What is American Freemasonry in Reality? One man's Opinion.

Greetings to Anyone viewing this.

I do not know if anything I put up here is read at all or not, but today I am motivated to put some of my thoughts and perspectives down. I am extremely cynical in most areas of thought and realize that I may be a minority in that. I am ok with that.

Now, with all the strange happenings that have taken place within my freemasonic world, I have had to do research into different areas of "Freemasonry" and history. I wished to have a better understanding of the Craft and Society as well during the formation of the Original Grand Lodge and the fomenting of spreading masonry throughout the Globe.

I do not claim to be any type of an authority figure on Freemasonry. I could never grasp the real and complete history of The Craft. So much has transpired and changed over a few centuries, that to claim any real authority is futile in my humble opinion.

From my readings and discussions, I have come to an opinion that there is definitely more than one kind of Freemasonry. Different types of Freemasonry to be practiced discussed and experienced. A multitude of examples exist. Freemasonry at times had seemed to be spawned from a Purpose, have a Purpose and created a Purpose within society. From reading Margaret Jacobs writings along with listening to Boston College's Age of Enlightenment 8 cd set, it leads one to believe that a lack of a Freedom of Speech and a Freedom of Worship, spawned Freemasonic Lodges; a place where humans could meet equally, and discuss the despotism of the Crown and Church. Humans in the 17th and 18th centuries were still being locked up for heresy. Freemasonic Lodges offered a place for secrecy and security where humans, with good intentions for making positive changes to the environment around them, could meet. For people to have the ability to assemble, to be able to discuss revolt against a tyrannical government or church, to spread the Light of the Freedom of Conscience, to break bonds of centuries of despotism, a force was needed and Freemasonry was one of the driving forces. A place and society was needed for humans to discuss the topics of Freedom. Freedom was needed in the world and Freemasonry was a(not the only) Tool and a Vehicle for promulgating the idea of an existence without a Crown or Church tyrannically ruling you.

People would show up to a Lodge meeting to be educated and Enlightened in the HOW they were Equal to a King or a Pope. Taught about biology, how a kings blood was the same as theirs. The 7 Liberal Arts sciences had real meaning to these men. Learning about Logic and how each and every one of us has it within us and how it can govern us.

Spawned from a Purpose (Despotism and Tyranny), and had a Purpose (Freedom of Conscience and Spreading Enlightenment).
This radical way of thinking and existing was taking the world by storm. Church and Crown had to defend themselves about their abusive past and despotic present. A Purpose then was created in reaction to Freemasonry's impact on the general society, an anti Masonic Purpose was created and backed by the despots who were losing their power and control over the minds and hearts of the human race. It was easy for those two establishments to work the uneducated and unenlightened masses into distrust of the Craft.
America's reaction to this was to turn Freemasonry into a social and beneficial society. Remove the discussion of politics and religion and make it service oriented. Freemasonry's cry in the 18th century was one of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity; in the 19th century it was just Fraternity.

I have problems understanding how the Church or other Governments could have any issues with modern day American style Freemasonic practice. There is absolutely nothing within all the rituals and degrees available that would be in violation of ones duty to their church of choice or government. So, there must be Freemasonry whose lessons and Purpose was in contradiction with the Church and certain Governments. That Freemasonry is not American Freemasonry.

American Freemasonry of the 20th and 21st century has changed and become a 501c10. The Freemasonry of our Founding Fathers is dead and gone in America. Pre 1800's it was an entity on its own. Today it is one of many other 501c10's. I remember the past master's of our Lodge stating that one of the only things that made Ohio freemasonry different from the moose and elks was we did not allow alcohol in our Temples. That was the only difference they knew of outside of how to become a member.

Now, what is a 501c10?
This is from Wikipedia: 501(c) (10) establishes exemption from federal income taxes for groups, associations or organizations that operate as a fraternal organization. These groups usually operate as "lodges" or sub-chapters under the control and/or supervision of a parent.

The tax-exempt function is related to the cause that these groups raise funds for; for example, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine support Shriners Hospitals for Children. While they are a tax-exempt organization, the only charitable tax deductible contributions that are allowed must be used exclusively for the support of a recognized 501(c) (3) public charity.

That does not sound like the Freemasonry of George Washington and Ben Franklin?

Here is another view of 501c10:
Domestic Fraternal Societies (501(c) (10))
A domestic fraternal society, order, or association may file an application for recognition of exemption from federal income tax on Form 1024.
The application and accompanying statements should establish that the organization:
Is a domestic fraternal organization,
Operates under the lodge system,
Devotes its net earnings exclusively to religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, and fraternal purposes, and
Does not provide for the payment of life, sick, accident or other benefits to its members.

The organization may arrange with insurance companies to provide optional insurance to its members without jeopardizing its exempt status.

This is not the Freemasonry of Levi or Voltaire.

So, The Elks, Moose, Knights of Columbus, Freemasonry and any other non-profit fraternal organization are all the same in status, just differing in how the members of the fraternal society have a common fraternal bond. In order to have a common fraternal bond, the members must have adopted the same or very similar calling, avocation, profession, or be working in unison to accomplish some worthy objective or common cause. The key word here is "ADOPTED". American Freemasonry of today "ADOPTED" the Freemasonic Legend as their common fraternal bond.

Adopted, not actually being the real thing. So, since American Freemasonry is a 501(c) (10), and "adopted" the Freemasonry of old as its Fraternal bond type, means it is not THE FREEMASONRY of Old. It is kind of like thinking the Knights of Columbus are really descended from the REAL Knights who traveled with Columbus, or that the Knights Templar of Freemasonry in America has any real ties to the Templars of Lore!

So, all these exclusive and fraternal orders are no more than grown men and women "adopting" ideals of older, real organizations that existed, and changed them to meet the federal governments’ requirements to exist with certain tax status. What makes them all different is the type of fraternal bond that each "ADOPTS", not are in reality.

Also, this is also from the IRS's website: Many lodges are small organizations run by volunteer officers. Volunteers; it did not say Worshipful Masters, or Illustrious Potentates or Most Excellent High Priests and Sir Knights! All adopted names and titles to confuse the volunteers. So, the Federal Government is not concerned with Titles or positions, we are all volunteers to them: Elks, Moose’s & KoC’s members are all Volunteers, no matter what Title we bestow upon these people. We might as well call them Most Worshipful Grand Volunteer.
What are they really Master's of? Other volunteers?


I see some others on the net have picked up on the perspective of this and get an understanding of what American Freemasonry really is: a 501c10 that has adopted the Legend of the Freemasons of Lore as there theme for a common fraternal bond. Guys adopted the Knight Templar theme, Islamic Nobles as a theme, Mystical Prophets of the Enchanted Realm theme; all themes adopted by men wanting to make their volunteer organization more than it is. Plus all these append ant bodies have created an unleveled field. Freemasonry used to purport Equality. Since some can now be 32nd degree masons and KYCH or Illustrious this or that, strictly so they can get "introduced" as a "special volunteer" who has acquired a title because he had more spare time to volunteer than another man.

Gaining titles and admission is not warranted on merit anymore, just free time to volunteer to the many bodies that divide us into a weaker fraternity, instead of all of us dedicating our time to Blue Lodge Freemasonry like our forefathers did.
The two are nothing alike and have nothing in common except a name.
FREEMASONRY of old and Freemasonry of today have no Linkage or Lineage to each other.
PERIOD

This of course is just my opinion, deduced from my own personal experiences and texts that I have read. The Freemasonry Dr. Margaret Jacobs writes about is not the Freemasonry I joined in '01.
One day classes to just raise money, was never a game plan of Grand Master Ben Franklin (a real Grand Master, not a Volunteer).
IMHO

DIVERS OPINIONS UPON THE ORIGIN OF FREEMASONRY

DIVERS OPINIONS UPON THE ORIGIN OF FREEMASONRY, ITS DOCTRINES, ITS OBJECT,
AND ITS FUTURE.



The origin of Freemasonry has been, for a long time, vague and obscure. And while it is to this obscurity in its history, augmented by the multiplicity of systems which have been introduced, that it is necessary to attribute the contradictory opinions as to its origin held by those who have written upon that subject, it is, however, due to the scientific researches of a few Masonic historians who have entered this field of darkness with the determination to lay aside all the commonly received opinions and traditions upon the subject, that at the present day this obscurity has disappeared.

By the connection that its forms of initiation present with the Egyptian Mysteries, and with many societies and philanthropical schools of antiquity of the Dionysian, the Therapeutic, the Essenian, the Pythagorean some authors have believed that within one or several of those societies might be found the cradle of Freemasonry; while others, led into error by the symbols and passwords of Hebrew origin, have pretended that its birth had place at the building of Solomon's Temple, of which the books of Kings and of Chronicles, as found in the Old Testament, afford us such precise details. This temple, erected in the year 1012, before the Christian era, by king Solomon, who was, no doubt, Master of the Hebrew Mysteries a type of the
Egyptian and nine years afterward dedicated by him to the glory of the one only and ever-living God, was the first national manifestation of an only God ever erected. From the pointed bearing of this fact, and as a masterpiece of gorgeous architecture, representing in perfection the image and harmony of the universe, this temple has ever symbolized in Freemasonry the moral excellence to which
every brother is in duty bound to carry his perfected work. Losing sight, however, of this aspect of the matter, as well as of the fact that all the teachings of antiquity were invariably clothed in allegories and illustrated by symbols, many authors, and following them, the mass of the brethren, have accepted the teachings of Masonry and the legends of the degrees not as allegories, but as actual occurrences, and have inextricably entangled themselves in their endeavors to explain them as such.

