The Vedas are described as setu, which means "a bridge." If one wants to attain his spiritual existence, one has to cross an ocean of nescience. The Vedas are the bridge by which to cross such a great ocean.

Safe Crossing

Free from defects

The Vedas give the eternal regulative principles for auspicious advancement in human civilization which have been rigidly followed in the past. The strong evidence of this principle is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is called Janardana, the well-wisher of all living entities.

PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gita the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, has claimed that He is the father of all living entities, regardless of form. There are 8,400,000 different species of life forms, and Lord Krishna claims that He is the father of all. Because the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are all sons of the Lord, and for their benefit, because they are hovering under the impression that they can lord it over material nature, the Vedas are given to them for their guidance. Therefore the Vedas are called apaurusheya, for they are not written by any man or demigod, including the first living creature, Brahma. Brahma is not the creator or author of the Vedas. He is also one of the living beings in this material world; therefore he does not have the power to write or speak the Vedas independently. Every living entity within this material world is subject to four deficiencies: he commits mistakes, he accepts one thing for another, he cheats, and he has imperfect senses. The Vedas, however, are not written by any living creature within this material world. Therefore they are said to be apaurusheya. No one can trace out the history of the Vedas. Of course, modern human civilization has no chronological history of the world or the universe, and it cannot present actual historical facts older than three thousand years. But no one has traced out when the Vedas were written, because they were never written by any living being within this material world. All other systems of knowledge are defective because they have been written or spoken by men or demigods who are products of this material creation, but Bhagavad-gita is apaurusheya, for it was not spoken by any human being or any demigod of this material creation; it was spoken by Lord Krishna, who is beyond the material creation. That is accepted by such stalwart scholars as Shankaracharya, not to speak of other acharyas such as Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya. Shankaracharya has accepted that Narayana and Krishna are transcendental, and in Bhagavad-gita also Lord Krishna has established, aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate: [Bg. 10.8] "I am the origin of everything; everything emanates from Me." This material creation, including Brahma and Shiva and all the demigods, has been created by Him, for everything has emanated from Him. He also says that the purpose of all the Vedas is to understand Him (vedaish cha sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]). He is the original veda-vit, or knower of the Vedas, and vedanta-krit, or compiler of Vedanta. Brahma is not the compiler of the Vedas.

In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is established, tene brahma hrida: the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, instructed Brahma in the Vedic knowledge through his heart. Therefore the evidence that Vedic knowledge is free from the defects of mistakes, illusions, cheating and imperfection is that it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janardana, and has thus been followed from time immemorial, beginning from Brahma. The Vedic religion or the principles of the Vedas have been followed by the highly cultured population of India since time immemorial; no one can trace out the history of Vedic religion. Therefore it is sanatana, and any blasphemy against the Vedas is calculated to be atheism. The Vedas are described as setu, which means "a bridge." If one wants to attain his spiritual existence, one has to cross an ocean of nescience. The Vedas are the bridge by which to cross such a great ocean.