PURUSHARTHA - A journal of Management, Ethics and Spirituality

Hanuman's Wisdom & Sita's Peace: A journey from divine thoughts to modern learnings through sacrifice in Ramcharitmanas

2025-12-09T22:43:48+0530

Religious scripture like Ramcharitmanas and Ramayana, are considered as philosophical guides that shape modern human values and societal well-being. These holy scriptures not only provide the story of the divine life and virtues of the theological context, but also offer a comprehensive philosophical guide for compassion, justice, human values, and societal well-being. The current study examines the philosophical essence built in the chosen and selected couplets from the Sundar Kand of the holy scripture Ramcharitmanas, aiming via sacrifice, wisdom and peace as three important constructs. Further utilizing interpretive textual analysis, the study posits Hanuman’s journey as a spiritual and philosophical metaphor that exhibits the ideal integration of intellectual acumen, selfless devotion, unmatched sacrifice, and inner harmony. The analysis reveals that the Hanuman’s acumen crosses intellectual apprehension, rooted in faith-driven vision; the sacrifice portrays his relinquishment of the self-bizarre identity towards a divine service and cause. On the other hand, Sitaji’s character via peace reflects a state of calm endurance even after being hostage, expressing it as an act of grace and thereby dismantling the cruel opponent's courage and plan. The present paper significantly contributes to the limited extant literature on the contribution of Ramcharitmanas for propagating righteous living and everlasting harmony. Hence, this study thereby adds to the expanding interdisciplinary dialogue between ancient Indic literature and the contemporary psychological, human values, and leadership frameworks.

Gender Inequality in India: Saga of Contradictions

2025-12-09T22:43:48+0530

This paper discusses the nature of gender inequality and its various dimensions in India. Based on the secondary data from different censuses and indexes from 2001 to 2020, it assesses the reasons behind gender discrimination in Indian societies. It analyzes the panel data on socio-economic condition indicators such as Female - Male Ratio (FMR), Child Sex Ratio (CSR), Infant Mortality Ratio (IMR), Literacy Rate (LR), Gender Employment Ratio (GER) Property Rights (PR) Access to Credit (AC), etc. from the prominent states of India. It also examines the cross-state similarities and disparities concerning gender discrimination through regression analysis. This work will determine the trends in various areas of discrimination through convergence tests. It analyzes the cross-time and cross-state pattern of gender discrimination and tries to develop a composite gender discrimination index. The prime objective of this paper is to develop a composite gender discrimination index that enhances the clarity of gender discrimination status in India. This might help policymakers in drafting better policies, plans, and procedures for mitigating gender inequality in India.

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Dilemmas: Reframing Decision-Making through the lens of Indian Epics

2025-12-09T22:43:48+0530

This paper explores the enduring relevance of ancient Indian philosophical traditions in enriching modern decision-making frameworks. Despite rapid advancements in technology and increased competitive pressures in contemporary organizations, persistent challenges related to ethics, sustainability, and leadership call for a more holistic, value-centered paradigm. Drawing on primary texts—including the Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, and Arthashastra—and supported by rigorous analysis of interdisciplinary literature, this study systematically evaluates key principles of Indian thought such as Dharma (righteous conduct), Karma (action and consequence), and Viveka (discriminative wisdom).

Findings reveal that these traditions advocate a deeply integrated view of decision-making that emphasizes ethical responsibility, long term stewardship, intuitive discernment, and community-centric leadership. Analysis also identifies substantial contrasts with Western centric utility-based models that often privilege short-term goals and empirical data, suggesting the need for leadership practices that balance material outcomes with moral and spiritual well-being. Moreover, the research underscores the practical application of Indian philosophies in contemporary leadership development, ethical decision tools, sustainability practices, and cross-cultural management frameworks, positioning these teachings as a robust foundation for leaders operating in volatile, diverse, and uncertain environments.

By bridging ancient Indian insights with modern theory and practice, this study advances a transcendent, ethically grounded model of decision-making that responds to global imperatives for sustainability, inclusion, and moral integrity. Furthermore, the findings highlight future avenues for interdisciplinary research and underscore the capacity of these philosophies to inspire enduring, ethically resilient leadership across cultural and organizational contexts. Ultimately, this work asserts that time-honored Indian thought can serve as a vital resource for cultivating responsible decision-making and fostering holistic leadership that harmonizes individual ambitions with collective flourishing and planetary well-being.

Marketing Ethics and Participation in Online Brand Communities: A Bibliometric Analysis

2025-12-09T22:43:48+0530

Research on brand communities in online scenarios has seen a significant surge over the past two decades, fueled by an increased interest among scholars in areas such as online commerce, especially through social media platforms. This study aims to present a novel approach to map the literature related to marketing ethics with respect to participation in brand communities in online scenarios. The study was conducted with 336 research articles obtained from Scopus database, for the period 2000 to 2025. VOSviewer v1.6.20 and Biblioshiny tools were used to analyze the meta-data, further.