Another peculiarity that has, above all, contributed to induce error in the researches into the origin of the society, is the difference presented by the forms of initiation; that of the first degree being evidently borrowed from the
Egyptian, while those of the second and third belong entirely to the Hebrew mysteries. This difference, however, will be easily understood, when it is known that Numa Pompilius organized his colleges of constructors as a fraternity of artists and artisans, and, at the same time, as a religious society. When so organized, the greater number of the colleges, finding themselves composed of Greeks
who had been initiated into the mysteries of their country, imitated in their worship the form of initiation practiced in those mysteries; but when, some seven hundred years afterward, in the time of Julius Caesar, the Jews were protected at Rome and granted many immunities, among which were the privilege of setting up their synagogues, a great many Hebrew artists and artisans were affiliated in those colleges, and in their turn introduced a part of the Hebrew mysteries, and with them their own beautiful allegories, among which that of the third degree was chief.
It is true that the forms of initiation practiced in our day probably bear very little resemblance to those which were in use among the Roman colleges of builders, and that these forms have often been changed or modified to suit the country and the men who found themselves at the head of the fraternity ; nevertheless, it is certain that a fixed and unchanged foundation has always religiously been preserved. The rituals, which were established at London in 1650, as well as those of 1717, seems to have been based upon the Anglo-Saxon documents, arranged by the General Assembly at York in the year 926. It will be remembered that the fraternity in 1650, the year
after the bloody execution of Charles I, and when the accepted Masons had acquired such influence in the institution, had, to some considerable extent, and, in 1717, to a far greater degree, abandoned the material object of the association, and the members thereof having submitted, at their initiation into the two first degrees, to all the proofs required of the Master, the allegory of Hebrew origin and the summit of Hebrew mystery was always preserved as the proper illustration for the third degree, susceptible, as it is, of a local interpretation that satisfies men of
every worship.

Notwithstanding the connection that so evidently exists between the ancient mysteries and the Freemasonry of our day, the latter should be considered an imitation rather than a continuation of those ancient mysteries; for initiation into them was the entering of a school wherein were taught art, science, morals, law, philosophy, philanthropy, and the wonders and worship of nature; while the mysteries of Freemasonry are but a resume of divine and human wisdom and morality that is to say, of all those perfections which, when practiced, bring man nearest to God. Freemasonry of to-day is that universal morality that attaches itself to the inhabitants of all climes- to the men of every worship. In this sense, the Freemason receives not the law, he gives it ; because the morality Freemasonry teaches is unchanging, more extended and universal than any native or sectarian religion can be; for these, always exclusive, class men who differ from them as pagans, idolaters, schismatics, heretics, or infidels; while Masonry sees nothing in such religionists but brothers, to whom its temple is open, that by the knowledge of the truth therein to be acquired they may be made free from the prejudices of their country or the errors of their fathers, and taught to love and succor each other. Freemasonry decries error and flies from it, yet neither hates nor persecutes. In fine, the real object of this association may be summed up in these words : To efface from among men the prejudices of caste, the conventional distinctions of color, origin, opinion, nationality; to annihilate fanaticism and superstition ; extirpate national discord, and with it extinguish the firebrand of war; in a word, to arrive, by free and pacific progress, at one formula or model
of eternal and universal right, according to which each individual human being shall be free to develop every faculty with which he may be endowed, and to concur
heartily and with all the fullness of his strength in the bestowment of happiness upon all, and thus to make of the whole human race one family of brothers, united by
affection, wisdom, and labor.

Slowly and painfully does the highest condition of human knowledge accomplish its great revolution around the glittering axis of truth. The march is long, and since
it began nations and peoples have lived and died ; but when that journey is accomplished, and the incarnation of truth, now robed but in its symbol, shall appear in all the splendor of its brilliant nudity, truth's torch itself
shall then enlighten the world, the doctrine that has just been announced shall become the religion of all the peoples of the earth, and then, and not till then, will be realized that sublime ideal now mysteriously hidden in the symbol of Freemasonry.

That day is, without doubt, yet far distant; but it will arrive. Its coming is marked by destiny and in the order of the centuries. Already, in the sacred balance of eternal justice, is seen each day to diminish a portion of the errors of the people, and to increase the body of light, of principle, and those truths which are preparing the way for its triumph, and which, one day, will give assurance of its reign.


FROM: THE GENERAL HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN EUROPE BY EMMANUEL REBOLD, M.D.

Our Spiritual Legacy

A LEGACY of untold value has been left by spiritual and intellectual giants who
labored in the dim and misty past. It is the purpose of these lessons to transmit this
priceless heritage to the people of the present day, towhomnow rightfully it belongs.
We of the present have specialized in material science, and as a result of that
specialization have possessed ourselves of mechanical contrivances and an
industrial achievement far superior to those of any People in the past. Yet in that past
there were specialists also; the equal of any on earth today. But instead of devoting
their energies to material things, their field was that of spiritual research. And they
were as far in advance of our material scientists in their chosen field, as the material
scientists of today are in advance of their ancient knowledge of the physical
properties of things.
We are where we are today in matters of physical science because men of vast
understanding like Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein have labored in research
and recorded their findings for other men to read. Were it not for the records left by
those of unusual ability, ours would be a sorry world of muddled thought.
Such records give not merely the details of information, to which other men left to
devices of their own might seldom attain, but by revealing the correct method of
ascertaining the fact they eliminate wasted effort on the part of those who otherwise
would follow many a blind trail before finding the one leading to it. Yet because these
men, who themselves have stood upon the intellectual shoulders of other geniuses
who preceded them, have left to us their findings, there is no implication of blind
belief.
Not only are their findings included in the records, but the experiments which led to
these findings also. And it was understood by them, and is so understood by us, that
all and sundry are to have full liberty to repeat these experiments, or if they can, to
devise better experiments of their own, to test the accuracy of this recorded
knowledge.
Likewise, far in the past other men of exceptional talent, generation after generation,
labored under conditions of exceptional advantage to acquire a knowledge, not of the
chemical and mechanical properties of matter, but of the nature and possibilities,
here and hereafter, of the human soul.
To them, that which was of supreme interest was the character of man. Other
knowledge was valuable only to the extent it could be made to contribute some thing
which would enable the soul to reach a higher, fuller destiny.
These men also, standing on the shoulders of other inspired geniuses who preceded
them, acquired vast knowledge in their chosen field, and of this knowledge they left a
careful record.
In here setting forth this record, and something of the methods they employed in
reaching these facts, there is no implication that anyone should accept their findings
in the spirit of blind belief. No more so than that he should thus accept the findings of
our chemists that each molecule of water contains one atom of oxygen and two atoms
of hydrogen.
It would require more than one lifetime to perform every experiment recorded in the
chemical treatise to be found in our libraries. Nevertheless, they have been
performed by others, and anyone is at liberty to perform such of them as he chooses,
again and again to his own satisfaction.
The laboratory of Nature is always open. Whether it be a problem in Euclid, the law
of falling bodies, the influence of the planets on human life, or the survival of the
personality in the spheres of the beyond, he who is willing to perform the requisite
amount of labor need take no statement of fact on faith. Nor was it the desire of the
ancient masters of spiritual science that he should do so.

CC ZAIN

BOXING INSIDER New early-round site for Golden Gloves

BOXING INSIDER
New early-round site for Golden Gloves
Monday, March 03, 2008
Joe Maxse
Plain Dealer Reporter

The Cleveland Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament is just around the corner, and a few wrinkles have been added.

There will be a new site for this year's preliminary rounds as it moves from the Erieview Galleria to the West Side Masonic Temple, 2831 Franklin Blvd., in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. Cleveland Amateur Golden Gloves President Vic Collova said the first three rounds will be held there on April 5, 12 and 19 at 6 p.m.

The finals, which drew a turn-away crowd of nearly 1,300 last year, will again be in the North Hall at Cleveland Browns Stadium on April 26, also at 6 p.m.

All first-time boxers, up to age 34, will compete in the sub-novice division. Before that rule was implemented a year ago, many first-timers were forced to box in the open division for experienced fighters.

The tournament also is restricting entries for those with experience in Tough Man and mixed martial arts competition. Depending on MMA experience, competitors will have to enter either the novice or open divisions.

Tickets will cost $15 and $25 for adults, with 12-and-under tickets at $8 and $13. Table seating and sponsorships are available. For entry and ticket information, contact the GG office at 216-662-7445.

Nice going:

Collova reported that fund-raising efforts to send the parents of Cleveland's Raynell Williams to Beijing to watch their son compete at the Summer Olympics have gathered $10,615. Collova said an anonymous donor has promised to help with further funds if needed after a travel package is received from the U.S. Olympic Committee.

