262
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 3, Ch. 7]
vidura uvāca brahman kathaṁ bhagavataś cinmātrasyāvikāriṇaḥ līlayā cāpi yujyeran nirguṇasya guṇāḥ kriyāḥ
śrī  viduraḥ uvāca —Śrī Vidura said;  brahman —O  brāhmaṇa ;  katham —how;  bhagavataḥ —of the Personality of Godhead;  cit-mātrasya —of the complete spiritual whole;  avikāriṇaḥ —of the unchangeable;  līlayā —by His pastime;  cā —either;  api —even though it is so;  yujyerat —takes place;  nirguṇasya —without the modes of nature;  guṇāḥ —modes of nature;  kriyāḥ —activities.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Vidura said:  O great  brāhmaṇa , since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the complete spiritual whole and is unchangeable, how is He connected with the material modes of nature and their activities? If this is His pastime, how do the activities of the unchangeable take place and exhibit qualities without the modes of nature?
PURPORT
As described in the previous chapter, the difference between the Supersoul, the Supreme Lord, and the living entities is that the activities of the Lord in creating the cosmic manifestation are performed by the Lord through the agency of His multifarious energies, but this manifestation is bewildering to the living entities. The Lord is, therefore, the master of the energies, whereas the living entities are subjugated by them. By asking various questions about transcendental activities, Vidura is clearing the misconception that when the Lord either descends on the earth in His incarnation or appears Himself with all His potencies, He too is subjected to the influence of  māyā , just like an ordinary living entity. This is generally the calculation of less intelligent philosophers who consider the position of the Lord and that of the living entities to be on the same level. Vidura is hearing the great sage Maitreya refute these arguments. The Lord is described in this verse as  cinmātra , or completely spiritual. The Personality of Godhead has unlimited potencies to create and manifest many wonderful things, both temporary and permanent. Because this material world is the creation of His external energy, it thus appears to be temporary; it is manifested at certain intervals, maintained for some time, and again dissolved and conserved in His own energy. As described in  Bhagavad-