Participation in brand communities in online scenarios, coupled with marketing ethics, are the central purpose of discussion. Using bibliometric tools such as R Studio and Biblioshiny – an online tool based on Bibliometrix platform, meant for scientific analyses (Aria M. and Cuccurullo C. (2017), the major findings of this research reveal significant opportunity areas for enhancing present literature on marketing ethics while seeking participation by members in brand communities in online scenarios, as well as the highest cited authors, the most influential journals, and countries producing the maximum research articles that enriched the field of ethics and participation in brand communities in online scenarios.

The objective of this study is to contribute to the present-day literature in the fields of marketing and business ethics, as well as social media.

Role of Individualistic and Collectivistic Orientations in the Happy Life of Kharwar Adivasi Community

2025-12-23T21:23:44+0530

Following globalization, westernized cultural values, ideas, and practices have rapidly spread. Cultures are in flux, and indigenous communities are not free from the influence of the outside world. In this research, we investigated how the psychological tendencies of indigenous communities might be affected by such socio-cultural changes in a predominantly collectivist nation. A community-based study was conducted with 150 Kharwar Adivasi individuals residing in 10 villages of Naugarh block, Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh. The participants, aged 25-50 years, were given the measures of Individualism-Collectivism Orientations and Happy Life. Using an exploratory factor analysis, a five-factor structure emerged, explaining 57% of the variance in happy life. The results indicated that 59% of the sample had a collectivistic orientation. Individuals with a collectivistic orientation fared better in overall happiness and its sub domains than individuals with an individualistic orientation. It is suggested that even though there is a gradual increase in individualism, for the Adivasi community, happiness is still enhanced by tendencies of interdependence. The findings have important implications for understanding the happiness of the under-researched Adivasi population.

CRM Effectiveness (CRME) in Indian Quick-Service Restaurants (QSRs): An Investigation of Scale Generalizability

2025-12-23T21:39:55+0530

Purpose: This study comprehends the effectiveness of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Quick-Service Restaurants (QSRs), with a focus on the measurement of CRM Effectiveness (CRME) specifically tailored for the Indian QSR sector by testing the validity and generalizability of an existing scale for CRME (Padmavathy et al., 2012), originally developed for the Indian banking service industry.

Research Gap: The QSR sector witness challenges of high customer turnover with quick-paced service environments, making CRM strategies pertinent. With exponential increase in the competition, effective CRM practices have become decisive for retaining customers and enhance overall business performance. Although, there has been lot of research in the field of CRM Effectiveness in the Indian Banking service industry, there is a lack of standardized scale for quantifying CRM effectiveness for the Indian QSRs, which may lead to ineffective CRM implementation and assessment practices.

Novelty: The present study investigates the validity and generalizability of a multi-dimensional CRME scale that evaluates the effectiveness of CRM system in the QSR context by employing exploratory and descriptive quantitative methods (such as KMO, Cronbach Alpha, EFA and higher order CFA using SPSS and AMOS), which is the first of its kind in the context of the QSR industry.

Findings/Implications: Leveraging existing literature and theoretical frameworks, present study empirically investigates critical dimensions of CRME, including Organizational commitment (OC), Customer experience (CE), Process-driven approach (PD), Reliability (RE), and Technology orientation (TOR); and concludes that the scale originally developed by Padamavathy et al. (2012) is generalizable to the Indian QSR sector with OC being the most impactful predictor of CRME. Finally, the study offers actionable insights for QSR managers to improve their CRM efforts.

Solar-Powered Villages: Empowering Rural Communities with Solar Energy, and Overall Well-Being

2025-12-23T21:58:43+0530

Solar energy presents a transformative and sustainable solution to the pressing challenges faced by rural communities, particularly in developing nations where access to reliable electricity remains limited. This paper delves into the potential of solar-powered villages to revolutionize rural development by empowering rural areas by improving critical needs such as education, healthcare, economic growth, and overall well-being. By analyzing the integration of decentralized solar energy systems in off-grid regions, the study underscores the vast socioeconomic and environmental benefits these solutions can offer.

Despite these advantages, the research identifies key challenges to scaling up solar energy adoption in rural areas. These include high initial costs, lack of awareness and technical expertise, and inadequate policy frameworks. To address these barriers, the findings advocate for a multi-faceted approach involving strong policy support, targeted subsidies, and public-private partnerships to reduce financial obstacles. Moreover, technological innovation is critical for enhancing the efficiency and affordability of solar systems, while community participation is essential to ensure local ownership, maintenance, and long-term sustainability of solar energy projects.

Thus, the study demonstrates that solar-powered villages have the potential to drive equitable development, improve quality of life, and foster sustainable growth in rural regions. By addressing challenges and leveraging opportunities, solar energy can empower rural communities to become resilient, self-reliant, and integral contributors to national development goals.