There’s a verse in the Isopanisad, one of the oldest Sanskrit texts, that says: 

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa
satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham
tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu
satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye hiran 

Lord, Your face is covered by this hiraṇmayena pātreṇa, this golden effulgent covering.  For example, if someone suddenly looked directly at the sun, the light would be so intense that you would lose your ability for a few moments to actually see the sun globe, you would just see the diffused sunlight. In the Vedic literature, you find the same idea that from the body of God there is this supreme light coming, which is this light that some yogis meditate on. What they are actually meditating upon is the effulgence of God, the glow of the existence of God. Therefore there is one prayer in this very ancient Sanskrit text saying apāvṛṇu, please remove this effulgent covering so that I can actually see Your face. 

(lecture: “Distinguishing Ego from the Self,” March 20, 2008, Spring Tour)

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Anselm’s Ontological Proof of God is "that being than whom no greater being can be conceived." Rupa Goswami is giving a similar argument 450 years later, paraphrasing what Anselm said—that the highest conception of God is the truest. Thus Krishna is the candidate, and not Anselm’s conception of God, which is psychotic and evil.  A God who punishes and tortures His children forever, even for thought-crimes.

(date and place unknown)

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Krishna and Morality 

The term ‘causeless mercy’ has to be understood according to śastra. It means that Krishna is equally generous to everyone. Augustine’s position was to give all credit to God, to assume that we did nothing to deserve His mercy. Calvin picked it up and from there the cosmic ‘law of the jungle’ developed (see also Christianity, Vaishnava Philosophy). No amount of power can translate into moral authority. God’s moral authority comes from His goodness. He is morally perfect. It is a philosophical misunderstanding that Krishna is beyond morality. He is beyond mundane moral rules. Krishna is always working towards the ultimate good and against evil, even if we don’t understand it. 

(lecture on Lord Nityānanda- "The Nature of God," 2007, BV Manor, England) 

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Socrates (through the writings of Plato) is raising the question with Euthyphro (see Western Philosophy) whether God is imposing His supreme will unto us, which would be the law of the jungle, or whether there are fair and objective principles in the universe. Even if there was no God, these rules would be fair according to Bhagavad Gīta: in the mode of goodness, you can be elevated even without Krishna. Your fortune depends on the moral quality of your actions. 

(lecture: "Unique Combination of Head and Heart,” March 26, 2008, Gainesville)

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We talk about Krishna’s six opulences: strength, wealth, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. Yet another feature of Krishna, that is extremely important to the people in the West, or another potential quality of God would be the justice of God—or, in other words, a Western person is interested to know if God is infinitely just. This concern with the justice of God is also present in the Bhāgavatam. For example, when there is a battle between the demigods and the demons, the question is raised why Krishna takes sides if He is completely equal to everyone.  So, I want to talk about Krishna as a perfect moral being and what it means to be a perfect moral being. I will also talk about how Krishna talks about His own morality in the Bhagavad-gītā.

I will start with Bhagavad-gītā. There, Krishna actually makes some effort to persuade us that He is a moral being. For example, Krishna says, “I am equal to all living beings. I do not favor anyone nor am I against anyone,” samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu. He also says that He takes it as His responsibility to set an example for others by doing His duty, because whatever a great man does, common people follow: yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate.

Another thing that Krishna talks about in the Gīta is food. He says that food in the mode of goodness increases one’s health and duration of life. However, we tend to say, in Deity worship, that it doesn’t matter what we like, but what Krishna likes. What Krishna likes—according to our conception—triples our cholesterol levels and shortens the duration of life.

Sometimes we tend to allow this conception to seep into our moral philosophy. It can be inappropriately applied to moral philosophy with the conclusion that Krishna is simply imposing His will and insisting on things that have no intrinsic value, in themselves—all their value lies in Krishna’s pleasure in them, and there is no other reason. From this misconception it could be concluded that Krishna does not care for us and for what is good for us, but rather, that He is interested only in His pleasure. But that is not so. Krishna loves us and cares for us, and therefore He is interested in our welfare and our good health. That’s why the Deities should be offered food that is healthy and beneficial for the devotees too.

(Evening darshan, May 2, 2008, New Vrindavana)