468
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 11]
saḥ —the;  khalu —however;  idam —this (universe);  bhagavān —Personality of Godhead;  kāla —of time;  śaktyā —by the force;  guṇa-pravāheṇa —by the interaction of the modes of nature;  vibhakta —divided;  vīryaḥ —(whose) potencies;  karoti —acts upon;  akartā —the non-doer;  eva —although;  nihanti —kills;  ahantā —non-killer;  ceṣṭā —the energy;  vibhūmnaḥ —of the Lord;  khalu —certainly;  durvibhāvyā —inconceivable.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His inconceivable supreme energy, time, causes the interaction of the three modes of material nature, and thus varieties of energy become manifest. It appears that He is acting, but He is not the actor. He is killing, but He is not the killer. Thus it is understood that only by His inconceivable power is everything happening.
PURPORT
The word  durvibhāvyā  means inconceivable by our tiny brain, and  vibhakta-vīryaḥ  means divided in varieties of potencies. This is the right explanation of the display of creative energies in the material world. We can better understand the mercy of God by an example: a government state is always supposed to be merciful, but sometimes, in order to keep law and order, the government employs its police force, and thus punishment is meted out to the rebellious citizens. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always merciful and full of transcendental qualities, but certain individual souls have forgotten their relationship with Kṛṣṇa and have endeavored to lord it over material nature. As a result of their endeavor, they are involved in varieties of material interaction. It is incorrect to argue, however, that because energy issues from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is therefore the actor. In the previous verse, the word  nimitta-mātram  indicates that the Supreme Lord is completely aloof from the action and reaction of this material world. How is everything being done? The word “inconceivable” has been used. It is not within the power of one’s small brain to comprehend; unless one accepts the inconceivable power and energy of the Lord, one cannot make any progress. The forces which act are certainly set up by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He is always aloof from their action and reaction. The varieties of energies produced by the interaction of material nature produce the varieties of species of life and their resultant happiness and unhappiness.
How the Lord acts is nicely explained in  Viṣṇu Purāṇa : fire is situated in one place, while the heat and light produced by the fire act in many different ways. Another example given is that the electric powerhouse is