PRESERVING AND PROMOTING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY OF THE CHINMAYA MISSION

Vineeta Mishra

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i10s.2026.8188

Authors

Dr. Vineeta Mishra SOIL School of Business Design, Manesar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i10s.2026.8188

Keywords:

Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Values-Based Leadership, Strategic Management, Social Innovation, Vedanta, Education For Sustainable Development

Abstract [English]

This case study narrates how the Chinmaya Mission, which was founded in 1953 by Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati, could be considered as a living case study of how Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) could be maintained, institutionalized and scaled with values-based leadership and strategic coherence. The study reveals the overlap of philosophy, pedagogy and social innovation in the ecosystem of the Chinmaya Mission through first-hand field experience with the Chinmaya Mission Sidhbari Ashram and the Chinmaya Organisation for Rural Development (CORD) villages, as well as secondary research.
It also explores the operationalization of the concepts of Advaita Vedanta by management practices such as leadership development, participatory governance, knowledge transfer, and sustainability.
The analysis reveals that the Chinmaya Mission has a replicable model that can be applied in the modern-day organizations with the aim of integrating purpose and performance by indigenizing ethics and awareness frameworks.

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