This article reframes the global sustainability impasse as an epistemic problem and argues that Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) offer critical resources for its resolution. Through a comparative critique of four dominant approaches—Limits to Growth systems modelling, the Sustainable Development Goals, Luhmann’s ecological communication theory and Deep‑Ecology ethics—we show that each illuminates part of the crisis yet leaves decisive gaps in motivation, integration and moral scope. Drawing on textual and historical analysis, we recover four interlocking philosophical pillars from IKS: Ṛta‑Dharma (cosmic order and ethical duty), Vedāntic non‑dualism (unity of self and cosmos), Buddhist interdependence (co‑arising of all beings) and the Sikh ethic of seva (selfless service). We then map these principles onto contemporary deadlocks—sectoral communication silos, growth‑centric economic paradigms, anthropocentric ethics and the secular blind spot—and demonstrate how they generate actionable remedies such as narrative‑based public engagement, sufficiency‑oriented prosperity metrics, ecological humanism and spiritually grounded policy coalitions. The article concludes by proposing an agenda of epistemological pluralism in higher‑education curricula and sustainability governance, contending that the synergistic integration of scientific and civilizational knowledges can galvanize more coherent, inclusive and durable responses to planetary challenges.
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