what is yours to do, fully and with care, but release your grip on whether it works out the way you planned. The peace you're looking for isn't in doing less or wanting less—it's in doing what matters without needing to own the result.
Word by Word
The ignorant see renunciation and action as opposites, but the wise know they are two expressions of the same inner freedom. When you perform your duties without clinging to results, you embody both paths simultaneously—the surrender of the renunciate merged with the engagement of the yogi.
This is not division but wholeness: act fully in the world while remaining untouched by its outcomes, and you will taste the fruit that eludes those caught between extremes. In modern life, this means you need not choose between ambition and peace—master the art of full engagement without ownership, and both will be yours.
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Bhagavad Gita 5.4 — BG 5.4
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