An Unfinished Masterpiece
Life interrupted...
An Unfinished Painting:
‘The Adoration of the Magi,’ which would have been an incredible masterpiece much like all of Leonardo da Vinci’s other paintings, remains unfinished in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence. This painting was commissioned by one of the churches in Florence for their altar. However, Leonardo da Vinci was not only an extraordinary artist but also a tremendous engineer, mathematician, and scientist. Therefore, he was preoccupied with many other distracting vocations in his life and got sidetracked from finishing what could have been a beautiful magnum opus.
An Unfinished Building:
‘La Sagrada Familia,’ a Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, is an unfinished piece of architecture started by one of the most remarkable architects, Antoni Gaudi. Inconceivably beautiful buildings, churches, and houses designed by Gaudi are scattered all over Barcelona. They are a significant tourist attraction, and each building is a monument to Gaudi’s creative mastermind. However, Sagrada Familia remains unfinished to this day, as Gaudi died after being hit by a tram before he could finish this extraordinary work of architectural genius.
An Unfinished Book:
‘Sanditon’ is an unfinished novel by Jane Austen, one of the most prolific female writers in history. She wrote 11 chapters of what seems to be a very promising book before she fell extremely ill and stopped writing altogether, passing away shortly after. As an avid reader of Jane Austen’s books, I find it agonizing to know that there could have been one more extraordinary work of literature by Austen full of her typical wit, humor, irony, and drama.
The Masterpiece of Human Life
Perfection of Life
These works of artistic genius remain unfinished, and the world is forever deprived of these masterpieces.
Yet, the unfinished creations of these artists remind us to work with vigor, efficiency, and determination and focus on the ultimate goal of our lives. The Supreme Person has commissioned us to create a masterpiece of human life for His pleasure. That topmost Creator has assigned a very valuable human life during which each of us has the responsibility to finish the task of achieving perfection of self-realization.
Perfection of Human Life is a magnum opus we have been commissioned to create. This is the primary business—the main mission of Human Life. However, as we are distracted by other mundane, worldly matters of this physical world, we are losing time and running the risk that life’s main business, this masterpiece, will remain unfinished.
Keep creating the Masterpiece.
The Second Chance
The above-mentioned creative geniuses will never get another chance to finish the masterpieces they left incomplete in their lives. However, the Supreme Lord, who assigned us this incredible human life to design and create according to His will, is exceptionally forgiving and merciful. If we work diligently to perfect this life and yet fail, He awards us another chance.
He grants the next birth in human life and provides the resources to finish the piece that we were creating. He fulfills our spiritual desires and provides the facilities to achieve the ultimate goal in the next birth. Therefore, any spiritual undertakings never go vain, even if they remain unfinished. These projects are carried over to the next birth to start again where one left off.
He confirms this in the excellent Vedic wisdom text of Bhagavad Gita:
Life Interrupted:
Thus, unlike Gaudi, Austen, and DaVinci, we actually do get a second chance if our spiritual efforts remained unfinished. However, one should still aim to finish the business of self-realization in this life itself and not carry over to the next life. This is possible by making the most efficient use of time in human life with enthusiasm, patience, undeterred focus on the spiritual path, and association with like-minded people.
There is no assurance as to the duration of human life, which may be interrupted anytime by that most unwelcome intruder called ‘Death.’ Therefore, one must arrange life in a way that fulfills this most crucial mission assigned by the supreme creator. This requires a change in lifestyle to accommodate spiritual practices, ignore the demands of the senses and mind, disassociate from the material world, and associate with the divine. All these adjustments help to create time and space where spiritual practices can flourish, and the perfection of life can be ultimately reached.
I sincerely pray that each of us can make space and time in life to devote to spiritual enlightenment- the prime business and mission of human life. I hope we can attain perfection in this very human life and not have to come back to complete-
An Unfinished Masterpiece…
Deepika mataji:
Hare Krsna Mataji
All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Gurudeva.
My humble obeisances to you.🙏
Just finished reading your new article..
"I really loved these lines-
There is no assurance as to the duration of human life, which may be interrupted anytime by that most unwelcome intruder called ‘Death.’ Therefore, one must arrange life in a way that fulfills this most crucial mission assigned by the supreme creator"
You have beautifully built a story around the verse of Bg.
It's exceptional, keep up the good work 💕
Very wonderful concept by the author that one should try to finish our work in this life only as there is no assurance when this life will be carried away by the cruel hands of death…..of course we can get a second chance but we must create space for our spiritual practices in this life only…..OM SAT SAT