New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday asked people to draw inspiration from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's "spirit of India" which proclaimed the ideal of unity that rejects no race or culture.


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In his message on the 155th birth anniversary of Tagore, the President said it was an occasion to remember his idea of human love and selfless service and collapsing boundaries.


"Gurudev made us realize that literature, histories and cultures represent common ideals of humanity that transcend national limits. It is this sense of a shared humanity, a Visva - that Tagore sang of in his literature and music," he said.


"Tagore?s life and work continue to be a source of immense inspiration to the people of our nation and the world. Let us on this day draw inspiration from Tagore?s words ?the spirit of India has always proclaimed the ideal of unity. This ideal of unity never rejects anything, any race, or any culture?," he said in his message.


Remembering Tagore, the President said he was a great admirer of nature and many of his literary works invoke the simple beauties of the natural world as he believed that religion could be found in the wonders and mysteries of nature as much as in the temples and sacred books.


"Gurudev Tagore had a perfect sense of synergy and joy-the joy of submission to a divine power, the joy of surrendering the self, of participating in the vast expanse of nature and reading out to the nooks and corners of humanity," he said.


Earlier he paid floral tributes to Tagore at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.