PARAMAHANSAJI: As Washington performed his duty, he never forgot the Giver of all gifts. That is what inspired me in his life. In India he always inspired me with this thought. His love for truth was greater than love of party politics. I believe that though patriotism is necessary, it should not exclude spiritual truth, because patriotism which excludes international well-being is built on loose stones. That patriotism cannot last forever. But patriotism which is firmly built on the everlasting source of truth, that patriotism which loves truth and truth alone, that nation is based on such patriotism as Washington possessed, and the great good that he did to the world and to America is ever awake with us. He is ever living in the minds of the world; and we must always be inspired by his example, for he inspired not only thousands, hundreds of thousands, but millions.
Most great men that serve live hundreds of years before their time. He came, he conquered, he mastered himself and the situations in which he was placed, and then withdrew and led the life of a hermit in seclusion here. There are politicians and politicians–those puny ones who cater to the mob sentiment and who put the national mansion on a loose foundation; but men like LINCOLN and Washington have always tried to solidify the foundations of the national mansions with the eternal rock of truth and spirituality. The politicians who are going to live forever are the direct beneficiaries of his labors, his aspirations, his trials, and great strength. The whole world after all should remember that these national boundaries are all man-made. Time shall again erase these boundaries and as we love to love our nation we must always remember and regard the love and patriotism of all other nations. One’s own patriotism must not exclude the patriotism of others. Our national ideals must not militate against other ideals, but we must find harmony in nations. It was for ideals like this that great men like Lincoln and Washington lived and died.
https://yoganandasite.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/george-washington-an-inspiration-to-all-nations-paramahansa-yogananda/