Drona was a master of archery who was teaching archery to his student Arjun. Another student Ekalavya also wanted to learn from Drona, who refused to teach him. Ekalavya went back, installed a statue of Drona and learnt archery by imagining the statue to be the real master. As per legend, he turned out to be a better archer than Arjun. This story brings out many angles in the areas of the master-student (๐๐ช๐ง๐ช-๐จ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฎ๐) relationship and attaining knowledge.
This story helps us understand when Krishna says, "Some behold the Supreme Soul within themselves through meditation (๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ) ; some through the cultivation of knowledge ( ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐๐) ; others through the path of action (๐ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐๐ ) (13.25). There are still others who are unaware of these spiritual paths, but they listen to others (saints) and begin worshipping the Supreme Lord. They also attain immortality" (13.26). Like Ekalavya, we too can perceive ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ directly within ourselves or like Arjun, by listening to saints.
There is no one perfect path in a spiritual quest. Depending on one's personality, it differs from person to person. For the heart oriented, it is through devotion (๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐) or surrender. For the intellect (๐๐ช๐๐๐๐) oriented it is the path of awareness (๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐) . For the mind oriented it is the path of ๐ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ (action). Though the approach, experiences and language of these paths are quite different, all of them lead to ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ข๐. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains about all these paths and our personality determines the path.
The path of 'realising through listening to saints' raises some doubts as to who is a saint or a guru and how to identify them. Earlier Krishna advised us to inculcate prostration (humility), questioning (of every aspect of ourselves) and service (compassion)(3.34). Ekalavya inculcated these qualities and the learning happened on its own as existence itself became the guru .