Examine the faults that may lie dormant in you and try to get rid of them. Do not merely declaim from platforms the excellence of such qualities as charity, Service, sympathy, equality, secularism, etc. Descend and practise a few sincerely. When your neighbour is in the throes of a serious illness, do not rest content with the idea that you are happily free. No one is free if even one is bound. Remember that the food you give to each living being reaches God Himself, the service you do to any one being fills God with joy. (SSS Vol.4)

I described the political pressures that are undermining the spiritual culture of India in the name of secularism. I assured them that the Ganga of Sprirituality emerging from the Himaalayan ranges of Sathya, Dharma, Shaanthi and Prema can never be polluted by political tactics. For millennia, the lives of generations of Indians have been saturated in God; they have toiled for God; they have been fostered by God; God is the root; the bed-rock, the very breath of the millions of India. No one can dry it up, or blast it or deny it. (SSS Vol.11)

At present, educated people are wanting in the grit necessary to act according to their convictions; they know a thing is right but lack the will to carry it through. Teach the students to discriminate in a detached manner and arrive at right conclusions, and encourage them to put their faith into practice fearlessly. Now that the cultivation of the spirit is in the name of secularism, beyond the ken of the system, teachers who are themselves unaware of higher values are leading youth into less and less firm grounds, into fear and fickleness. How can such people, who have no inner strength, no vital faith in themselves, lead others? What can the country expect from this method of bringing up the young, this foolish and futile round, where the blind lead those unwilling to open their eyes in series of fallow circles? (SSS Vol.12)

Some are concerned about living in a ‘secular state’. Secularism really means equal respect for all faiths and beliefs. Children must grow in the awareness of the Brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God. From the most impressionable years the children should be taught to cultivate Love for all. Love leads to Unity. Unity promotes Purity. Purity leads to Divinity. Pure Love is the Chief Manifestation of education. (TSF, p.234)

Differences of caste and creed should be eradicated from the minds of students. They should feel the sense of human unity, with faith in God. All religions teach essentially the same troths. Hence no religion should be despised. Because of the Government s policies, a wrong attitude has been developed towards religion. The concept of a Secular State is bandied about. Secularism really means that you should have equal respect for all religions and beliefs. No one can be asked to renounce his faith in the name of secularism. There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of Love. There is only one language, the language of the Heart. Imagine how our students would be able to serve the nation in the  future if these basic truths were taught to them. Hence, at the outset, teachers should set the example. Parents should exemplify ideals. The Government should be exemplary in its actions. It is because teachers, parents and rulers have failed to set the right example that today our educational system is in shambles. (SSS Vol.27)

In the name of secularism, governments should not interfere with the practise of their respective religions by the citizens. No one should criticize the creed of others. The divinity that is adored by all religions is one and the same, though different names may be used. In the name of religion, violent conflicts are encouraged. Children should be taught to respect all religions. (SSS Vol.27)

‘Secularism’ does not mean atheism. A secular nation is not the land ofHiranayakasipu, but one where each citizen follows his dharma, propagates andprofesses it freely without criticising other people s faiths and dharmasunder any circumstances. Sanatana dharma does refer to the ‘secular’ (Satyopanishad)

Secularism does not mean irreligion; it means real religion. And real religion recognizes all faiths as facets of the Truth. (SSSm Vol.3)