Photo by Zulmaury Saavedra on Unsplash

In today’s never-ending pace of life, fueled by buzzing notifications and a hundred ‘could be me’ ambitions, comes a humbling and eye-opening truth that often hits us right between the eyes—reminding us that we, ironically, are slaves to our very own desires itself. From the most mundane, physical need like a cup of coffee each morning, through the most deeply-seated human need like that of ‘love, success, and purpose,’ our very own desires turn into puppet masters, stringing us up and shaping us accordingly, only dipping us into an endless ocean of dissatisfaction despite having fulfilled all our ‘heart’s desires.’ But, ironically, this too is a paradox—that despite being chained into this never-ending cycle of slavery, we, as human beings, have all hopes still intact for that freedom! Yet, not fully, of course, because that may just be too impossible, but into this transformative freedom that sprouts only and only because of this struggle, this treatise would help you journey through this complex relationship between freedom and slavery, innovating ways for you to treat ‘desire’ as more of a guide than a nemesis on your journey towards that enlightened world of yours!


THE INVISIBLE CHAINS OF DESIRE

Understanding Our Bondage

To fully comprehend why we are slaves to our desires, we need to break down what our desires actually entail. Essentially, our desires are mere survival instincts that have been made into a science for ensuring survival. Our forefathers’ need for ‘food’ was why they went on hunts, and their need for ‘companionship’ led them to build communities and families. But today, this need has become sophisticated and sometimes never-ending, as we continue to progress up Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and our need for 'belonging, esteem, and self-actualization’ becomes nothing but an endless quest for bigger homes, more cars, and more ‘likes’ on ‘Facebook’ and other social networking sites. 

   Think about what is going on psychologically. Our brains have a huge release of dopamine, or the pleasure neurotransmitter, when we expect pleasure, and this is a cycle of 'wanting.' Thus, a neuroscientist, Kent Berridge, writes about ‘liking’ and ‘wanting,’ why we are drawn to pursue that we may never actually 'like.' Take Instagram, for example, as something we 'want' as a ‘connection,’ then end up as ‘envy’ and ‘inadequacy,’ and we become bound and tied as ‘validation.’ But this is more than just example, as research from American Psychological Association shows that people who are on social media too much have more-anxious and depressed lives, as we are ‘slaves’ of ‘wanting’ and ‘seeking validation.’  

      Throughout history, this enslavement has always been understood and acknowledged by great minds. In ancient Greece, Plato used the metaphor of a chariot and two horsemen, one symbolizing noble spirits, and the other, physical cravings, and explained that failure of the chariot master would result in pandemonium breaking loose. Again, the Hindu philosophy of ‘kama’ or ‘desire’ is one of purusharthas, that is, ‘the four goals of human life’ that ultimately lead one into slavery of ‘samsara’ or rebirth and suffering, as is exemplified in the ‘Bhagavad Gita,’ advocating that ‘the desires are as fire, always thirsty, always asking for more fuel.’

       There is ample example of this phenomenon in the world of ordinary people as well as that of extraordinary ones. Where, for example, is the corporate executive who has not foregone spending time with loved ones for the sake of advancement, spurred on by ambitions of power and prestige? Or, as is commonly acknowledged, is there any artist who has not labored late into the night completing a work, held captive by the call of the muse? Even a positive passion, such as exercising for physical fitness, can easily become oppressive, resulting often enough in physical or mental exhaustion.

      In addition, one’s desires sometimes emanate from one’s fears. Where there is fear of loneliness, there is a toxic relationship, and where there is fear of failure, there is overwork. According to psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, human desires have their roots in one’s id, or primal mind, that is ever engaged in a struggle between one’s id and one’s superego, or moral code of behavior. And this struggle holds us captive, as we remain entrapped, oscillating between indulgence and guilt, and thus our condition remains one of slavery, and that is complex and multifaceted, as has been explained above.


The Impossibility of Total Liberation: Embracing Our Human Nature

But if these desires are deeply ingrained, can one be liberated at all? If that is the case, is there any point trying to free ourselves from these desires, or is it all just an act of futility because, as chilling as this answer may be, we can never be free from them fully because then we would be left only with our vitality, and that would translate into being apathetic, or, more accurately, living death itself, as Nietzsche aptly states that without desires, nothing can be achieved through will to power.

