Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10, Chapter 47, Text 29

SB 10.47.29

sri-bhagavan uvaca
bhavatinam viyogo me
 na hi sarvatmana kvacit
yatha bhutani bhutesu
 kham vayv-agnir jalam mahi
tathaham ca manah-prana-
 bhutendriya-gunasrayah
 
Translation: 
 
The Supreme Lord said: You are never actually separated from Me, for I am the Soul of all creation. Just as the elements of nature — ether, air, fire, water and earth — are present in every created thing, so I am present within everyone’s mind, life air and senses, and also within the physical elements and the modes of material nature.
 
Purport: 
 
According to Srila Jiva Gosvami and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti, the apparently philosophical language of the Lord’s statement conceals a deeper meaning. The Supreme Lord was secretly telling the gopis that He, by way of reciprocating their special love for Him, was present with them, not only as the Soul of all creation but also as their special lover. In this sense of the verse, the word guna indicates the gopis’ special divine qualities, which attracted Sri Krsna, and the word sarvatmana, which we have here translated in reference to Lord Krsna Himself (corresponding to the word me, which is also in the instrumental case), is also understood in the sense of sarvatha, or “completely.” In other words, although in one sense Lord Krsna was absent, He could never be completely absent, since in His spiritual form He is always in the hearts and minds of the gopis.
 
In Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and other books, Srila Prabhupada has elaborately explained that the reason Lord Krsna separated Himself from the gopis was to intensify their love for Him and, as Uddhava noted, to bless other devotees by revealing to them the intensity of the gopis’ love. In fact, the Lord was spiritually present with the gopis, since they are His eternal associates.
 
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti further points out that foolish persons will conclude that Sri Krsna’s use of philosophical language meant that the Lord was trying to bring the gopis to the point of liberation by explaining basic points of Krsna conscious philosophy. In truth, the gopis are the most exalted liberated souls, and their pastimes with Sri Krsna must be understood with the help of authorized acaryas. When the gopis came for the rasa dance, Sri Krsna tried to preach karma-yoga to them, emphasizing ordinary ethics and morality, but the gopis were beyond that. Similarly, Lord Krsna now offers them jñana-yoga, or metaphysical philosophy, but this is also inadequate for the gopis, who have achieved spontaneous, unalloyed love for Sri Krsna.
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10, Chapter 47, Text 28
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10, Chapter 47, Text 30