"Credit needs to go to Pat O'Malley and Tom Roche," said Collova, referring to the Cuyahoga County recorder and local lawyer who spearheaded the effort.

Williams, 18, is training with the 11-member U.S. Olympic Team in Colorado Springs, Colo.

ANCIENT IDEALS IN MODERN MASONRY

ANCIENT IDEALS IN MODERN MASONRY

by C. W. LEADBEATER

as published in September 1933 by

The Theosophical Society, Adyar, Chennai [Madras], 600 020, India

Report of a lecture delivered to Sydney Co-Masonic Lodge, No. 404, in the year 1915 E.V.I

I THINK I can perhaps best begin what I want to tell you by a few personal words about myself ; you will see why in a few minutes.

Though I have been a member of the Theosophical Society for thirty-two years, and have had the privilege of close association with our V.....Illus.....V. P. G. M., it is only quite recently that I have had the honour and pleasure to enter the ranks of Co-Masonry. The reason I did not do so before was simply that I am a busy man, and that, as Co-Freemasonry presents itself to the outsider at the Headquarters at Adyar, it seemed just another Theosophical Meeting with exactly the same people present as at the other meetings, except that they sat in a particular order and dressed differently. I had of course no means of knowing in what way the truth was presented, but I knew that it must be the same truth.

I hold very strongly, as I believe do all Masons, that a man should not join an organization unless [Page 2] he is prepared to be an active and efficient member of it, and that if he does join he should attend regularly at all Lodge Meetings, unless absolutely compelled to be absent; I held back because I did not see my way to undertake the additional labour of an extra meeting, and I did not see that I should be in any way more useful, if I came in. When I talked these matters over with the Chief Officer of Co-Masonry here in Australia, he assured me that I was in error on this last point, and that there was useful work which I could do if I joined the Order. I consulted the V.... Illus.... Grand Secretary, and he also was of the same opinion, so I naturally expressed my readiness to be of any service in my power. That was how it happened that I came in here, in Sydney — that I have the pleasure and privilege of calling this my Mother Lodge.

I did not know, any more than any other candidate, what to expect when I joined you; but my first sight of a Masonic Lodge was a great and pleasant surprise to me, because I found I was perfectly familiar with all its arrangements, that it recalled exactly similar arrangements which I knew six thousand years ago in ancient Egypt. I am quite aware that that is a startling statement, yet I assure you that it is literally true. And you will observe that this is not a matter about which any mistake is possible; it is not a case in which coincidence will serve as an explanation. [Page 3]

The arrangement of your three chief officers here is remarkable; it is not one which would naturally be the first to occur to men trying to compile a ritual. Your symbols are significant and distinctive, and their combination is peculiar; yet they all belonged to ancient Egypt, and I knew them well there. You may imagine how surprised and how delighted I was to find the old work still going on after so many ages. You have kept almost all the ceremonies unchanged through these thousands of years. There are certain minor points of difference which I notice, but they are really only minor points.

I cannot but think that that alone (even if that were all) should be a fact of extraordinary interest to you. But I must add to it a great deal more; I must explain to you what we had in our minds with regard to all this — that we regarded a meeting of the Lodge as a manifestation of our religious belief in various ways, and we held in connection with it a great body of knowledge which fits in absolutely with all of your ceremonies, and the way in which you carry out the work. And it seems to me, on looking back, that the knowledge would be of great interest to us as Co-Masons now, and would enable us to understand much more fully what all these workings mean.

This discovery interested me intensely; I spoke of it to our V....llus....Grand Secretary, and we tried to study together something of the history [Page 4] of Masonry. We could see without much difficulty what must be the broad lines of its descent; hut we soon found that we needed further information about certain points, so we drew up a few questions on these points and submitted them to Him whom you call the Head of all true Masons throughout the world. You must remember that this great Master, who is to all of you, I suppose, an august and honoured Name, is to your V.....Illus.... V. P. G. M., to me and to many others of us a living Man, personally known and most highly revered. I did not know until I had the privilege of entering here, exactly what was His relationship to Co-Freemasonry, as I had never spoken to Him on that subject; but when last I had the honour of meeting Him in the flesh in Rome walking down the Corso, He took me up to the public gardens on the Pincian Hill, and there we sat and talked for an hour and a half about the Theosophical Society and its work.

So when we found ourselves in difficulties over Masonic history, it was natural that we should at once submit them to Him. He most kindly and graciously answered our questions, and gave us a good deal of information; and He expressed pleasure at seeing us so keenly interested in the work. He confirmed my recollection that the Ritual as you have it here is almost entirely ancient Egyptian, but your historical setting is that of the Jewish Tradition. For example, you [Page 5] mourn the death of a certain Illus... Master long ago; we in Ancient Egypt mourned the death and dismemberment of Osiris, the One who became many, and we celebrated a festival at which the dismembered parts came together again, and, Osiris rose from the dead. So you will see that some of our wordings were necessarily entirely different, but the forms were absolutely the same.

What the great Master told us as to the history of the movement is briefly this. There were many thousands of people, at the time when Christianity began to dominate the world, who still clung to the ancient religions, who preferred to state their view in the older forms. As Christianity grew narrower, more aggressive, and less tolerant of fact, those who knew something of the Truth, and wished to preserve its enshrinement in those older forms, had more and more to keep their meetings secret; therefore they withdrew from public knowledge, and their ceremonies were carried on in private.

The same policy of suppression was adopted in many countries simultaneously, and therefore this retirement from public view also took place in many localities; consequently we have not one stream of tradition but several streams, so that in Masonry we are not in the position of the Churches, where there is one orthodox institution and several variants which have fallen away from the original form. With us there are several different lines [Page 6] of tradition which have all equal authenticity and weight. For example, the old Chaldean religion, following out this same idea, arranged its officers rather differently, and that tradition has been adopted almost all over the continent of Europe. You will find a sketch of that arrangement given in the beginning of your Ritual, so that even there we have the evidence of two streams of tradition.

Those who have studied Masonic history know that there have been various departures from the earlier forms at different times; sometimes a new Rites seem to have been introduced, sometimes new Degrees in old Rites; and in some cases the official status of the people who introduced these changes has been distinctly open to question. You will notice a certain amount of vagueness and somewhat unsavoury tradition surrounding the origin of the Scottish Rite itself; but it would appear that these irregularities have not seriously mattered, for the Powers guiding evolution from behind have taken up whatever was done and used it so far as it could be used; so that though the origin of the Scottish Rite is somewhat obscure, it has been brought into line with the higher degrees of the ancient Egyptian Mysteries, and it now resembles them very fairly. The Masters always encouraged what was good in all these efforts, in order to provide sanctuary for such of the egos born in Europe as could not [Page 7] develop under the cruder teachings which were miscalled Christianity. The philosophy gradually fades out of these, but the Masters take advantage of any favourable opportunity to restore a little of it.

I have heard that many people have tried to show that Masonry is derived only from the Operative Guilds of the Middle Ages; though some, going further back, have attached these Guilds to the Roman Collegia. But anyone who is at all acquainted with the ancient Mysteries will see at once that that is incorrect; because you have certain ceremonies which could have no connection with mere Operative Masonry, but have a real relation to the inner teachings of the Mysteries. The s.....s you take, the very k.....s you use, all of them have a real occult significance which could not be connected with the secrets of the Operative Masons.

Is is, however, undoubtedly true that Speculative Masonry has been purposely confused with the Operative working. We inquired about that point, and the answer of the Master was that They in the background were responsible for that, and arranged that confusion intentionally, because the Church had grown very suspicious of Secret Societies, suppressing them with great vigour. It did not, however, persecute the Operative Masons, whom it regarded as a body of men wisely guarding the secrets of their trade; the Masters [Page 8] therefore intentionally confused the Symbolical working with the Operative working. The effort to preserve the former was consequently successful, and They adopted as much as They could of the Operative Masons' terminology, and entrusted them with some of the secrets; these they little understood, hut they faithfully carried on the forms without comprehending more than half of what they meant.

The Jews are responsible for much of the existing Masonic terminology. Moses had learnt the wisdom of Egypt, but later they characteristically tried to adapt it to their own history, and assigned its origin to their great national hero, King Solomon. They cast it into a form which they could connect with the building of his Temple instead of with the erection of the great Pyramid; and naturally this form could be more readily confused with Operative Masonry than could the philosophic Egyptian setting. That is why their form and their legend were adopted in preference to the Egyptian or Chaldean; that is why we still mourn the death of H. A. instead of the descent of Osiris into matter; that is why certain s......s are supposed to remind us of certain p......s, when the truth is that the p.....s were invented much later to explain the s......s, which really refer to various centres in the human body.

From this knowledge several points emerge. It is noteworthy that the Masonic ceremonies, which [Page 9] have been so long supposed to be rather in opposition to the received religion of the country, are seen to be themselves religious ceremonies, though they belong to a much older and more philosophical religion. Like every product of those ancient and elaborately perfected systems, these rites are full of meaning—or perhaps I should rather say, of meanings, for in Egypt we attributed to them a fourfold signification. Since every detail is thus full of import, it is obvious that no detail should ever be changed without the greatest care, and only then by those who know its full intent, so that the symbology of the whole may not be spoiled.