    Liberation struggles have often proved this point. So, ‘ascetic’ religions, whether it is Buddhist or Christian monkhhood, preach renunciation of all desires. Monks take a vow of ‘poverty, chastity, and obedience’ as a way of letting go of the power of desires. However, as confessed by no less a person than the Dalai Lama, ‘desires continue,’ and ‘enlightenment means viewing them, not avoiding them.’ So, again, as exemplified by the Buddhist ‘Eightfold Path’ and ‘Right’ mindfulness, one can somehow deal with one’s ‘desires’ but this ‘path’ is ‘endless’—in fact, ‘unending.’ Moreover, people trying this ‘unending’ path of ‘austerly renunciation’ often ‘fall’ into ‘desires’ unexpectedly, as exemplified by religious leaders falling into ‘debuch

      Contemporary science confirms these observations. Neuroscience demonstrates that our brains’ reward system is wired, and we cannot turn off this dopamine response without medication, and that comes with its own repercussions. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a tool that can be used to redirect these desires, but psychologists agree that this is more about managing and not about curing. Research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests a rebound effect occurs when people refrain from thoughts of that same desire (e.g., dieters refraining from thoughts of chocolate).

     Personal experiences are just as illustrative of its pointlessness. Take, for example, the movement of minimalists, people like Marie Kondo, who declutter because they no longer want to be controlled by their physical wants, but end up revisiting them as they still have that want, just differently, or people trying to get clean from addiction, like Alcoholics Anonymous, and their strategy of “one day at a time” because they know that need is never truly gone, just suppressed.

     But this impossibility is far from defeatist—it is liberating, precisely because of its truthfulness. By acknowledging that we can never be utterly free, we can let go of the weight of perfection. Existentialist philosophy, as explained by one of its most influential thinkers, philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, states that we are "condemned to be free," and this freedom always has its definite limitations, one of them being our desires themselves. So, freedom begins, strangely enough, from surrender, not surrendering to desires, but to our bondage itself.


THE HOPE BORN FROM BONDDAGE

TRANSFORMING STRUGGLE

Our enslavement, ironically, is what gives us hope for freedom. Without the shackles, there would be nothing to struggle against. Hope is not a reactive emotion but a proactive, hopeful one that arises from the rub of one’s desires. According to Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, writing in “Man’s Search for Meaning,” pain (usually a consequence of unmet desires) becomes meaningless when meaning is found for it. Hope, for Frankl, was driven by his need for survival and reuniting with his wife, and this need helped Frankl develop logotherapy, saying that man’s quest for meaning surpasses all desires.

     There are many inspirational stories. Nelson Mandela's 27 years of imprisonment could easily have been consumed by desires for justice and freedom, but he was able to transform these into non-violent resistance and become a leader who overthrew apartheid despite being imprisoned for his ideals. Alternatively, Oprah Winfrey's experiences of poverty and abuse could have been overcome by desires for self-esteem and success, but instead, she was empowered to create a media empire and help other people as well.

    So, pragmatically speaking, what can we do to fulfill this hope of ours? Begin with awareness—take up mindfulness techniques through meditation applications like Headspace, and redirect career goals into a means of giving, transforming one’s desires from selfish gratification to doing good for many through mentorship. Develop resilience through exercising, spending time in nature, or pursuing artistic pursuits, and fulfill one’s desires through these techniques, thereby achieving healthy gratification of one’s desires.

      On a spiritual or religious plane, many faith traditions have concepts that can be applied as a framework or guide for managing one's desires or ego or, more generally, one's lusts or personal drives and proclivities. Where one may think of struggling against one's personal desires, one can turn, for example, to these faith traditions:

     In Christianity, one finds that one's desires are considered God-given, but that they have been corrupted by sin, and thus they can only This is because we have hope, and this enables us to dream bigger. Since we have a desire, we innovate—develop cures for diseases, travel into space, create art. Slavery drives evolution, and this is why, if we did not have slavery, we would stagnate as human beings. As Rumi wrote, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Our desires wound us, but through hope, we are enlightened on paths that we need to take. 


Embracing the Journey: A Call to Hopeful Action

 Thus, we can say that we are actual slaves of our ‘desires’ because we are tied down through ‘chains’ of evolution, societal norms, and our ‘psyches’ and that we can never attain ‘complete’ freedom because ‘desires’ are ‘inherent’ to ‘life’ itself and that this ‘enslavment’ is ‘the forge of ‘hope’ ‘—a ‘rebelling’ and ‘transforming’ ‘power’ that converts ‘bondage’ into ‘a journey of ‘self Today, think about your desires and chains that bind you. Recognize them, and you kindle hope within you. Do not struggle to be free from them but to dance with them—to turn them into forces that can lead you towards meaning, towards connection, and towards joy. Because freedom is not freedom from your desires, but freedom over them, continue to hope and struggle, and your slavery will be the very catalyst of your greatest freedom.