Puducherry, Apr 24 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that to understand the soul of India, the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo has to be studied in detail. He said this on Sunday while speaking on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Aurobindo.

Shah said culture was the common factor that was binding the people of the country across various regions. He said that once India is seen as a geo-cultural country, then all the problems will be solved easily and automatically.

The Home Minister said that culture is the soul of India and that was the teaching of Sri Aurobindo and added that from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and from Bengal to Dwarka, it was the culture that was holding the country together. He, however, said that the Constitution of the country was also equally important.

Shah said that in the concept of Indian culture, there is no border, and that in Vedas and Upanishads, there was no mention of borders and added: "We work for the welfare of the whole world."

The Home Minister said that India attained independence when Sri Aurobindo was seventy-five years old and now during the 150th birth anniversary of the great saint, the country was celebrating its 75th birth anniversary.

He also said that Sri Aurobindo had played a major role in the freedom struggle of the country and reminisced about his incarceration in the Alipur bomb case.

Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the freedom struggle as 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' was to honour even the unknown freedom fighters and to take among the youth of the country the spirit of freedom struggle to invigorate the youths.

The Union home minister paid a visit to the Aurobindo Ashram and paid floral tributes at the memorial of Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual collaborator, The Mother.

Visiting the Mahakavi Bharathiar Memorial Museum, the Union minister paid floral tributes to the national poet and freedom fighter Subramania Bharathi.

In a tweet, he said: "Subramania Bharathi is the epitome of patriotism, unity, and social reforms. His patriotic songs motivated countless people to join the Indian freedom movement. His ideas continue to motivate us all."

Earlier the Home Minister was received at the Puducherry airport by Lt Governor of Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Chief Minister of the Union Territory, N. Rangasami.