Fortunately our ancestors have recognized the importance of handing down the working unchanged, with the result that from my own experience of six thousand years ago I can follow your ritual fairly accurately, even though the language is different. Some few points have been dropped during that vast lapse of time, a few others have been slightly modified; but they are marvellously few. Your Charges have become much longer, and I notice that the non-officials take much less part in the work than they used to do. In the old days they constantly chanted short versicles of praise or exhortation, and each one of them understood himself to be filling a definite position — to be a necessary wheel in the great machine. [Page 10]

It. will be exceedingly difficult to explain to a twentieth century Australian or European audience all that this work meant to us in the sunny land of Khem; but I will try to give some slight idea of the four layers of interpretation.

1. It was intended as a reminder to those who did it and who saw it of the way in which the Universe was built by its Great Architect, the different degrees penetrating further and further into the knowledge of His methods and of the principles upon which He works. For we hold not only that He worked in the past, but that He is working now —that His Universe is an active expression of Him. In those days books filled a less prominent place in our lives than they do now, and it was considered that to record knowledge in a series of appropriate and suggestive actions made a more powerful appeal to a man's mind, and established that knowledge better in his memory than to read it from a book. You are, therefore, preserving by your varying action the memory of certain facts and laws in nature.

2. Because that is so, and because the laws of the Universe must be universal in their application and must act down here as well as above, therefore the fact that such laws exist prescribes a certain course of conduct on our part; and so, as we truly say, Masonry is a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols, but it is a system based not on a mere commandment, [Page 11] “Thus saith the Lord” but on definite facts and laws in nature which cannot be doubted.

3. The work is a preparation for death and for what follows it. The various experiences of the candidate are intended to prepare him for what will happen to him when he passes out of this physical world into the next stage. Indeed I might say there is a vast amount of information about the life after death to be derived from an intelligent consideration of Masonic ceremonies. Above all, it is emphasized that the same laws hold good on the other side of the grave as on this, that in both states we are equally in the presence of GOD, and that where that Holy Name can be invoked there is no cause for fear.

4. The fourth intention is the hardest of all to explain. To make you understand that, I must try to take you back, if I can, into the atmosphere of old Egypt, and to the attitude that religious men took there. I do not know whether it is possible to reconstruct that in these modern days, which are so hopelessly, so fundamentally different.

The religion which you know best at the present day is intensely individualistic; the great central objective put before most Christians is that of saving their own souls. That duty is represented to be of primary importance. Can you picture to yourselves a religion, just as much a religion in every way, in every respect as earnest, as fervid, [Page 12] as real, from which that idea was entirely absent, to which it would have been utterly inconceivable ? Can you think, as a beginning, of a condition of mind in which no one feared anything except wrong, and its possible results in delaying unfoldment; in which we looked forward with perfect certainty to our progress after death, because we knew all about it; in which our one desire was not for salvation but for advancement in evolution, because such advancement brought us greater power to do effectively the Hidden Work which GOD expected of us ?

I am not suggesting that every one in ancient Egypt was altruistic, any more than is everyone in modern England. But I do say that the country was permeated with joy and fearlessness so far as its religious ideas were concerned, and that everyone who by any stretch of courtesy could be described as a religious man was occupied not with thoughts of his personal salvation, but with the desire to be a useful agent of the Divine Power.

The outer religion of ancient Egypt — the official religion in which every one took part, from the King to the slave — was one of the most splendid that has ever been known to man. Gorgeous processions perambulating avenues miles in length, amid pillars so stupendous that they seemed scarcely human work, stately boats in a medley of rainbow colours sweeping majestically down the placid Nile, music triumphant or plaintive, but [Page 13] always thrilling — how shall I describe something so absolutely without parallel in our puny modern times ?

No doubt the really religious man took his part in all this outward pomp; but what he prized far above all its amazing magnificence was his membership in some Lodge of the Sacred Mysteries — a Lodge which devoted itself with reverent enthusiasm to the Hidden Work which was the principal activity of this noble religion. It is of this hidden side of the Egyptian cult, not of its outer glories, that Freemasonry is a relic, and the Ritual which you have preserved is a part of that of the Mysteries. To explain what this Hidden Work was, let me draw a parallel from a more modern method of producing a somewhat similar result.

Sometime ago I wrote an article on The Magic of the Christian Church, in which I mentioned the Christian method of spreading the Divine power or grace by means of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, commonly called the Mass. Who must not think of that grace as a sort of poetical expression, or as in the least vague and cloudy; we are dealing with a force as definite as electricity — a spiritual power which is spread abroad over the people in certain ways, which leaves its own effect behind it and needs its own vehicles, just as electricity needs its appropriate machinery. I explained in the article how I had been able [Page 14] by clairvoyance to see the action of that force; how the service of the Mass is intended to build up a thought-form, through which that force is distributed by the agency of the Priest — fortunately without taking into account his attitude, his knowledge or even his character; so long as he performs the prescribed ceremonies the result is achieved. If he is also a devout man, the value of the Sacrament is enhanced; but whatever his feelings, the strength is outpoured on the people to a certain extent.

The old Egyptian religion had the same idea of pouring out spiritual force upon all its people, but its method was altogether different. The Christian magic is performed by the priest alone, and can even be done quite mechanically; the Egyptian plan required the earnest and intelligent co-operation of a considerable number of people. It was therefore much more difficult to achieve perfectly, but when thoroughly done it was far more powerful, and covered a much wider range of country. The Christian scheme needs a vast number of Churches dotted all over the land ; the Egyptian required only the action of a few Lodges established in the principal cities in order to flood the whole kingdom with the Hidden Light.

The central doctrine of the religion of the ancient Egyptians was that the Divine power dwelt in every man, even the lowest and most degraded, and they called that power “The Hidden Light”. [Page 15] They held that through that Light, which existed in all, men could always be reached and helped, and that it was their business to find that Light within every one, however unpromising, and to strengthen it. The very motto of the Pharaoh was “Look for the Light”, implying that his supreme duty as King was to look for that Hidden Light in every man around him, and strive to bring it forth into fuller manifestation.

The Egyptians held that this Divine Spark which exists in everyone could most effectively be fanned by transmuting and bringing down to the three lower worlds the tremendous spiritual force which is the life of the higher planes, and then pouring it out over the country as has been described. Knowing that spiritual force to be but another manifestation of the manifold power of God, they gave to it also the name of the Hidden Light; and from this double use of the term confusion sometimes arises. They fully recognized that such a downpour of Divine grace could be evoked only by a supreme effort of devotion on their part; and the making of such an effort, together with the provision of suitable machinery for spreading the force when it came, was a great part of the Hidden Work, to which the noblest of Egyptians devoted so much of their time and energy; and this was the fourth of the objects intended to be served by the sacred and secret Ritual of which ours in Masonry is a relic. [Page 16]

Our Lodges in old Egypt were strictly limited as to membership; no Lodge might contain more than forty members, and each of the forty was a necessary part of the machine, and filled a place that was all his own. Excepting the Officers, whose business was the recitation of the Office and the magnetisation of the Lodge, each member was the representative of a particular quality. One was called the Knight of Love, another the Knight of Truth, another the Knight of Perseverance, and so on; and each was supposed to be a specialist in thinking and expressing the quality assigned to him. The idea was that the qualities thus expressed through the Lodge as a whole, would make the character of a perfect man. The title used did not exactly correspond to our “word “knight”, but that is the nearest I can come to its interpretation.

Every member took part in the work, and the labour of those in the columns was regarded as more arduous than that of the Officers, as it was largely on the mental plane. They had all to join at certain points in the Ritual in sending out streams of thought, the object of the whole effort being to erect over and around the Lodge a magnificent and radiant thought-form of colossal size and perfect proportions, specially constructed to receive and transmit in the most effective way the Divine force which was called down by their act of devotion. If any member's thought was [Page 17] ineffectual, the mighty cathedral-like thought-form was correspondingly defective in one part; but the R.W.M. was usually a clairvoyant priest or priestess who could see where the defect lay, and so could keep his Lodge strictly up to the mark.

You will realize that, as everyone present had to bear his part in building that form, the most exact co-operation and the most perfect harmony were absolutely necessary. The slightest flaw in these would have seriously weakened the form through which all the work was being done. It is perhaps a relic of this paramount necessity which dictates our present regulation that any brothers who are not in perfect harmony with each other should not put on their Masonic clothing until they have settled their differences. In ancient Egypt there was an intensity of brotherly feeling between the members of a Lodge which is probably rarely attained now; we felt ourselves bound together by the holiest of ties, not only as parts of the same machine, but actually as fellow-workers with GOD Himself.

Another point of interest is that although Co-Masonry is a comparatively recent development, its chief distinctive feature is of hoary antiquity; for in the work in ancient Egypt women stood exactly upon the same footing as men. The later exclusion of women seems to have been due to the influence of the Operative Guilds. [Page 18]

I do not know how far, under conditions so fundamentally different as those which exist at the present day, it would be possible to restore to Freemasonry any part of the peculiar position and power which it held on the banks of the Nile; but if there is to be any movement in that direction it can begin only in the ranks of the Co-Masons. That the body has a great future before it in connection with the new Sixth Sub-race is obvious. In that sub-race, as in all the others, there will be egos of different temperaments; some no doubt who will seek their inspiration along the lines of the more liberal forms of Christianity, but also certainly some who from disposition and old association will find themselves more attracted to the philosophic Masonic presentation of truth. It is our business to see that this presentation is a fitting one — to make our work so perfect and so reverent that those who see it may find in it what they need, and may never be repelled by anything in the nature of slovenliness or irreverence. We must not forget that Masonry is truly a religion, though so different in form from that which we have been taught to consider the only religion, that its true character is often overlooked.

I am sure it will be a great encouragement to you to hear that the Head of all true Masons throughout the world takes a keen personal interest in our Order. He has been most gracious [Page 19] and benignant in His ready response to all the inquiries which we have been making. He was kind enough to work His own Lodge for us in English, using our new Ritual, in order to show us exactly how He thought it should be used; and though we can hardly hope to attain to the solemnity and splendour of His working, the opportunity was a source of great profit and instruction to us. We noticed certain points in the ceremonies in which He followed a tradition which varies slightly from ours; but the salient features were the stateliness and military precision of the workings, and the fact that the members in the columns had much more to do than they have in our plan, as they chanted appropriate versicles at short intervals.

There are various ways in which the recollection of the way in which things were done in ancient Egypt may be of use to us, for those people performed their ceremonies with full knowledge of their meaning, and so the points upon which they laid great stress are likely to be important to us also.

Deep reverence was their strongest characteristic. They regarded their Temple much as the most earnest Christians regard their Church, except that their attitude was dictated by scientific knowledge rather than by feeling. They understood that the building was strongly magnetized, and that to preserve the full strength of that [Page 20] magnetism great care was necessary. To speak of ordinary matters in the Temple would have been considered as sacrilege, as it would mean the introduction of a disturbing influence. Vesting and all preliminary business were always done in an ante-room, and the brethren entered the Lodge in procession, singing. The sanctity of the mosaic pavement was guarded with the most jealous care, and it was never invaded except by the Candidate and the Officers at proper times, and of course by the Thurifer when he censed the Altar. The exceeding importance of squaring the Lodge accurately is dictated by the same magnetic considerations. The currents of force are rushing along and across that pavement in lines like the warp and woof of a piece of cloth, and also round the edges of it, and anyone who has to cross it, or even come near it, should be careful to move with the force and not against it. Hence the imperative necessity of always keeping to one direction. In modern days less care seems to be taken of the mosaic pavement; I have even seen a case in which the attendance-book, which all have to sign, was placed on a table in the middle of it. With us in Egypt that pavement occupied almost the whole of the floor of the Lodge; now it is often only a small enclosure in the midst of it.

Much of the ancient wisdom has been allowed to slip into oblivion, and so the true secrets have been lost. [Page 21] But there is every reason to hope that with the aid of the Master they may be recovered, and that we of these later sub-races may prove ourselves just as unselfish and capable of just as good work for our fellow-men as were the people of old. Indeed, we ourselves may well be those men of old, come back in new bodies, but bringing with us the old attraction to the form of faith and work which then we knew so well.

Let us try to revive under these far different conditions the old unconquerable spirit which distinguished us so long ago; let us recognize that Co-Masonry is a most important branch of the work of our Masters; and let us put all our strength into it. It means a good deal of hard work, for it means that every Officer must do his part quite perfectly; and that, in turn, involves a good deal of training and practice. Yet I feel sure that there are many among us who will respond to the Master's call, and come forward to join us in preparing the way for those who are to come. At present our numbers are but small; but while that is so, we have a definite opportunity of doing pioneer work for the movement.

Let each Lodge make itself a model Lodge, thoroughly efficient in its working, so that when anyone visits it he may be impressed by the good work done and by the strength of its magnetic atmosphere, and may thereby be induced to come in and help us with this vast undertaking. Our [Page 22] members must also be able, when they in turn visit other Lodges, to explain our method of working, and show how, from the occult point of view, the ceremonies should be performed. Above all, our members must carry with them everywhere the strong magnetism of a completely harmonious centre, the potent radiation of Brotherly Love.

But to radiate this upon others we must first develop it in ourselves. We must determinedly crush down our personalities; we must weed out our dearest and most intimate prejudices; we must sink them unconditionally for the sake of the work; we must offer them up as an oblation at the feet of our Masters. The sacrifice is absolutely necessary; without it there can be no success. A brother Mason has injured you, has neglected you, has spoken ill of you or rudely to you; forget it! What is the importance of your outraged sense of personal dignity in comparison with the momentousness of the work ? Of course from your point of view you were quite right and he was quite wrong; all the more magnanimity do you show in letting bygones be bygones. Consign it all to oblivion; your brain is your own, and you can force it to remember or forget at your will. Common sense dictates that one should remember only the pleasant incidents of the past, and let the rest sink into the obscurity which they deserve. For the sake of the work, you must forgo the perverted pleasure of nursing your [Page23] imagined wrongs; have the courage to take a decisive step and throw all that away boldly and finally, and make a fresh start along more sensible lines. I assure you, you will never regret it; and when it is done, true Masonic work will be possible for you, and you will have your chance of efficient participation in a movement which is under the especial blessing and direction of the Masters of Wisdom, and is part of Their mighty plan for the upliftment of the human race.

Masonic Education

Masonic Education
Address given by Bro. J. A. Evans, M.D., P .M., P. Z.
Before the Toronto Society for Masonic Study
and Research, September 20th, 1930.

Progress is a necessary result of natural law. It has been well said, "that he who stands still goes backward", and this saying long antedates Einstein and his law of Relativity. However, it is true in a relative sense only for it can quite easily be imagined that, under some circumstances to stand still would be to advance relatively, provided that all the others fell back. In the main, the statement remains unaltered and can be accepted. However, in accepting it there is a danger that must be kept in mind. Progress means to go forward, and while it is generally understood that this forward movement is towards a goal that will bring beneficial results upon its attainment, nevertheless, circumstances may prove later that the results are distinctly disastrous. Movement is not always progress in the general acceptance of the term. Progress, like efficiency, has become an obsession of the present age.

The world flatters itself that it has improved greatly over past generations, and gives numerous examples to prove the contention. It may be true. It undoubtedly is true in some cases. But it may not be in all. In this connection, we know that every well-managed business concern, at stated periods, usually once a year, stops its operations for a brief period to do a little inward searching. This process is called "stock-taking" and it would prove of inestimable value if every person, institution and even the world itself, if such were possible, were to "take stock."

The Craft is no exception. Freemasonry of to-day is not exactly what it was two centuries ago. This no person can deny. Has the change been a true advance or has it been a retrograde movement? Masonry should "take stock" and make an honest attempt to answer this question fairly and frankly, and then be guided accordingly. But before this Herculean task can be undertaken, there are certain factors and conditions that must be given due consideration.

There is evident, in all quarters, a psychology, a ruling psychology, one could actually say, of the effervescent political type. Catch words and expressions become slogans and as such direct men's actions, while at the same time meaning nothing, or worse still, being capable of interpretations of meaning within wide limits. The world to-day is dealing largely with superficialities and unimportant details. Man, in general, has neither the time nor the inclination to dig beneath the surface and unearth the basic laws. So if this "stock-taking" in Masonry is to take place, who is going, to do it? In other words, what are the qualifications necessary in those who are to undertake it?

Efficiency experts can be dismissed before even entertaining their application for the job. No man can gain an adequate knowledge of any business unless he has spent years of patient study and consideration of the basic principles and details of that business. Efficiency experts will energize anything from farming to high finance, from preaching to "bootlegging," all by the same rule of thumb.

Then we have the specialists. These are the men who by dint of application have obtained a more intimate knowledge of details than is possible to a man of wider experience. Moreover, this increased knowledge is gained, not infrequently, at the expense of the perspective. Specialists are useful, but by virtue of their very training, they must not be permitted to lead; their activities must be directed and controlled by a governing hand. Specialism is rife to-day. We have specialists for this and specialists for that, specialists who were unknown a decade ago, and specialists who will be unknown when science changes the diurnal habits of the human race. We have specialists in name and specialists in fact, specialists who have graduated from their own school and those who have graduated from the schools of other specialists, and so the dance of specialization goes merrily on and the world, at large, signs of the dotted line and pays. Specialism is the direct result of the superficial mental attitude of the day, or is it a cause? Unbridled specialization is a curse, though it may prove of untold value when properly directed.

So let us beware how we handle the specialists whom we engage to assist in this study, and not let them get out of control. Specialists are like fire, good servants but poor masters. How then can we approach this subject of "stock-taking" of Masonry? First, it must be definitely determined just what Freemasonry is to-day, its basic principles, its many and varied aspects. Second, it must be equally determined what Masonry was two centuries ago, at the time of the "revival" and the formation of the first Grand Lodge. Third, an honest endeavor must be made to ascertain the antecedents of Masonry, so that we may know the fundamental principles that it was intended to perpetuate in the new organization.

