In plain words
One may master all the lore of the Vedas and shine in it, and be skilled in clever words; yet with no good qualities, and without refinement, it is like land with no moisture bearing a crop.
The Veda is the root and foundation of the Vijñāna of Bhārata. It is infinite Vijñāna. It is this, this very same thing, that appears again in the Itihāsas and Purāṇas too. It is like a foundation for refinement and for equality. It is an inexhaustible mine for the inquiry into Dharma. It is a great treasure-house for the giving of ideals. The Veda is the very first poem to come forth in the world. It is the very first book in the history of the nation of Bhārata. All the standards of the people of Bhārata, every one of them, rest on the Vedas alone. What is foremost for the people of Bhārata, and their authority, is the Veda itself.
Of the four Vedas, the Ṛgveda is the very first. The Ṛgveda is the very form of God Himself. It is one vast mantra, a whole gathering of mantras, describing God. This Ṛgveda has proclaimed that there are many deities. Not hundreds, not thousands, not lakhs: it has told us that this world is one made with crores of deities. What is its inner meaning? It has made known the truth that every jīva is God. That is precisely why it has proclaimed the truth that every jīva is God: because in every human being the divine Ātma is present as the very form of God. It has gone on showing that this thing called Divinity, the very divinities in the Veda too, are only in human form. For the protection of the world, the Sun is foremost. It has shown that even such a Sun has certain forms. It has declared that the Sun's rays are his hands and his flames his tongues. Agni is the most important of all for the yajñas, yāgas and other rites. At the time of the yajña, Agni comes forth by churning, through what is called the araṇi. The Ṛgveda showed that this Agni has a mother and a father. There are two sticks for churning it. One stick below, one stick above: it is from the churning of these two that Agni comes forth. So it has gone on showing that these two sticks are themselves Agni's mother and father. It has gone on showing that Agni, the very moment he is born, swallows his mother and father. Because he springs from this churning of the araṇi, it has taught that his births are many. Smoke is this Agni's sound. Because his own sounds come forth as smoke, he came to be called Dhūmapāda.