Red Fort you'll find there are pictures of birds and trees on the wall, and the eyes of the bird is now hole, or some parts. Means it was bedecked with jewel. On the wall there was decoration of birds, just like we paint now. There is also paint. But that is not painting. Set up with stones, and the eyes and other parts of the bird, or trees, flowers, they are bedecked with different types of jewels. Now all these jewels have been taken away when British government was there, and they are now protected in the British Museum, so far I have heard. But the jewels were taken away. That's a fact. Anyone can see that.
So material opulence and . . . of course, in India it was not considered to have a big tin car or plastic plates. Material opulence means jewels, gold, silk, butter. That is material opulence. Not plastic pots or plastic bucket, plastic cloth. It has no value. So anyway, India was concerned material opulence whatever is gotten from the nature, not by industry, not engaging oneself in industry. Therefore India, the leaders of India now, they are finding that on account of our negligence to the material side of life, we have become poor.
So the purpose is that the East and West difference is that the Eastern people—Eastern people means India—they stressed on this sat portion, the permanent portion, the spiritual civilization. Their aim was "How to make this life perfect so that I can become immortal." As I explained the other day, aihistam yat punar janma jayāya, yat tat punar janma jayāya. The whole effort was how to conquer over birth and death. So modern people, they do not understand that birth and death can be conquered.
They can imagine it. Sometimes they say that, "By scientific advancement, someday we shall become immortal." They also expect to become immortal. But, expect or not expect, here is the information from Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, He's not speaking something nonsense or utopian. It is fact that we should be interested in the permanent, permanent life, not temporary life.