Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 3 - Chapter 1 - Verse 19

Sanskrit:

स इत्थमुद्वीक्ष्य तदब्जनाल-नाडीभिरन्तर्जलमाविवेश ।नार्वाग्गतस्तत्खरनालनाल-नाभिं विचिन्वंस्तदविन्दताज: ॥ १९ ॥

ITRANS:

sa ittham udvīkṣya tad-abja-nāla-nāḍībhir antar-jalam āviveśanārvāg-gatas tat-khara-nāla-nāla-nābhiṁ vicinvaṁs tad avindatājaḥ

Translation:

Lord Brahmā, thus contemplating, entered the water through the channel of the stem of the lotus. But in spite of entering the stem and going nearer to the navel of Viṣṇu, he could not trace out the root.

Purport:

By dint of one’s personal endeavor one may go nearer to the Lord, but without the Lord’s mercy one cannot reach the ultimate point. Such understanding of the Lord is possible only by devotional service, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55): bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ.