If we can reflect on life and its purpose, the answer could have several alternate realities. Success and happiness for one might vastly differ for another. From an equitable perspective, there is something deeper than right or wrong, black or white, or truth and lie. Life comes down to decisions and how we choose to lead it. In our editorial conversation with Business Icon of the Year 2025, Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy, we discovered not ambition, but alignment. His presence reminded us that success doesn’t have to roar. Sometimes, it can simply light a flame.
Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy is the founder of ONE IN THE UNIVERSE and the creator of India’s first ‘Healing Commerce’ movement. He doesn’t sell products, he sells presence. With a fire in his spirit and silence in his step, Murthy redefines entrepreneurship as a path of restoration, not domination. He says people carry divinity within them, but the burden of deadlines and expectations often buries that inner flame. Through ONE IN THE UNIVERSE, he offers sarees, bedsheets, and healing kits, not as merchandise, but as medicine.
The spark behind this journey? A moment from childhood: watching his grandmother fold a saree as if it were her soul. That quiet act planted a seed that would one day grow into a movement. Today, his products are not seasonal trends. They are soul-crafted heirlooms, designed to ground, awaken, and carry stories forward.
Murthy has led over 12 transformational retreats and facilitated workshops like ‘Discover the Power Within’. As a TEDx speaker, his talk ‘Leadership is Not a Frame, It is a Flame’ continues to resonate with those who believe leadership is not just a skill, but a state of presence. With a postgraduate degree in Marketing, his journey traverses from boardroom strategy to soul-science. He often says, ‘The forests, the shrines, and the heartbreaks taught me more than any degree ever could.’
He leads ONE IN THE UNIVERSE not as a founder of a brand, but as the steward of a movement. Their sarees carry mantras. Their bedsheets are designed to soothe the nervous system. Their gifting kits speak like wise elders. And their customers? CEOs, seekers, and everyday people who say, ‘I didn’t buy a product. I brought home a part of myself.’
Since launching in 2020, the growth of ONE IN THE UNIVERSE hasn’t been driven by paid marketing. It has been carried by story, soul, and synchronicity. One corporate buyer once said, “Nice concept. Can you make 500 of these by next Friday?” That moment stayed with Murthy. It reminded him that in the world’s rush for more, his job is to protect what’s sacred. Maintaining an uncompromising stance can generate significant momentum.
Their marketing is different too. No gimmicks. No shouting. Just truth shared in poetic reels, handwritten notes, storytelling circles, and energy that does what ads cannot, connect. Murthy’s strategy? ‘We don’t run behind customers. We stand still until they recognize themselves in us.’
He has launched pathways like ‘Awakening the Awareness’, where participants don’t chase motivation, they return to memory. These aren’t workshops. They’re modern-day rituals. He has helped hundreds break free from identity fatigue and rediscover stillness as the new power.
Murthy has been honored by the Governor of Karnataka as a Business Icon of the Year 2025 for ‘Igniting Transformation Leadership with Purposeful Stories’. He was recognized by a UNESCO-affiliated MSME Chamber for transformational leadership and invited to keynote various national platforms for conscious entrepreneurship. These honors, however, are not his destination. They are just confirmations. Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy is the author of three Amazon Bestsellers namely, ‘AI Driven Leadership: Leading with Dharma in the Age of AI’, ‘How Chakra Liberate You From Your Karma’ and ‘INSPIRE IMPACT IGNITE: Leadership is a STORY, Not a TITLE’. He also won awards like ‘Iconic Brand of the Year for Conscious Fashion & Healing Innovation’ at India Business Awards 2025, ‘Transformational Leadership Coaching Through Impact Storytelling’ at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Memorial Awards 2025, ‘Outstanding Leader of the Year’ at World MSME Day (2025) and ‘Leadership is a Flame, Not a Frame’ at TEDx Talk (2025).
His vision is clear: to birth India’s first Flame University—a sanctuary where healing, leadership, commerce, and consciousness converge. He wants to take Healing Commerce global and help the next generation remember: ‘You are not one in the crowd. You are ONE IN THE UNIVERSE.’
Kuruva Venkataramana Murthy calls himself a Story Healer—someone who listens between the words, speaks beyond the language, and helps people remember who they were before the world told them who to be. In his own words: ‘Don’t try to go viral. Try to go eternal.’
