From Golden Staircase; Chapter Two, The Eye to see Sri Guru, section:
Devotee: It is said there are five principles for bhakti: associating with devotees, chanting Harinam, hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, worshiping Tulasi, and residing in the holy Dham. In regard to residing in the Dham, is that for the general devotees, or just especially fortunate or more advanced devotees?
Srila Sridhar Maharaj: Generally it means for madhyama-adhikari devotees, those who can discriminate. Kanistha-adhikaris cannot differentiate between the various positions of different personalities – who is advanced, who is neutral, or who is envious. But “religion means proper adjustment” – our Guru Maharaj used to say this now and then – and that “proper adjustment” requires sambandha-jnana, knowing what is what. Then one’s service will come accordingly, and one’s necessity, one’s destination, will be established from that. Sanatan Goswami is the Acharya of sambandha-jnana. “Who am I? Where am I? What am I?” All these questions – “Why am I troubled? What is the real purpose of my life?” – are answered when there is proper adjustment with the Absolute and the relative. Nothing can be sacrificed.
And one thing we must always keep in mind is that we can’t investigate all of the subtle, higher knowledge as a subjective researcher. Rather, according to the degree of our saranagati, our surrender, the Truth will come down to make Himself known to us. We must always remember this, otherwise some spirit of imitation will be created in us. Knowledge of the higher domain is not under the jurisdiction of the intellect, and to think so is very dangerous. Intellectualism is dangerous, it will cause us to think that we have “caught the Infinite”. It will be negligence to the infinite characteristic, the infinite aspect of the Lord. He is Adhoksaja, beyond the grasp of academic research.
One time I asked Prabhupad (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad), “Srila Rupa Goswami gives his explanation of Lord Balaram’s Rasa-lila in one way and Srila Sanatan Goswami gives his explanation in another way, but both get their instruction from Mahaprabhu, so why is there this difference?”
My Guru Maharaj said, “Why has Krishna been called Adhoksaja? Adhoksaja cannot be harmonised within our intellect. It is achintya-bheda-bheda, inconceivably and simultaneously one and different. Both explanations may be true simultaneously. It is achintya, inconceivable. The Acharyas have explained that when Baladev is performing Rasa-lila, He is actually conducting Rasa for Krishna in His heart. Externally Baladev is seen to be participating in Pastimes with the gopis directly, but internally He is making Krishna enjoy that Rasa. Baladev is not the enjoyer Himself.” These are the harmonising instructions of the upper house, and in this way we shall harmonise things.