22
The Nectar of Instruction
than needed). According to  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , the endeavor of philosophical speculators to write volumes of books on dry philosophy devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is entirely futile. The work of  karmīs  who write volumes of books on economic development also falls within the category of  atyāhāra . Similarly, those who have no desire for Kṛṣṇa consciousness and who are simply interested in possessing more and more material things—either in the shape of scientific knowledge or monetary gain—are all included under the control of  atyāhāra .
Karmīs  labor to accumulate more and more money for future generations only because they do not know their future position. Interested only in getting more and more money for their sons and grandsons, such foolish persons do not even know what their position is going to be in the next life. There are many incidents that illustrate this point. Once a great  karmī  accumulated a vast fortune for his sons and grandsons, but later, according to his  karma , he took his birth in a cobbler's house located near the building which in his previous life he had constructed for his children. It so happened that when this very cobbler came to his former house, his former sons and grandsons beat him with shoes. Unless the  karmīs  and  jñānīs  become interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they will simply continue to waste their life in fruitless activities.
Accepting some of the scriptural rules and regulations for immediate benefit, as utilitarians advocate, is called  niyama-āgraha , and neglecting the rules and regulations of the  śāstras , which are meant for spiritual development, is called  niyama-agraha . The word  āgraha  means “eagerness to ac-