Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 10 - Chapter 1 - Verse 21

Sanskrit:

एवं मदर्थोज्झितलोकवेद-स्वानां हि वो मय्यनुवृत्तयेऽबला: ।मयापरोक्षं भजता तिरोहितंमासूयितुं मार्हथ तत् प्रियं प्रिया: ॥ २१ ॥

ITRANS:

evaṁ mad-arthojjhita-loka-vedasvānām hi vo mayy anuvṛttaye ’balāḥmayāparokṣaṁ bhajatā tirohitaṁmāsūyituṁ mārhatha tat priyaṁ priyāḥ

Translation:

My dear girls, understanding that simply for My sake you had rejected the authority of worldly opinion, of the Vedas and of your relatives, I acted as I did only to increase your attachment to Me. Even when I removed Myself from your sight by suddenly disappearing, I never stopped loving you. Therefore, My beloved gopīs, please do not harbor any bad feelings toward Me, your beloved.

Purport:

Here the Lord indicates that though the gopīs were already perfect in their love for Him, still, to inconceivably increase their perfection and show an example for the world, He acted as He did.