Now, if you ignite the wood, first of all there is smoke, then there is fire. So my necessity is fire—neither the wood, nor the earth, nor the smoke. Similarly, for getting out of these material clutches one has to take shelter of Viṣṇu—not of Lord Brahmā nor Lord Śiva.
It is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajante anya-devatāḥ (BG 7.20). Anya-devatāḥ means Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā and others. There are many, thirty-three crores of different demigods: Indra, Candra, Varuṇa, so many. So the chief of them is Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva is therefore called Mahādeva. He is above all these demigods. And Lord Śi . . . Brahmā is called pitāmaha. Pitāmaha means he's the father of all demigods. He's father of Lord Śiva also.
So in this way, if we really want salvation, free, freedom from these clutches of māyā . . . that is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). This māyā is very, very hard to pass over. Duratyayā. Only means is: mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti. This is the version. Here it is also the same thing confirmed: śreyāṁsi. If you want ultimate goal—ultimate goal means to get free from the conditional life, repetition of birth, death, old age—then you have to take shelter of Lord Viṣṇu.