In plain words
That is, what is God as Īśvara? Īśvara is the One who has taken on, as His form, the natural quality of humanity. Īśvara is the very One who brings about dissolution. This is what has been called the liṅga. Līyate gamyate iti liṅgam. Liṅga means that which brings you to the goal. That itself is tamoguṇa. That is, it brings you to the goal.
Now, what is Viṣṇu? This Viṣṇu nature is the protector. After a man is born, many kinds of trouble keep standing in the way of that man who has been born. Protecting him from these obstacles and bringing him to a path of well-being.
Brahmā does not mean only the Creator. Brahmā is the One who pervades everywhere. Viṣṇu is the One who pervades everywhere. Śiva is the One who pervades everywhere. All three are everywhere. All three are untouched by the three times and beyond the three guṇas. Only their forms have appeared differently. They gave Viṣṇu a discus and a conch. So what is this conch? Sound. What is the discus? The wheel of time. Time. And so both of these, this discus and the sound, are under God's control. And so, where does sound come from? It comes only from the navel. The navel is the birthplace of Brahmā. The one born from this navel is none other than Brahmā: what does that mean? The primal sound, the root of all, is itself Brahmā. The outward sound alone is this Viṣṇu. Īśvara is the very form of silence. That is why, in pictures, Īśvara is always shown as though He is in meditation.