Mr.P's Challenge 2

104. What is your favorite quotation and why? (Princeton)

Karl Marx very famously stated that "religion is the opiate of masses." My first impression to this quote was that Karl Marx is a communist and he hated the idea of religion. However this quote really got me thinking, and eventually it started making sense. It affected my everyday life and the way I viewed the world in many ways. The biggest reason why it is one of my favorite quotes is because you are left with this urge to prove it wrong, because you know it is true, after you read it and thought about it.

Everyone needs something or someone to lean on. Religion is one way to their mental stability and security. They need to depend and trust on someone, so they trust God. Similarly drug addicts get dependent on drugs. This constant need of drugs for drug addicts, and stability for everyone else, prevents them from progress. In the newspapers there is always some news about fights between different religions. In Afghanistan people were protesting against a pastor, in the US, who burned a Quran. These protests stopped their country from any further progress. Religion basically makes people blind to other important things, and people need it to continue with their daily lives. Hence it is the "opiate of masses."

Sometimes when something really bad happens or I just feel like there is literally no one who can save me from a situation, I find myself praying. When I go for a pooja, I feel strange comfort as I see my mom or anyone else, who I look up to, praying, it makes me feel like there is someone who is looking after us. So yes in a way religion is an opiate for me too, even though I don’t pray, I always need someone else who is a strong and a sure believer in God. Though I don’t admit it, I too sometimes just need someone who is stronger to bring that same stability in my life.