Acharya Prashant states that India was never so foolish; it understood the reality of both wealth (Kanchan) and beauty (Kamini) so profoundly that it was as if the very soil of the land had become wise. Even an average farmer possessed the wisdom not to die for wealth and beauty, despite their natural and powerful attraction, knowing in principle that these things are not lasting. Consequently, India never considered physical beauty a very significant matter. Although there were poems and scriptures on adornment, how physically attractive someone was to the senses was never given much importance until about 100-200 years ago. Dazzling beauty was not considered valuable. This was based on the deep understanding that polishing the body excessively only leads to becoming more body-identified. The emphasis was on spontaneous, natural beauty and simplicity. Similarly, regarding wealth, India was a leading global economy until the 17th-18th century, so there was no lack of money. However, the display of wealth was never considered a good thing, as if the land itself knew all wealth turns to dust. Value was given to virtues, knowledge, depth, and wisdom. This perspective changed through a long process. While India's culture and understanding were superior, it faced defeat in wars for many centuries. The final, complete defeat by the British broke India's self-confidence, replacing it with an inferiority complex. Indians began to believe that the victors were superior not just militarily, but culturally as well. This led to Indians moving away from their own culture, language, and religion, a trend exacerbated by the modern education system which suggests that anything superior is mostly foreign. As a result, today's youth often views anything Indian with indifference or contempt, equating 'Indianness' with being backward. To progress, they feel they must abandon their Indian identity. The more 'un-Indian' one is, the more 'smart' and 'cool' they are considered. This desire to whiten skin or color hair stems from a deep-seated inferiority complex born from centuries of defeat and slavery, a subconscious wish to be like the victors.