In plain words
Embodiments of the sacred Ātma! Today in Bhārata worldly desires have grown and the vision of the highest has dwindled; Indians have lost their faith in the Vedas and Śāstras, fallen into confusion over whether God exists or not, and, as their self-confidence wastes away, become a prey to wrongdoing, Asatya and unrest: this is a sorrowful thing. Like monkeys that ruin themselves and then ruin the whole grove, they fall into unrest themselves and bring the rest of the people, too, to this same state. In the land of Bhārata, which shone as the field of karma and the field of Dharma, they teach and spread what runs against karma and Dharma, and bring disgrace on Mother Bhārata.
Many who hold the Vedic way dear and hold Dharma dear have seen this sorry state, and each of them, as he likes and as his understanding goes, is making efforts of every kind and setting out to raise up Indian culture. Well and good. But what is sad is precisely that no one looks carefully into what has caused this sorry state and where its root lies; without doing that, there is no way to set things right, no way to halt the decline.
When you see that a tree is drying up from its trunk to its branches and twigs, pouring water over the surface to remedy it is not the right way; but unless you destroy the worms and insects that are eating away its roots, you cannot save the tree.
In the same way, if you ask what the roots are of the most holy Vedic Dharma, of the Sanātana Dharma that the Vedas ordain — Brāhmaṇya and brahmacarya: these two alone. We must first destroy the insects and diseases that have come upon these two, and after that take the remaining steps. Only then will Indian culture flourish. The brāhmaṇas who follow the path of Brahman, and the young men, boys and girls who keep brahmacarya, must flourish. If gurukula āśramas like this Nava Bhārata Gurukulam, where all of us are gathered, come into being, they can nourish and protect our sacred Indian culture. Brāhmaṇya brought the highest good in former times; the reason it has now sunk to this sorry state is nothing other than the lack of the practice the scriptures enjoin. If, gripped by the fear and confusion that taking up practice will hinder the study of the Vedas and Śāstras, you spend body and time in reciting alone, there is no fruit at all. Learning without practice is merely laughable. Put at least the few things you know into practice, and relish the Ānanda that springs from them.