When the Ego Wears a Mala Instead of Letting Go

Hi My Loves! 💖

Recently, I visited Vrindavan, a small historical holy town in India that allures people from all over the world because of its spiritual connection and as a window to Sanatan Dharma.

🌿 The Illusion of Spirituality as an Identity

While on the outside, that seems like a noble idea—that you’re visiting a holy place to feel the positive vibrations that will hopefully bring you closer to God—it’s disappointing to see this whole “Spirituality” as a religious concept becoming an equally rigid replacement for traditionally soul-draining Organized Religion.

A number of small Ashrams with a variety of ideologies have sprouted in the last couple of years here, each one declaring themselves supreme.

💃 Women & The Rise of Spiritual Trends

Most of the devotees are women—young and vibrant, with both genuine and artificial smiles. They are drawn to practices that promise healing, self-discovery, and empowerment.

“Feminine Spirituality” in this regard has garnered a lot of social media attention. Privileged women display softcore aesthetics on their feeds and talk about 10-step self-care routines, calling that spirituality. Attending a retreat—a very popular concept nowadays in India—suddenly transforms them into a “Spiritual,” Zen person. 🧘‍♀️✨

One can do as they please, obviously, but the problem with this pursuit of enlightenment is that Spirituality can become an Identity trap.

🎭 The Trap of Spiritual Branding

Seeing everyone looking divine, wearing breezy dresses, and decked up in traditional Indian attire, your ego can easily latch on to this Spiritual Branding and Label—which is actually counterproductive to spirituality itself!

There is only an illusion of progress.

📸 The Social Media Stereotype of a "Divine Feminine"

On social media, the divine feminine is often portrayed as a woman who:

✨ Collects crystals
😊 Smiles a lot
🌿 Uses sage sticks to cleanse her house
🔥 Lights incense and has a certain aura about her when she talks

Ultimately, it’s all an aesthetic. We reinforce this ego more than dissolving it—which is the aim of spirituality. When we separate ourselves from others, we get further away from the collective consciousness that we had initially aimed to reach.

🚨 How Spiritual Ego Manifests

Masked as enlightenment, here are some signs:

👀 Judging others’ methods of spiritual practice

🎭 Performative Spirituality – Using Sanskrit words and shlokas, and quoting random wisdom from books to appear wise, making a mega-show out of Puja rituals.

🏆 Belief in Hierarchy – Giving or asking for more respect based on social class, wealth, etc. in the world of spirituality.

🔮 Over-identification with spiritual modalities – Like Astrology, blaming your stars for bad behavior, negative situations, etc.

😇 Attachment to Spiritual Image – Pretending that you are never Angry or Sad and that finding God keeps you perpetually happy.

🚪 Escapism – The biggest of all—using Spirituality to escape troubles in daily life.

🌱 Reclaiming Authentic Spirituality

To reclaim authentic spirituality, we have to be more free in mind and action, free from outcome, and very, very humble.

This random saffron-clad guy with a sage-like appearance told me that my trip to Vrindavan was incomplete without a visit to Barsana (the hometown of Goddess Radha). He legit got angry when I said my beliefs in religion aren’t defined by cultural rules.

It wasn’t received well. 😅

💜 My Takeaway

But I did enjoy Vrindavan much more than my last trips. I was more aware, more immersed, and less worried about worldly things like making it a “perfect” Instagramable trip. 📸✨

Love,

Zitni Zun 💕