Fear is the root of all evil. Yes, fear is what makes you do things you would otherwise not want to do. This last Ramadan, I learnt alot about how other people felt. So far, it was the toughest Ramadan of my life. I went thirsty and hungry, and by the "Aftaar" time, I went almost greedy. I was still in control of me and my want for water and food. I had my share of food right there in front of me, yet I didn't have the patience to eat it in my own "princess style". I was eating like a poor hungry greedy man who had never had food for days.
I felt sorry for myself acting that way and didn't understand it at first, but then slowly with the passage of time, I realized what Ramadan was teaching me. This time it was teaching me how the nasty people felt and why. It is the fear of going hungry and that too, for sure; which makes them do what they do. In "Pashto" we say, "Arwah-ogey" or "Ogey stargey" meaning greedy and someone who has never had enough of something and fears he may not get it again. As if you're eating for the first and last time. As if others will eat more than you do.
Apply this to anything else in your life and what you get is the greedy man's ways (powered by the fear of going hungry again). I happen to have friends who eat like hogs. I used to always try to put some manners into them but it never worked. I never realized why they behaved that way but now I think I know the reason. It is fear and the fear of not being able to get again, what they are getting now, which makes them exploit the opportunity. If you are able to set yourself free of all your fears, only then will you be a free person. Freedom from fear leads to freedom from want; and that is the real freedom.
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