Unless one is thoroughly accomplished in the transcendental knowledge of the Lord, one is sure to misunderstand the Lord s worshipable transcendental pastimes called rasa dance and His love affairs with the gopis. . Srila Vyasadeva therefore gives the reader the chance to gradually develop spiritual realization before actually relishing the essence of the pastimes of the Lord. There we have it. The purport is that we must have a sound basis in understanding philosophy then proceed to the lila aspect of the teachings. Philosophy purifies the intelligence so we can approach the lila without going off the rails.
Philosophy also means systematic or scientific understanding as well.
Surprisingly, a good number of devotees object to the analytical approach to the philosophy. They think, mistakenly, that it is not spontaneous. They think, mistakenly, that the analytical approach works against spontaneous devotional service. Just like in learning a martial art there are set disciplined exercises or drills that one must do over and over, until it becomes part of one s nature, so the practice of analytical thinking must become part of one s nature. All our acaryas preached Krsna consciousness with logic and reason.