Millennial Spirituality

YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY ARE ESCHEWING ORGANISED RELIGION IN FAVOUR OF MORE ESOTERIC PRACTICES, IN THE PURSUIT OF PEACE AND HAPPINESS. HERE'S A LOOK AT HOW MILLENNIALS ARE REDEFINING SPIRITUALITY

- PRIYANKA ACHARYA

India is a melting pot of different religions, and while media sensationalism suggests otherwise, we mostly live in harmony with our friends and neighbours of varying faiths.

I feel privileged to have been raised with both Catholic and Hindu influences and I love living in Chennai where I can attend everything from friends' sumptuous Iftar dinners to Christmas lunches, and pujas galore.

This increased exposure to all religions may be the reason why people of my generation are more likely to say that they are spiritual, not religious.

This answer is meant to denote that the person believes in a higher power, and may pray and have a personal relationship with God, but that they don't follow specific rules and rites dictated by any one faith. I could place all my friends in this category while growing up, with religion rarely being a topic of conversation, and everyone just doing her best to get through life while being a good person along the way.

However, in recent years there has been a surge of young people diving into alternative spiritual practices. Just as your grandparents may have eagerly attended lectures by Sathya Sai Baba, millennials now subscribe to the YouTube channels of pierced and tattooed healers and tarot readers, some paying money to attend their webinar rituals and workshops.

This generation embraces a blend of astrology, tarot, meditation, ancestor worship, and new age self-help practices like affirmations and visualisation.

A quick survey of Twitter and Tik Tok will show you plenty of references to the Zodiac, as well as ascribing bouts of depression or chaos to an eclipse, or Mercury being in retrograde.

Likewise, look up "How to connect with your spirit guides" on YouTube and you'll find tutorials on everything from meditation to more pagan rituals like making altars and offerings.