“The end is near when men begin through greed or lust a life of sin”
Ramayana“The end is near when men begin through greed or lust a life of sin” is a warning that desire can become a path to ruin. Its force comes from the direct chain it asserts: greed or lust leads to sin, and sin signals approaching destruction.
Meaning and Form
The saying presents moral danger as a progression rather than an isolated lapse. The danger begins when greed or lust shapes a person’s conduct; the phrase “the end is near” makes the consequence feel imminent. Its compact, proverbial form turns the warning into a general rule rather than limiting it to one individual’s choice.
Immediate Context and Image
The maxim is followed by an example of folly with a fatal result: an unwise Brahmin’s wife eats hail that has fallen to the ground and dies. The image sharpens the warning by moving from sinful conduct in general to a concrete act whose danger is not recognized in time. Nearby, the passage describes hands armed to take a man’s life and crush him like a deadly snake, setting the saying amid explicit threat. Together, the threat and the example give the maxim both a moral and a cautionary force: heedless conduct can lead toward destruction.
