R’ Chaim Volozhin wrote the following in Nefesh Hachaim (Beginning of Shaar Daled):
??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??????. ??? ???? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ?? ?????. ??? ?????? ???? ???? ????”? ??????? ?????? ??????. ???? ?? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ?????. ?’ ???? ???. ?? ?????? ????’. ??? ?? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????:
He then goes into the fact that mussar is important, and was introduced because there was a need for it, but that it was secondary to learning Gemara, Rashi, and Tosfos. He continues:
??? ??? ?????? ???? ????”? ????? ???. ????? ????. ???? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ???? ?????. ????? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ????. ?? ??? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????????. ???????? ????? ?????. ???? ???? ???? ???? ????. ?????? ????? ???? ?’ ??”? ????? ???? ???. ?? ????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????. ????’ ?”? ?’ ??? ??? ??. ??? ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ?????. ??? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ?’ ?? ?? ????. ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?”? ??? ??? ????. ????? ?? ??? ????:
So as I said, in the early days of chassidus, the primacy of learning Torah was set aside in favor of learning “chassidus”. R’ Chaim Volozhin bemoaned this fact.
In most sects of chassidus, this changed, and they now focus on Gemara. Chabad still holds closest to the original teachings of the Besht and his students, and focus on chassidus, instead of Gemara, Rashi, and Tosfos.
As for Sechel’s claim that the Gra would prefer that people learn Tanya instead of being in the CR, I firmly disagree. I think that if the Gra were here now, he’d be appalled by what he saw in Chabad, and it would just affirm everything he feared about chassidus creating another Shabtai Tzvi. He probably would think we’re all doing wrong, whether we’re here in the CR, or learning Tanya.
If he were here, he’d make his way to a yeshiva, would likely marvel at how many seforim are available now, and lament the fact that with so much Torah readily available, people still waste their times with other things.