Spiritual Slavery



A reflection beyong chain





I was in Secondary One when I first got hold of the book Roots by Alex Haley. I remember crying as I read it. The impact it had on me was tremendous. Watching the television series that followed was even more painful but I watched every episode, right up to Roots: The Next Generation.

The images haunted me: people with chains around their necks, tied to trees and whipped brutally. Families torn apart. Women raped. Human beings sold like livestock at auctions.

For those who don’t know, Roots is based on Alex Haley’s best-selling novel that traces his African ancestry. The story begins with Kunta Kinte, a West African youth captured by slave traders in the 1700s and shipped to America.

Kunta resists at every turn, refusing to submit to the name given to him by his white masters. Later in life, he marries, and the story continues through his descendants: his daughter Kizzy, raped by her owner and mother to Chicken George.

Eventually, Kunta Kinte’s great-
grandson joins the Union Army and gains freedom for his people. Books like Roots, and others such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, shaped how I saw myself—and the world around me.

They made me question relationships, race, and religion. They expanded my sense of history. As I sat in front of the television, watching the reenactment of cruelty and courage, I saw human beings each with character, each a victim of oppression.

I saw people hunted down like wild animals. I saw bodies hanging from trees, left there as warnings. What was their crime? The desire to be free.



When Freedom Terrifies


One thing that struck me deeply was what happened after the American Civil War, when slaves were told they were free.


Many of them didn’t want freedom. Why? It’s like caged birds. When kept too long, they forget how to fly. Even if you open the cage door, they won’t fly out. Why should they?


They’re used to being fed even if mistreated, they’re looked after. Freedom comes with responsibility. You have to fend for yourself. You have to be strong, make choices, take risks. Not everyone wants that. It’s easy to remain a slave.


Because slavery isn’t always about chains and whips. Any form of dependency is slavery. Emotional. Psychological. Physical.


But the worst of them all? Spiritual slavery.


What Does It Mean to Be Spiritual? Someone once asked me, “Are you a spiritual person?” I replied, “What do you mean by that? Does being spiritual mean I must spend hours in a prayer room, chanting in saffron robes?”


He went silent. “So if I’m cooking for my family, can I still be spiritual?” To me, spirituality is personal. It’s like the DNA of your soul.


Spirituality is who you are and what you are. It is your being. Your essence. Your growth is something intrinsic not imposed. It should unfold naturally, not be dictated by doctrine or dogma.


But many religious groups and self-proclaimed spiritual masterswill say: “Come to me. Only I can help you grow spiritually. Only I have the key to your happiness.” The moment you surrender to them, you are surrendering your freedom. They may not call it slavery but that’s exactly what it is.​



The Dark Side of Religion

The most evil form of spiritual slavery is when someone is forced to remain or embrace a religion against their will. Religions that claim to be rooted in peace and love but punish their own followers for thinking differently or leaving the faith betray their own message.

When belief is enforced through fear or threat of violence, it stops being faith and becomes tyranny. What’s the difference, then, between those who enforce religious obedience... and the slave traders of the past?

What is the difference between religious enforcers… and the Ku Klux Klan?

Spiritual Adventure vs. Spiritual Slavery

So what is the opposite of spiritual slavery? Spiritual adventure. Spiritual adventure is when you allow yourself to explore, question, and expand your consciousness. It’s about growing your individuality without fear or dependence.

A real spiritual master doesn’t demand submission
they guide you toward independence, and then step aside.

But spiritual slavery? That’s when you follow a specific ideology, tradition, or teaching word for word without room for reflection or evolution. Even long after the spiritual teacher has died, their influence still binds you.

You are no longer living you are merely echoing. We, the living, have become slaves to the dead.

Final Reflection I look back at that young girl watching Roots, her heart breaking at the sight of injustice and inhumanity.

I now understand that the chains we see are not the only ones that bind us. Some chains are invisible but just as strong. They bind the mind. The soul. The spirit. Slavery hasn’t ended. It has changed form. And the fight for freedom continuesnot just in the world outside, but within ourselves.



They say, “God the Beloved loves you.” And that we are part of this Beloved. But there’s a catch: If we behave as expected, we will be loved.
If we don’t, we will be punished. Heaven and Hell are dangled before us two destinations, one choice. Follow the path of the Beloved, and paradise awaits. Refuse, and you’ll burn in eternal fire. I call this spiritual hostage-taking. Because the idea of the Beloved, and the advocates who speak on its behalf, often weaponize our spirituality—
not to liberate us, but to trap us in illusion. We are warned by voices ingrained in us from childhood: "You must not question the Beloved."

But why not?
Since when did curiosity become arrogance? Why is seeking clarity condemned as ignorance? True love invites dialogue.
Not obedience through fear.




nmadasamy@nmadasamy.com