Ādi-filā, Chapter 5
411
maintaining the cosmic manifestation and simultaneously being indifferent to the activities of its maintenance cannot be contradictory, because of His inconceivable energies. To a person who is always absorbed in the thought of snakes, a rope always appears as a snake, and similarly to a person bewildered by material qualities and devoid of knowledge of the Absolute, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears according to diverse bewildered conclusions.
Someone might argue that the Absolute would be affected by duality if He were both all-cognizance (Brahman) and the Personality of Godhead with six opulences in full (Bhagavān). To refute such an argument, the aphorism  svarūpa-dvayam īkṣyate  declares that in spite of appearances, there is no chance of duality in the Absolute, for He is but one in diverse manifestations. Understanding that the Absolute displays varied pastimes by the influence of His energies at once removes the apparent incongruity of His inconceivably opposite energies.  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (3.4.16) gives the following description of the inconceivable potency of the Lord:
karmāṇy anīhasya bhavo 'bhavasya te durgāśrayo 'thāri-bhayāt palāyanam kālātmano yat pramadā-yutāśrayaḥ svātman-rateḥ khidyati dhīr vidām iha
“Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead has nothing to do, He nevertheless acts; although He is always unborn, He nevertheless takes birth; although He is time, fearful to everyone, He flees Mathurā in fear of His enemy to take shelter in a fort; and although He is self-sufficient, He marries 16,000 women. These pastimes seem like bewildering contradictions, even to the most intelligent.” Had these activities of the Lord not been a reality, sages would not have been puzzled by them. Therefore such activities should never be considered imaginary. Whenever the Lord desires, His inconceivable energy ( yogamāyā ) serves Him in creating and performing such pastimes.
The scriptures known as the  Pañcarātra-śāstras  are recognized Vedic scriptures that have been accepted by the great  ācāryas . These scriptures are not products of the modes of passion and ignorance. Learned scholars and  brāhmaṇas  therefore always refer to them as  sātvata-saṁhitās . The original speaker of these scriptures is Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is especially mentioned in the  Mokṣa-dharma  (349.68), which is part of the  Śānti-parva  of the  Mahābhārata . Liberated sages like Nārada and Vyāsa, who are free from the four defects of conditioned souls, are the propagators of these scriptures. Śrī Nārada Muni is the original speaker of the  Pañcarātra-śāstra .  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is also considered a  sātvata-saṁhitā . Indeed, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu declared,  śrīmad-bhāgavatam purāṇam amalam : “ Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is a spotless  Purāṇa .” Malicious editors and scholars who attempt to misrepresent the  Pañcarātra-śāstras  to refute its regulations are most abominable. In the modern age, such malicious scholars have even commented misleadingly upon  Bhagavad-gītā , which was spoken by Kṛṣṇa, to prove that there is no Kṛṣṇa. How the Māyāvādīs have misrepresented the  pāñcarātrika-vidhi  will be shown below.