India, with its hoary traditions of spirituality and culture, always had a universal outlook that was not limited by geopolitical confines, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.
Launching the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of the poet, nationalist and philosopher, Sri Aurobindo, under the auspices of Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS) at Pondicherry University convention centre, Mr. Shah said: “India can never think small, and India should never think small; there was a time when we were enslaved, but our broad outlook and ancient culture will never allow us to think small”.
Underscoring the lack of reference to a country or borders anywhere in Indian culture or the Vedas, Mr. Shah said, “Our people strive for the welfare of the entire world, and even the cosmos as a whole.”
Hailing the multi-faceted contributions of Sri Aurobindo as an invaluable heritage for the country, Mr. Shah said it was not possible to understand the soul of India without reading the works of the poet-philosopher.
Sri Aurobindo had placed the concept of ‘Swaraj’ before the country, and believed that India had the power to solve the problems of the world. Swaraj does not mean only political power; Swaraj also means taking forward the principles indigenous to India, the concepts of culture and its great traditions, he said. “From Kashmir to Kanniyakumari and Dwarka to Bengal, the same culture binds us all in the thread of unity”, Mr. Shah said.
According to the Union Home Minister, Sri Aurobindo tried to propound an important theory of political action which, in a way, can also be called spiritual nationalism, and he placed the concept of ‘nation’ for the first time.
He called upon everyone involved in the propagation of the ideas of Sri Aurobindo to focus on the youth and the education system in the country to achieve the India of Sri Aurobindo’s imagination.
Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, Home Minister A. Namassivayam, legislators, Pondicherry University Vice-Chancellor Gurmeet Singh, Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumar, SAS chairman Pradeep Narang and SAS member-executive Vijay Poddar were among those who took part.
The Home Minister also released a publication, ‘Sri Aurobindo and the Constitution of India’, and laid the foundation for three academic buildings of Pondicherry University, to be built at an estimated cost of ₹48.66 crore. Mr. Shah earlier visited Sri Aurobindo Ashram on a day of special significance, as it marked the anniversary of The Mother’s first visit to erstwhile Pondicherry in 1914.
He also paid a visit to Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar Memorial Centre. In a tweet, Mr. Shah hailed the poet and freedom fighter, saying, “Subramania Bharathi is the epitome of patriotism, unity & social reforms. His patriotic songs motivated countless people to join the Indian freedom movement. His ideas continue to motivate us all.”
