Spiritual Narcissism-the fork in the road to transcendence

We live in a narcissistic society where most people are focussed on themselves. Thus,when vulnerability is met with silence it, it creates a mentally intensive storm from within. Emotionally secure people require a space to feel seen and be heard.

When an individual has high emotional intelligence,there is a deep sense of spirituality possessed by them and it comes so naturally to emotionally secure people to create an area for people to connect with them with wisdom and compassion while maintaining outer peace. As per Psychology Today(2024),narcissistic tendencies are on the rise amongst youth as they are more concerned with what others think of them. Living in an age of entitlement,there is loss of emotional connect between people.

Just about recently I stumbled upon a concept called Spiritual Narcissism. This is a spinoff to spirituality and a major pitfall where an awakened individual feels superior to others of their area of spiritual belief and path they follow. But doesn't spirituality talk about equalling, "as above,so below" and "as within so without". A person's reflection of their inner world is clearly seen on how they perceive their outer world. So the question here is how does narcissism breed there? The answer to the question would be,when we are humans put our spiritual practices on a pedestal and try to control the outcome of the practices rather than the practices aiding us.

Spiritual practices are meant to quiet the ego and not fuel it. Natural and organic practices such as meditation,positive affirmations and connecting with nature are few such examples of positive enforcement of spirituality.

The worrisome aspect is when a certain conditioned mindset of spiritual practices step in. So I would like to draw an example here of self. As per Hindu Religion, offering praying on shrines in temples,reading,chanting are few common methods of feeling connected to the Divine. However in spirituality, connection with nature, energy and the Universe is seen as a connection to The Divine. Stark different practices but outcome is the same. Hence, the conditioning of the mindset makes the difference. There is no religious or spiritual practice that is loftier. It is all about personal well being and experience.