Pillar of Fire!

One day Brahma and Vishnu were walking down the path. They came to a place where they met, and Brahma was walking from one direction and Vishnu from the other direction. And Brahma said, "Would you please step aside, I'm trying to pass." And Vishnu said,"Well, you know, I'm the protector of the entire universe, and I think it would be appropriate for you to step aside for me."

And Brahma said,"Well, you know, I'm the creator of the universe, so you step aside for me." And Vishnu said,"You were born in a lotus that emerged for my navel. This makes me your creator."

And as Maya would have it, they began to argue as to who would step aside for whom, who is the greatest, and they decided on a competition. There was a Shiva Lingam that came out of the ground right between the two of them. And it went up,up,up through the clouds all the way to the highest reaches of the atmosphere, they couldn't see the end of it.

 Brahma got on his swan and flew upwards. Vishnu took the form of a boar and dug into the earth to find its base. Neither was successful. From the pillar emerged Shiva. Both Brahma and Vishnu realized Shiva, embodiment of the Pillar of Fire was Mahadeva, greater than any deva. He was even greater than both of them because his origin and were not known.