The man who can fulfill these requirements must, first of all, be a Masonic student. But he must be more. He must be endowed by nature with the analytical and judicial faculties. He must have a broad viewpoint and a wide experience in life to prevent him from being led astray by details. He must be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and be capable of directing his mind, uninfluenced by his emotions, his personal attractions or his antipathies. If not so endowed and trained, his conclusions will be tainted by his own feelings and opinions, as history so conclusively proves.

It is not within the power of the Craft to present any man with these desired natural qualities. But Masonry can give to her votaries an experience with men. Masonry can give, to a still greater degree, instruction, and it must be admitted frankly and fearlessly that in the one thing in which it is possible for Masonry to excel, it has failed, and failed dismally at that. This is not a pleasant thought but there is no use in playing ostrich, when there is work to be done.

The whole argument boils down to one basic truth, Masonry, to fulfill her mission, must educate her members. We hear it said, on all sides, that the Craft is clamoring for instruction. Actual experience proves this to be scarcely in accordance with the facts. [ In the not distant past, a special invitation was sent to the Master of each lodge in and around the city, to attend an instructive address to be given at this Society. Of the eighty Masters invited, a reply was received from but one, and he expressing his regrets at being unable to attend. ] Masonry has succumbed to this baneful influence of the age and has become the servant of the times, instead of being, as it should, the master, or at least, a beacon to guide the traveler on his path.

Masons are no more clamoring for instruction than is the average healthy schoolboy on a perfect summer's day when the fields, the old "swimmin' hole," and the ball games are irresistibly calling him. Most Masons, as far as instruction is concerned, must be treated in much the same manner as the schoolboy, taken by the ear and spoon-fed with knowledge. Those who have no mental appetite or whose mental stomachs rebel against this nourishment are in the wrong place and would be better out, for Masonry can do little for them. From this it is easily seen from where the leadership and instruction should come, and this automatically brings us to the first step to be taken in the "stock-taking." Every office should carry responsibilities, as well as honor, and if those responsibilities are discharged honestly and efficiently, the officer becomes honorable, if not, the office is belittled, and besmirched.

Masons are not clamoring for instruction, but the necessity for instruction is being shouted from the housetops and he must indeed be deaf who does not hear it. The time has come when the term "officer" should really mean a man capable and willing to give instruction; the higher the office, the greater should be that capability and willingness. Officers should be chosen for their mental qualifications and not their "glad hand" facility. Popularity does not mean ability and herein lies the fundamental weakness of democracy and Masonry is a democracy.

Now what is that necessary capability, that instruction? In other words, what constitutes Masonic education? Let us pause briefly and "take stock." There are many words which, during the passing of time, change their meanings, so that in time they come to mean something quite different from the original purpose. Such a word is "education. This word comes to the English language from the Latin, rather from two Latin words, "educere," meaning "to lead out," and therefore meant "to lead out the individual from his personal or selfish contemplation to knowledge of his environment, family, clan, country, race; and as the process developed, to a knowledge of the universe."

Consequently the more facts outside of himself with which man became acquainted and conversant, the better educated he was. It makes no difference how these facts were acquired, whether in an organized teaching institution or in the "university of personal experience." Merely passing the required examinations in a school, college or university does not constitute real education.

Many a man has been well educated who never attended more than the lowest grades of school, and in a few cases, none at all, but by making the most of his opportunities has developed himself to a truly astonishing degree, and conversely there are those who have had excellent opportunities but leave college with the same narrow outlook and undeveloped mind with which they entered.

They have wasted energy, and worse, for such always cast a stigma upon true education. Education, no matter what kind, should breed in the student a love of knowledge. Any system of instruction which does not engender this desire, fails utterly. How often we see the young man or woman leaving college, graduated, finished, with a distaste for study and a firm intention to never again open a text book. Such certainly has not proceeded far along the "leading out" path. It may be the system that is at fault, it may be the student, it may be the teacher, the result is the same in all cases -- calamity.

Education should be a series of intellectual gymnastics by which the mind develops and grows stronger and bigger, so that with the training, the mind becomes capable of dealing with bigger and more difficult problems, in a more efficient manner. Father's millions and mother's social status can never give the conceited fop mental development. Personal effort is indeed necessary. "Work and each tomorrow find us further than to-day." Masonry teaches this great truth. The entire Masonic system is based upon it. Work is the duty of the Mason; he is presented with the working tools and he must use them. No one else can do it for him. And it depends upon how conscientiously he uses those implements, how perfectly he will shape his ashlar.

The rough ashlar will forever remain a rough ashlar, if the Mason sits idly by and does not use those tools in the manner in which they are intended to be used. By no other means than by work can the Mason prepare his stone for the building. The most elaborate implements are used without labor, and moreover, that labor must be prompted by perseverance. Knowledge, labor, perseverance, there is no symbolism in that. It is hard, cold, cruel fact. To take these tools symbolically is to be a Mason symbolically, and that is a travesty on the name which nothing can remove, be it rank or money, no, nor even morality.

The great Sir William Osler, than whom none greater has ever existed in his chosen profession, said, in speaking of education, "The master word is work"; his life exemplified it, and his success proved the truth of it. Listen to that mind noted for its beautiful thoughts, Robert Louis Stevenson, who says,

"Contend my soul, for moments and for hours,
Each is with service pregnant, each reclaimed
Is like a Kingdom conquered where to reign."

Masons must work, not merely symbolically but actually and in fact, if they are to be real Masons and not merely of the symbolic type. Candidates must be made to undergo real initiation not merely symbolic initiation as so many do, and which accounts for the long and growing list of suspensions and demits seen each year. The governing bodies are worried over this growing number of demissions, and well they might because it shows unequivocally the failure of initiation as practiced. The cause is clear, the solution as definite, failure to accept and act accordingly will simply mean a continuance of the disease which is eating at the very vitals of the Fraternity. Banquets and song, platitudinous speeches and hurrahs never made anything, and cannot make Masonry. Work, and lots of it, work properly directed, work along educational lines, educate the membership, make Masonry really mean something and a new day will dawn.

But to educate the members, educators must be found. Education, like charity, must begin at home, the uneducated officer cannot instruct the new initiate. There is an apt though trite saying, "To train a dog it is necessary to know more than the dog." And do not forget the old Latin proverb: "Ex nihilo, nihil fit."

There is another type of lost Mason about whom I wish to interject a few words at this point. His name is found generally amongst the demitted class, seldom amongst the suspensions. This type is usually a man of no mean parts, of some intellectual attainments, has had considerable experience in the world of men and who has given some consideration to the problems of life. He realizes the value of education and is willing to devote more or less energy to the search after knowledge and in the quest of wisdom. He is not expecting any magical gift of wisdom because he knows much better. Such a man comes to Masonry rightfully anticipating that he will find some assistance within the Craft, some direction to his researches. He comes up for initiation and is met by some ill-advised brother who tries to be witty by making some inane remark about what is going to take place in the approaching ceremony. This type of wag should he guillotined and quartered as he has done more to ruin candidates than almost any other.

One of two things may now happen, or worse still, both. The ceremonies may be run through by officers whose elocution is, to say the least, faulty to an extreme, and as expressionless. The ceremonies, through pressure of time, are not given "in extenso," for the banquet waits. There are speeches to be made, toasts to be honored and music, oh! shades of Epicurus and Demosthenes! what speeches; what music'. Our brother is attracted in spite of it all, and realizes dimly how beautiful it could be.

On the other hand, the rendition may be excellent. The candidate is unquestionably impressed and he feels that there is a reasonable hope of his finding that of which he is in search. He gets up his work and is given the remainder of the degrees, usually rushed through at an emergency meeting. Still hope leads him on, he is willing to work. There is much work to be done that night, the sublime degree is rushed through and he is finished, graduated, a full fledged Master Mason, able to look after himself and left to his own devices, no instruction, no advice, no help given.

He flounders, he becomes discouraged, feels disillusioned and fails to attend the meetings. But at some later date we find this same brother a very active member of some other organization, devoting those same energies he would so gladly have devoted to Masonry. He should never have been lost, the fault is with the lodge. Many dozens are lost annually in this manner, the best types of men, the very men Masonry cannot afford to lose. These must be saved or else the Craft will slip still further down the broad highway with ever increasing speed. Bring the character of the lodge meeting up to his level and he will stick, .incidentally raising the tone of the lodge still higher. A little Masonic education given right at this time would act almost as a specific for this malady. Back slapping won't cure it.

There is one thing else needed, a little beside the point, but badly needed, and education will only partially help to supply the want, that is frankness, admittedly an archaic virtue that has no place in the twentieth century. We are living in an age of sham, intensive advertising and high pressure salesmanship; things are not what they seem, or rather what they are represented to be; extravagant speech, extravagant clothes, extravagant motor cars, and worse still, extravagant morals, any of which taken at one-tenth of their expressed value would mean to be defrauded. What the world needs, and Masonry is not exempted, is frankness, honesty and sincerity. But some say it does not pay to be frank, to be honest. Yes, it does; cast aside all pretensions, stand on your own worth. To do this will lessen the show to the world and you will have to increase your value by development, by education, and this is exactly what you should do.

