In Gauḍīya usage adhikārī means a qualified candidate — someone eligible for a particular practice — not an officeholder or a rank. Rūpa Gosvāmī divides the candidate for bhakti into three grades by the maturity of faith and competence in scriptural reasoning: the uttama-adhikārī, the madhyama and the kaniṣṭha. Pages here that treat that qualification and how it matures.
