Sage Akumali had only just gone to the divine kingdom, yet these people...
The First Disciple felt somewhat aggrieved. When he began following Akumali, Akumali had still been an ordinary person who seemed rather foolish in people's eyes.
Back then, no one believed Akumali's ideas could illuminate the entire world. Only he and a small number of others—the earliest ascetics—believed they could.
As for the followers who came later, those disciples were not quite so pure in the First Disciple's eyes.
Some of them sought fame. After Akumali's ideas spread, becoming his disciple was no longer simply a way to become famous in Nagaril—it made one famous throughout the world.
People would discuss how many disciples Akumali had, what each disciple excelled at, and what deeds they had accomplished.
Such fame might not immediately change their destinies, but it could slowly alter the course of their lives.
Others sought wealth. Akumali did not refuse "offerings"; this was also part of the local religious culture.
Put simply, the people donated things to the gods, and priests were not allowed to refuse them—
It sounded like an excuse priests had come up with to justify not refusing, but who cared? That was how things had always been for so many years.
Since those things were given to the gods, and priests were not gods, they could not make decisions on the gods' behalf. Thus, they had to offer the things to the gods. As for whether the gods wanted them, that was for the gods to decide.
Offerings were a traditional form of religious culture. Some people believed in Akumali but did not know how to express it. Donating money or goldware was obviously the most direct way.
Akumali did not refuse such donations either. It was not because he was greedy.