It certainly does pay to be honest, frank and sincere, that is, if you are conscientiously striving to fulfill your highest destiny of self development in the pursuit of the ideal. You will often be misunderstood and criticized by the undiscerning and even maligned by those actuated by selfish motives, but there need be no occasion for worry on this account as you are in excellent company, the very best possible. Galileo was persecuted by organized Christianity for displaying these virtues. On the other hand, it, does not pay if you are merely seeking popularity for personal aggrandizement, for such necessitates pandering to the weaknesses of human nature, whether it be of the oligarchy or the populace. Herod chose the body of Salome and the head of John the Baptist.

It should be interesting to Masons, more than to all others, to see that education implies, in addition to the purely intellectual development, a moral growth, a lesser consideration of self with a greater consideration of others. This is what is meant by a liberal education. It would be more correct to say a liberating education, because it enables a man to "lead out" from the narrow confines of his own soul and to free himself sufficiently so that he can bask in the radiance of the universal spirit. Masonry realizes this great truth, and to the unfolding processes taught in the Craft there is added moral instruction. In fact, to so great an extent does Masonry appreciate this, that moral admonition is given prior to the more intellectual instruction of the Fellowcraft and Master. He who sees this accompaniment or preparation only and thereby makes the Craft a system of morality and nothing more has missed the true spirit and central purpose of the Fraternity, no matter how beautiful that morality may be.

Moreover, there is a great danger to this restricted, and therefore incorrect conception of Masonry, a danger from which the Craft has suffered in no small measure, for no sooner is Masonry made merely a system of morality than it becomes an appendage, not to religion, but to any intolerant and bigoted sect whose members may unfortunately gain admission into Masonry. We have seen numerous examples of such. True morality is invaluable, but not that sickening, sob-sister type which is the outgrowth of ignorance and selfishness. Every religious [ term used in ordinary acceptance and not the true, original sense ] man should be moral but we know only too well that such is not the case. Every truly moral man is religious. [ Term used in original sense ] .

This statement will be met with vociferous contradiction, so let us examine it briefly. The word "moral" comes from the Latin word "mos" meaning "a custom, fashion, u se or law. " In the plural form "mores" it means "character, or behavior." The character or behavior may be either good or bad, but the word has come to be generally accepted in the sense of good behavior, so that rather than say such a man has bad morals, the expression "no morals" is more frequently heard.

Accepted in this sense, a moral man is one who lives in such a manner as to avoid injury to his fellows, that is unselfishly, and this is the very essence of true religion, irrespective of what the peculiar faith may consist. There are other more restricted meanings to this word but they are so obviously separated from the present subject as to require no consideration at this time. With this, the moral aspect of the question will be laid aside to take up the main issues and to which morality is but an accompaniment and a preparation, important though it may be.

What then is Masonic education? First of all, it should be a leading out process, an unfolding, a development; secondly, that development should be along lines indicated by the Craft teachings. The most cursory examination will disclose t he fact that Masonry is basically founded upon just such an idea, because it is divided into stages or degrees, each stage being [ or supposed to be ] indicative of some developmental phase through which the neophyte is required to pass or attain. There is no royal road to learning, knowledge is absolutely valueless to the individual until he has made it his personal property.

To do this means hard, consistent labor, and in the absence of this labor, the acquisition of knowledge is an absolute impossibility. Many Masons appreciate the value of knowledge but lack the necessary energy to knuckle down to the hard work necessary to acquire it. These rush through degree after degree, hoping that by some magical means, supreme knowledge will be given to them as a gift from the Divine s, and thus enable them to reap the full benefits of knowledge without having to subject themselves to exertion of any kind. But the receiving of degrees does not necessarily mean development.

True, a man must be mentally poverty stricken if he does not receive some benefit from witnessing the beauty of the various degrees found in Masonry, but that is not real education because there is not sufficient effort put forth by him to give rise to any development. Such persons are mentally lazy. No man can become a champion boxer from merely reading a book on the gentle art. Personal effort is necessary, and that is just where people fail by the thousands, that is where the leadership has failed. Masons must be compelled to put forth a personal effort and any Mason who is unwilling to make this effort can never obtain any development.

This compulsion must come from the governing bodies. They will become very unpopular, at least temporarily, but if any governing body is going to evade its duties on the plea of unpopularity, then that organization can immediately proceed to the Mortician and make arrangements for its own interment. The danger to Masonry is from within, a dry rot, not from outside source . These latter need not cause us one moment's trepidation, but. the former is a very real source of apprehension to every intelligent Mason. The results are already becoming unquestionably manifest.

To consider the question more in detail, the education which every Mason should acquire need not be purely Masonic, it is better not, but it is the Masonic branch that concerns us more particularly here. Our ceremonies tell us along what lines the Mason should direct his education, along what lines he should develop himself as a Mason. Morality, this has already been dealt with but there is another aspect that is worthy of consideration. Whilst repeated admonitions to practice morality are not only advisable but necessary, nevertheless, it must be granted that there is no moral instruction given in a Masonic lodge that cannot be obtained elsewhere. It would even be safe to say that there is no moral instruction given to any candidate in this jurisdiction, but what has been given to him under more ideal circumstances, and at a more impressionable age, that at his mother's knee. To make Masonry merely a school of moral teaching, is to make the Craft absolutely a superfluity.

Imagine a group of grown men dressing themselves up in fancy regalia, observing meticulously elaborate ceremonies merely to tell the candidate that he must obey the moral law. Such information he already has. Imagine it; did I say grown men? What a horrible waste of time, money and energy to pander to the vanity of those who wish for personal elevation over their fellows. No; ten thousand times no. Masonry has a greater value for the true initiate. But morality is necessary, because if the knowledge that it is possible to obtain in Masonry, were to be used for ulterior and selfish purposes, great harm would result. Knowledge is power and power must be given only to those who will use it aright. How much better the world would have been if the expert chemical knowledge had never fallen into the hands of the war lords; how many lives, how much human suffering would have been saved. By all means practice morality. This is the first step in Masonic development.

Having proved himself worthy by the practice of morality, the Mason is now permitted to extend his researches into the hidden mysteries of nature and science. This is where the true intellectual education should begin. The Mason must unfold himself, lead himself out and acquire a knowledge of the universe, its phenomena, its laws. Any chosen path may be followed, but a general knowledge is first advisable before specialization, otherwise the general relationships will be disturbed and details given undue importance, thus spoiling the concept and leading to narrow-mindedness, intolerance and bigotry. In this connection, the Mason should devote a certain amount of labor to the study of purely Masonic subjects, Masonic history in general as well as that of his own Grand Lodge and Lodge. History is a most valuable study, if undertaken properly. To know how men acted under certain circumstances in the past is to know pretty well how they will act under the same circumstances in the future. Herein lies the practical value of history.

Symbolism, that wonderfully rich field of thought, there is no limit to the possibilities of this study and the many absorbingly interesting bypaths into which the student is led. . No better commencement can be made in symbolism than a careful and detailed study of our ceremonies. The possibilities here are unlimited and the pleasure untold. But the Mason should not confine his attention to purely Masonic subjects. He should endeavor to gain as much information regarding human activities in other walks of life as is possible. This will increase his general store of knowledge, his mind will develop; his viewpoint will become broader, and in direct ratio, the danger of his falling into those destructive vices of intolerance and bigotry lessen. In order to discharge his Masonic duties properly, he should know something of law in general, our Constitution in particular. He should have a skeletal knowledge of the principles of government and governmental institutions so that he can become an intelligent citizen.

Then having, through the practice of morality, justified his possession of knowledge, and by labor having acquired such knowledge, the Mason is now in a position to enter upon the greatest study of man, philosophy, that science which deals with the ultimate and first cause. This field is difficult, years of preparation are necessary, honest hard labor alone will qualify a man to enter upon this rich but treacherous study. But if the Mason has followed the lessons given him in the practice of morality, and has conscientiously made his researches in the hidden mysteries of nature and science, then he can approach t he final instruct ion without the least misgiving. If he has failed to live up to the requirements of the preceding stages, then he had better go no further, the fruits are not for such as he.

Nor, even now, is the reward handed out freely, only the road is indicated, the labors must continue. He who labors for reward never gets it. The reward, that is the development, resides in the labor itself, so the mentally lazy who chases after magic words, open sesames and superhuman wisdom, finds nothing but ashes in the Sanctum Sanctorum. This is his own fault, nature cannot be defrauded of her due.

