Why does the West constantly search for new spiritual practices and fall under the influence of cults and false gurus?

Is this a trend that could also start happening in the Balkans?

The answer lies in roots. Every person has roots, has ancestors, has an identity, but the West is often not in touch with its roots.

Take America for example, a younger, colonized country. It is a melting pot of different cultures. It does not have centuries-old customs, traditional clothing, or folklore. Their spirituality lacks deep roots. Of course, I am not referring to the indigenous and native peoples, who are very much in touch with their roots and do not face these problems.

Currently, in America, there is a trend of erasing identity. Every difference is either excessively promoted because they lack a point of reference, or it is completely erased. They only have extremes. They have no foundation, no strong roots to be connected to. They do not know who their ancestors were, what their customs were, or what they believed in for centuries.

Many people know where their Irish, German, Italian, or Slavic roots come from, but this is often just information, not experience. It is a fact, not a practice.

For this reason, the West is most susceptible to false gurus, spiritual cults, cultural appropriation, and even much darker things. Every person needs to believe in something. And when the primal truths that your blood has believed in for centuries are erased, you search for them like a goose in fog, but without roots nothing completes the picture.

Why is it different in the Balkans?

First, we rarely accept things just because they are given to us. We approach new things with a degree of skepticism. This is part of our character.

Second, we already know what we believe in. We have a system of belief that has been built over centuries. The cult of ancestors has existed for thousands of years and cannot be erased. We believe in God, tradition, our ancestors, the male and female principles. We have our spiritual guides and teachers and may not need any guru.

But even this can change. If the Balkans start adapting to the West, if we begin erasing our traditions for the sake of a new order, if we lose touch with our roots, both in customs and in connection with our ancestors, we could end up in the same situation as the West today.

It is time to change. It is time to return to our roots, to connect with our ancestors and the customs we have practiced for centuries. Only then can we be strong in our identity and beliefs and not easily get lost under the influence of foreign ideas or false gurus.