Spiritual Sky

"By the way you are managing this business," stated a letter from Srila Prabhupada to Jayatirtha dasa Adhikari, President of the Spiritual Sky Scented Products Company, "I can understand that you are completely surrendering to Krsna." Spiritual Sky, whose headquarters are also a part of the Los Angeles Krsna conscious community, is a commercial enterprise organized by the Krsna consciousness movement to gather funds for use in spreading Krsna consciousness.

Spiritual Sky is growing quickly, having doubled its size each year for the past four years and looking to double it again in the coming year. The company markets and manufactures incense, oils, shampoo, soap and other scented products. "It may seem contradictory or hard to understand that we are engaged in business dealings but still act on the spiritual platform," says Jayatirtha, the company's slender 24-year-old president. "But it's simply a matter of whose account you are working for. We are working for Krsna. The revenue from this business is not accumulating in someone's bank account or being used to buy big, luxurious houses or something like that. Everyone works here as a volunteer, and their incidental expenses for living are provided. We all live simply, and it works nicely."

"We're not bound up by any of this work," explains Ranadhira dasa, the company's marketing vice-president. "Krsna assures us in Bhagavad-gita that anyone who surrenders the fruits of his labors to Him is free from implication in materialistic life. That's the secret of Krsna consciousness: work done for Krsna's pleasure." He elaborates further: "Of course, that's not a whimsical principle. We are taking guidance from our spiritual master and scripture. You can't concoct away for serving God and pleasing Him just by doing anything that pleases you and saying it pleases Him. On the other hand, the process isn't dry; since Krsna is the Supreme and we're His parts and parcels, our pleasure is included in Krsna's pleasure."

Jayatirtha notes that although Spiritual Sky may appear just like any other enterprise, there are two fundamental differences. The first is that the Company uses its profits only to spread the teachings of Krsna consciousness, and the second is that the mentality of the staff is transcendental, for it is fixed upon Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

"We are practical spiritualists," says Jayatirtha. "Funds and organization are useful-even jet aircraft and technology can be useful if employed properly. We do not deny these things by artificially renouncing them; we simply use them for advancing spiritual understanding."