Masonry and the Restoration of the Mysteries

From the website of the Honourable Institution of Grand Lodge, Ancient Universal Mysteries.
I found it very interesting


Masonry and the Restoration of the Mysteries

It has been said that Masonry is an earthly symbol of a Heavenly archetype; that it is the custodian of Law; the home of the Mysteries and the seat of Initiation. It holds in its symbolism the ritual of Deity, and the way of salvation is pictorially preserved in its work. The methods of Deity are demonstrated in its Temples, and under the All-Seeing Eye the work can go forward. In its ceremonies lies hid the wielding of the forces connected with the growth of life of the kingdoms of nature and the unfoldment of the divine aspects of man. In the comprehension of its symbolism will come the power to cooperate with the divine plan.
However, it is realised everywhere that new life must be poured in and great changes wrought in the awareness and in the training of those who work through and in this media of truth. These changes must be carried out by those with a new vision and a new approach to life experience, for there is no question that the work to be done in familiarising the general public with the nature of the Mysteries is of paramount importance at this time. One of the media through which these Mysteries are intended to be restored to outer service is the Masonic Fraternity, for it was established as a seed of future effort.
These needed alterations and revitalisation can and must be done. An experiment is being tried to see just what the response may be by the members of the Craft to a revitalised Masonry, built upon the blueprints of its intended seed idea and architectural design. One such Masonic Body accepting responsibility for the presented opportunity is the Masonic Order, Grand Lodge, Ancient Universal Mysteries—A.U.M.—which welcomes to its doors and admits to its privileges worthy men and women of all creeds and of every race, but it insists that all shall stand upon the recognition of an exact equality of divine origin.

The Prophetic Symbol of Masonry

It is to be noted that there has never been a time, in the long history of humanity, when such dramatic episodes as the symbolic happening of any Masonic initiation have not been present in some form or another, the evidences of which can be traced here and there in the ceremonials and symbolisms of the ancient rites of the race. The Golden thread of the Masonic teaching and tradition can be seen running through the Mysteries of past ages, through the symbolism of the world Scriptures, and through the many mystical and occult expressions of truth. That modern Masonry, however, is the child of the past and that it has inherited the secret tradition, whereby the Master Craftsmen of the world have trained the Builders of the Temple, and which, by many names, has led the seekers of past ages, is also significantly true.
We must ever bear in mind that Masonry, as we know it today, is an outer and visible sign of an inner and spiritual reality, and for those who can see with the inner vision it bears the signature of truth.
To portray adequately the wonder and the destiny of the human kingdom lies beyond the powers of any human pen, for it is the custodian of the hidden mystery, the veritable Treasure-House of God—and this is the Great Masonic Secret. Only in the human kingdom are the three divine qualities found in their full potentiality and together. In man, is hidden the secret of life; in man is secreted the treasures of Wisdom and Love; in man is implanted the mystery of manifestation. Humanity, and humanity alone, can reveal the nature of eternal life and divine consciousness, and portray what has lain hidden in the Mind of God. This Mind must dwell in us and reveal itself in the human race in ever greater fullness. To man is given the task of raising matter up into heaven, and of glorifying rightly the form side of life through his conscious manifestation of divine powers.
The goal before humanity at this time is the attaining of the cooperative, or group spirit. This must indicate the part which the unit plays within the whole, and the interaction of the part in the greater structure. Nowhere can this be more soundly and effectively learned than in Masonry.
The hour has now come when the manifestation of this reality can, for the first time and in truth, manifest itself on the physical plane in an organised group form. This is the coming glory, and the next revelation in the evolutionary cycle, of which Masonry is a prophetic symbol and seed of future effort.
Thus, we are faced with the true work of Masonry in the coming cycle, which is to link that which is within with that which is without, and to bridge the world of the tangible and known with that of the intangible and invisible realities.
It will thus be seen that the work of the Masonic Fraternity is not an arbitrary and senseless system of symbolic procedures and ceremonial rituals, but that it is an allegorical portrayal of a great and divine process whereby the will of Deity works out in relation to humanity, and the Strength, Wisdom and Beauty of divine Creative Power through Its medium of expression stands revealed. Under the symbolic rehearsals the plan is revealed for those who have the clue to the meaning of the symbols, the numbers and the ritual. Masonry thus depicts the steady progress of a human being from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge, and from death to immortality, and in the degrees of its Lodge work we have an accurate picture of the progress of the human soul— from the time that that soul appears in human form until the time when the great work is accomplished, and the candidate for illumination and worker in the Temple of the Lord ends his career as a risen Master. Thus, must be studied the pattern of truth which underlies the outer forms of Masonry, and which incurs two major lines of thought:

1. The unfoldment of the Plan of Deity, revealed through the symbolism of the degrees of
the Lodge work.
2. The unfoldment of the individual as he progresses from degree to degree, mastering
step by step the work of the Craft till he finally takes his place as a Master.

Grand Lodge, Ancient Universal Mysteries

A.U.M. is the continuity of an effort conducted from 1935 to 1942 by an earlier Masonic group, but whose aspirations and efforts proved a little premature for the contemporary Masons and minds of the day. It was subsequently temporarily disbanded and its generative impulse was patiently held within the aura of the inner Lodge until such a time—which was foreseen and planned for by the principal Officers of the earlier group—it could receive a fresh impulse and re-emerge. This new subjective impulse was registered and followed through in 1977 by a young Mason, and a ten year period of training and preparation began which culminated in the establishing of a Masonic seed group upon the physical plane during the Wesak Festival of 1988. This group trained together for a further three years, before emerging exoterically to establish A.U.M. before the attention of the interested public in 1992. It has subsequently continued to grow nationwide, and admit a steady stream of new members.
Whilst preserving the Ancient Landmarks familiar to the Craft, A.U.M. presents a revitalised form of Masonry in all applications of the Masonic edifice, including the recomposition of its rituals, its Constitution, its Declaration of Masonic purposes, the training of Masons, and the admission of both men and women on an equal basis. Its objective is to reestablish Masonry along certain hitherto neglected lines—not withstanding nor belittling its very real and potent service rendered to humanity over the past few hundred years, and its very broad charitable contributions for the upliftment and relief of the downtrodden and oppressed, the record of which is its own testimony—but that it is also required of Masonry that its Temples become established and recognised within the program of human living as "Academies of Higher Learning" in the spiritual arts and sciences according to the principles and practices of the ritualistic forms of the Temple Builders under T.G.A.O.T.U. Thus, to this service is A.U.M. dedicated, and its program therefore includes an inner training in meditation and study allied to the various Degree work and exoteric forms.
It should be pointed out that A.U.M. does not seek to impose any interpretation of occult truth upon its members, but simply seeks to direct their studies and suggest various lines of thought, thereby training its members to form their own conclusions in the light of their own experience and application in the Lodge work. Nevertheless, it is also realised that there is a real need for Masons to work together with spiritual understanding, and because true Masonic work is group work and can only progress under group inspiration and cooperation, the complementary inner training program and studies are designed in an effort to produce unity of thought along certain desirable lines in order to conform to the requirements of the inner spiritual Lodge. Thus, the actual service of the ritual work in the Lodges at Labour is conducted more consciously and effectively—creating a conscious relationship for the reception and distribution of energies between the Grand Lodge on High, and the Lodges at Labour on earth. The Lodges on earth have to be raised up into Heaven, and the Lodge on High has to be materialised on earth, and only thus by this fusing and blending of that which is below with that which is above can the true Temple of Initiation emerge.
Because the keynote of the work of A.U.M. is one of service, and we are only interested in those who are likewise motivated to train and discipline themselves to be conscious, working servants of humanity, the standard of its Labours and studies, both at admission level and that to be maintained and desired, is perhaps higher than the average. Prior experience in meditation is therefore required, together with previous studies in the fundamentals of the esoteric doctrines, mystery Teachings, or Ageless Wisdom in some aspect or other as a foundation. Not lightly are applicants admitted to the Craft in A.U.M. Those seeking quick results, therefore, need not apply, for it is our experience that the Path is a long and arduous one, and that a necessary discipline of the life should accompany all true spiritual aspiration. We are endeavouring to rule out all selfish incentives to the study of the occult sciences, and our Temple doors are not open to those who are only interested in self-development for the satisfaction of it, or from curiosity or ambition. Our Temple doors are open, however, to all who are in earnest over spiritual matters, and who are thus willing to work steadily and sincerely to fit themselves to serve their fellow human beings.
It should also be pointed out, that in A.U.M., no pledges or oaths are exacted from any of its members in any Degree that can be interpreted as pledges to a personality or as limiting them to any specific form of teaching. The oaths communicated concern the attitudes which should exist towards the Higher Self, and the esoteric truths revealed through the symbolism of Masonry can only be interpreted in the light of the inner developing wisdom.
The form of government in A.U.M. proceeds under the symbolism of a Hierarchical Democracy, and thus the pattern of the ideal is held before its members. We do not issue invitations to join A.U.M., nor do we solicit or recruit members. Each interested person must seek us out and apply of his or her own free will and accord. Every applicant must be vouched for and sponsored by two Masons; an investigation conducted into his or her background and character; and elected by unanimous ballot.
A.U.M. extends its recognitions universally to all legitimate Masonic Orders, recognising that they are all essentially part of one universal Masonic movement under dispensation from the Grand Lodge on High. Its three grand principles are Brotherly Love, Relief of Suffering, and the Cultivation of Truth, and thus it must be understood that the building of the Temple of Humanity is the one uniform objective to which all else is subordinated, and that only through the practice of its principles will be found that which lies at the heart of all true religion.

http://www.grandlodgeaum.org/MRM.htm