Personal spirituality has become today’s new fashion. Everyone is following it. Everyone is spiritual now, but not religious. Change is the law of nature. Today, seriously, a lot is changing in the world. In religious and spiritual expression, people are slowly coming out of traditional institutions. What could be the reason? It’s not that they don’t have faith in religion and spirituality anymore, but today’s modern generation is seeking something more real and more authentic. Is this the spirituality that we see on WhatsApp statuses?
What is the difference between traditional and modern spirituality?
Religion traditionally operates through established rules, principles, and mediation. Through this, the message flows about what people should believe, when to believe, and how much to believe, as well as where and how to express that believed faith or trust. Because in earlier times, saints and sages only did penance in solitude, but nowadays these saints can be found on Instagram to increase their followers.
But the direction toward which the current of change is flowing – personal spirituality – suggests that you yourself, in your own way, find the path to unite with the divine, the universe, or that super power – divine energy, meaning discover your own divine connection. For this, your modern gurukul is YouTube, and the gurus in it are the babas who appear on channels, home studios, viral videos, and for donations there’s PayTM and Google Pay.
Religion is like a highway
Religion is like a highway where you can travel very well and comfortably with clear signals and definite destinations as a guide. Personal spirituality is like creating your own personal path at your own pace, determining your own direction through an unknown landscape. In religion, the God you believe in is found in temples and it’s said that He exists everywhere – here, there, everywhere, and in today’s Gen-Z times, it can be said that “God exists in every app!”
Daily routine:
Wake up at 5 AM and check phone >>> good morning messages on WhatsApp >>>>> then horoscope >>>>>> then copy-pasted motivational quotes >>>> meditation, for which meditation app or YouTube and Google guru – and a feeling “Now I am enlightened!” (and another round of posts about it on social media) then cleansing of crystals kept in designer bags >>>> and finally, saluting God who has been waiting until now.
Blief system has become a Playlist
In short, in personal spirituality, the belief system has become like a playlist. A little Buddhism from here, Sanatan from there, healthy routine from Jainism, a touch of Native American wisdom and quantum physics hanging in it too, and voila! A tasty-healthy-spiritual, customized, hashtag-filled social media and Instagram-ready dish with personal enlightenment is ready.
‘Nothing is Free’
But in today’s digital age, ‘nothing is free’, so monthly subscription means offering for this spiritual awakening and enlightenment and inner peace. Healing crystals are more expensive than some drugs, and fees of thousands of rupees for “transformation workshops”.
The irony is that in today’s personal spirituality, we now pay premium subscriptions for those ancient practices that have been available for free for centuries. Instead of monks who gave spiritual knowledge taking donations, spiritual entrepreneurs with PayPal links and every other ‘pay’ feature have taken their place.
The days of simple prayer or quiet reflection are now over. Modern personal spirituality requires equipment to follow.
The elaborate morning routine
The elaborate morning routine includes gratitude journaling, crystal meditation, affirmations in the mirror, and posting sunrise photos on social media with profound captions. After seeing and knowing all this, one thing definitely seems that enlightenment was never this photogenic.
Personal spirituality has its own vocabulary. Problems are “lessons”, difficulties are “growth opportunities”, bad luck means “clearing old energy” – a beautiful way to make life’s most common struggles mystical and meaningful.
Community Creation
These spiritual warriors find each other online, share memes about energy vampires and toxic people. They attend weekend workshops on shamanic breathing and Reiki healing, paying hundreds of rupees to learn what ancient cultures have been giving to today’s generations for free until now.
Reality Check:
When we think about modern personal spirituality, it often seems obviously selfish. According to our scriptures, the traditional practices, despite all their shortcomings and flaws, emphasized selfless help to each other, social responsibilities, and the spirit of sacrifice – self-sacrifice. That’s what our scriptures taught us. While today’s digital age personal spirituality is limited only to self-improvement, self-love, and self-actualization, self-realization.
According to today’s personal spirituality, the universe mainly exists to satisfy their personal desires and validate life choices.
Personal spirituality is not inherently bad. Nor is it necessary not to adopt it at all. The question is also not whether it’s good or bad. The need for connections with each other and excellence is real and acceptable, valid. The main reason for rejection is the commercialization of that personal spirituality, social media display, and the self-centeredness being created.
True spirituality is always in the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. It’s in ‘we’, not in ‘I’. Not just in ‘self’. It’s also about service, not just about self-improvement. It’s about selfless giving, about mystery, not about business.
