NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO REFUSE TO SEE

NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO REFUSE TO SEE



If Masonic Laws - real knowledge of the nature of the Soul and of the destiny both physical and Spiritual of man - had never existed, our present status would indeed, be pitiable in the extreme. But when we demonstrate that this knowledge has existed for ages uncounted, at times only in the secret archives of the Secret Schools, but always at the command of those who sincerely sought, then, there is no longer any excuse for any man to be other than at his best, despite circumstances and environments which tend to enslave and hold in bondage the weak and inert.



Two conditions at the present moment stand squarely in the way of the advancement of all but the few who have seen the Light. First, anarchy and confusion, a defiance of law, a disbelief in God or in the Divine Law and order, the result of selfishness in social relations among all classes. This plight can be overcome in but one way, viz., the recognition of the unqualified equal rights - NOT their equality as they are, but may BECOME - of all men to seek knowledge and Wisdom in their own way, not as a theory, a religious duty or a mere matter of sentiment, but as a necessity in nature, a universal and Divine command. The penalty for the refusal is precisely the conditions under which humanity now struggles and suffers.



The second condition, which gives rise to the "confusion among the workmen" in the building of the social structure and the individual habitation of man, is brought about by the false ideals, inefficient methods of education and a non-classification of the laborers, making of men cogs in a huge machine with the destruction of incentive. Add to this the almost total ignorance concerning the finer forces, potentialities and innate Wisdom possessed by man, and the absence of all efforts to bring these latent forces into manifestation until these Divine inheritances are well-nigh starved to death, and only the physical and intellectual part of man survives. What must be the result? Barely one individual in a million has the hardihood to call his Soul his own, to possess an opinion different from the mass, or the desire and willingness to make the effort to seize opportunity toward real advancement in the evolution of the higher forces and powers innately possessed, and become the man Nature and the Divine Law intended him to be.



Once the struggle for bare existence involved the need for the greater part of the energy, time and opportunity at man's command; but this is no longer true. The struggle is more bitter than ever, but this is due in part to class friction and partly to misunderstanding and the desire for luxuries which in themselves have little or no intrinsic value, and are mostly nonbeneficial, but often detrimental and leave the combatant weaker but not wiser.



As long as man is thus blind to his own interests, he will never discover the real meaning of life nor the actual purpose of human existence; much less does he realize the power he might have manifested of the good he might have accomplished, and thereby he misses the happiness he might have obtained. This much may be discerned from physical evolution alone and from the study of the human brain, wherein there is a continually increasing portion of gray substance set free from the functions incidental to the preservation of the physical structure, primarily designed to be appropriated to a separate and higher purpose. Mere intellectual activities alone, connected with the physical plane, with the maintenance and enjoyment of life, will not explain the slow but certain cerebral development in awakening man.



It is only when man divides his time properly - giving a part to necessary labor; another part to rest and recreation, pleasant and beneficial; and devoting the third part to self-improvement and the awakening of his Higher Self and his latent forces in accordance with the Divine Law - that he may become the balanced being the Creator intended him to be, no longer the pawn in the hands of egomaniacs or the forces of fate. This is the rational and natural philosophy taught by the Initiates and Master Teachers of the Secret Schools.



 

The Forty-Seventh Problem of Euclid

The Forty-Seventh Problem of
Euclid
—One of the most important symbols of Masonry is the Forty-Seventh Problem of
Euclid. The principles illustrated by it form the foundation of numbers, geometry,
and mathematical symbolism. It represents perfectly the Tetragrammaton and the
operation of divine law. It is the problem of the right angle triangle. The three sides
represent the divine trinity, and the trine as a whole represents the unity of God. The
perpendicular line forming one side of the triangle is the Masonic Plumb,
corresponding kabalistically to the masculine letter Jod, also to Osiris of Egypt, and
to God the Father.
Now nature manifests herself in every septenary by means of three active principles,
and four passive forms. The vertical side is consequently divided into three parts
representing the three active principles. The number three expresses action, and
these three divisions correspond to the three strongest positions of the sun; on the
Ascendant, on the Mid-heaven, and on the Descendant. It also corresponds in
astrology to the three qualities and the three degrees of emanation, into which the
zodiacal signs are divided. Likewise it corresponds to the three active portions of the
human constitution; the ego, the divine soul, and the animal soul.
The horizontal side of the triangle is the Masonic Level, corresponding kabalistically
to the feminine letter He, also to Isis of Egypt, and to the Virgin Mary of later times. It
is divided into four sections to designate the four forms by which the three active
principles always manifest. All material things have four relative states—three
dimensions and position—and express the active qualities of attraction, repulsion,
and motion. The attractive power is represented by gravitation. The repulsive power
is illustrated by the cohesion which enables it by repelling other substances to keep
its own identity without yielding to their gravitational attraction and fusing with
them into a homogeneous mass. Motion is denoted by the change of relative position
of every object in the universe.
The number four expresses realization, and corresponds astrologically to the four
quadrants of the heavens, and to the four triplicities into which the zodiac is divided.
In man it corresponds to the four forms of his constitution; spiritual body, astral body,
etheric body, and physical form.
The union of 3 with 4, of a plumb with a level, gives us aMasonic Square of 7, which,
properly interpreted reveals the Lost Word of the Master. To become that word,
however, it must relinquish the square aspect, and be transformed into two interlaced
trines having as a common center the 7th point. As the triangle is presented, however,
the third factor of the figure is the meeting point of the 3 and 4, of Sun and Moon, of
active and passive, of Jod and He. This right angle is the key to the solution of
Euclid’s problem, even as it is the symbol of the solution of man’s. Astrologically it
is the meeting point of planetary energies on the earth, corresponding to the Vau of
the word, to the Overshadowing Intelligence of Egypt, to the Holy Ghost of
Christianity, to vibration in the natural world, and in human life to union.
Mathematical evolution means the multiplication of a number by itself. The
evolution of man is accomplished through the union of the 3 principles with the 4
elements. Their multiplication gives the number of the signs of the zodiac through
which the impersonal soul must successively pass, and their union produces 7, the
number of component parts of man’s constitution.
Evolve the side 3, and the side 4—that is, multiply each by itself—and the sum of
these two is equal to the evolution of the third side. This third side, the evolution of
which results from the evolution of principles and elements, has the number 5, the
symbol of man. This demonstrates, according to the Ancient Hermetic System of
Numbers, the evolution of man.
This hypotenuse is the fourth factor of the figure, the product of the union of
masculine and feminine forces. It represents, therefore, the climax of evolution on
the physical plane. The area of the figure is 6, signifying temptation. This leads to the
union of 3 and 4 to evolve man, symbolized by 5, who possesses a 7-fold constitution.
The hypotenuse corresponds to the life resulting from the union of solar and lunar
rays upon the earth. It also corresponds in man to intellect, kabalistically to the final
He of the divine word, to the Egyptian Horus, and in modern religion to the Son of
God.
The figure of the 47th problem of Euclid (see illustration at front of chapter)
therefore, by its three sides, representing man’s principles, and his forms, expresses
the cycle of life. This cycle indicates the struggle by the area, 6, which must express
through the sides, the sum of which is 12, the number of the zodiacal signs under the
influence of which all evolution expresses. By adding together the evolved
sides—each side multiplied by itself—we have the number 50, typifying the number
of steps that lead man to adeptship, that evolve man into superman. It is said that
Moses was able successfully to take 49 of these steps, but failing in the last he was
denied entrance into the promised land. He could see this land of plenty, he had the
wisdom to see this final step, but was unable to take it. This, perhaps, was not so much
the fault of Moses as that of the times in which he lived.


By CC Zain