After going through the various means for his propitiation in expounding Bhagavat Dharma to his beloved Uddhava, lord Krsna ultimately concludes that the best expedient for terminating transmigratory existance is to hold aquaintance with sadhus. Then he goes on to recount various apparently disqualified persons who attained the sumum bonum merely by association with sadhus.
na rodhayati mAM yogo na sAMkhyaM dharma eva ca/
na svAdhyAyastapastyAgo neSTApUrtaM na daksinA//
vratAni yaNjazcandAMsi tIrthAni niyamA yamA/
yathAvarundhe satsanga sarvasangApaho hi mAm//
Niether the path of yoga, nor the philosophy of sankhya, nor adherance to dharma, nor the recitation and study of the vedas, nor penance, nor adoption of sannyasa, nor works of public welfare, nor religeous gifts and donations, nor self denying vows, nor the performance of sacrifice, nor the internal repitition of incantations, nor ablutions in sacred waters, nor the observance of rules of bodily and mental purity and discipline, nor vows of self control can capture me in the heart of a devotee as does association with saints which terminates all attatchments. ( Bhag 11,12,1-2)
It is interesting to note that all the above means were prescribed by Krsna in the previous chapters, and yet he makes it clear that the efficasey of all those various means is dependant on the company of sadhus.
Reverend Sridhara Swami notes that out of the paths of jnana and bhakti, the path of bhakti is superior and association with saints helps to accomplish this. The paths of jnana and yoga may or may not lead to liberation from samsara as they are dependant. Association with saints is self-dependant and efficacious to enable one to cross the samsara with certainty.