In plain words
It was on the authority of the Vedas and Śāstras that they went on laying down such rules. When, where, and by whom these began, no one has been able to determine to this day. They went on believing this to be a divine path that had come into being to nourish the divinity in humanity. Little by little, as time changed, many branches and sub-branches were added to it. It was through the injunctions of the great ṛṣis and through their resolves that these branches and sub-branches went on growing. They went on giving these branches the names of the great ṛṣis. For the well-being of society: the Vaśiṣṭha branch, the Gautama branch, the Parāśara branch, the Viśvāmitra branch. In this way they went on laying down many branches. The time of the religion of Bhārata, its leader, the person who determined it: no one at all has identified any of these, in any way, to this day. All these were determined on the authority of the Vedas. The other religions began from two thousand, two thousand five hundred years ago. For these religions, the prophets became fixed. These prophets of religion thought in many ways, recognised the equal feeling in all, and went on teaching the paths by which humanity could bring itself into harmony.
No religion at all laid down ideas that set one religion against another. But unfortunately the feelings of difference and the narrow natures in individuals developed many kinds of differences. In each religion each one proclaimed a compilation of its own, and through that, holocausts called religious hatreds went on arising in society. In truth there is no room for any difference or any hatred between religion and religion. The ancient religion of Bhārata, taking only the Vedic tradition as its ground, taught this as the Hindu tradition, and went on teaching with the welfare of all in view: lokāssamastā sukhino bhavantu, may all the worlds be happy. The aim of the religion of Islam too is this very thing. In the Persian language, Islam has many kinds of sacred meanings. Islam also means refuge, and Śānti. The inner meaning of the religion of Islam is just this: take refuge in God and live a life of Śānti with your fellow men. The religion of Islam has gone on teaching sacred sayings in the Quran. In it there is one word, Salāt, and a second word, Zakāt. Salāt means that one must worship God with steady devotion. Zakāt means: practise charity to the humble and poor, and take it on yourself to protect your fellow men. The very same thing Vyāsa gave in the Itihāsas and Purāṇas of Bhārata as the essence of the eighteen Purāṇas: 'paropakāraḥ puṇyāya pāpāya parapīḍanam', helping others is merit, harming others is sin.