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Life is an eternal struggle full of
sorrow and searing pain. Our very existence is a fleeting
moment which will never never come again. Yest out of
the tumult and starife of this our mundane existence,
we have to find our own way towards a better realisation
of our own self and our mission in this life and in
the life hereafter.
The search for TRUTH in a philosophical
and religious sense is the real object of Freemasonry.
This TRUTH is therefore symbolized by the "WORD",
and with his first entrance as an apprentice in the
Lodge, untill be attains the highest rank, this search
is continued. Mason starts his search in the First degree
with Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth as three great
tenets of a Mason's profession; then proceeds onwards
towards that Truth which is termed as a "Divine
Attribute - the foundation of every moral and social
virtue" and which is synonymous with sincerity,
honesty of expression and plain straight-forward dealing.
Finally he proceeds in search of that Truth which "pervades
the whole Masonic system and which is symbolized by
the "WORD" and it is late which is properly
expressed to a knowledge of God."
Divine Truth is the greatest quest
our Masonic system preaches for. the search for the
WORD that was lost is the search for the Truth. "There
is no religion, no path subliser than Truth" -
preaches Holy Avesta. This Truth which a Mason is constantly
enjoined to seek dillgently and eventually to find it
in the very centre of its own being, is the Spirit of
God, the "Mukt-Atma", the "Fravashi",
the Divine Spirit, which is always there dwelling within
you, me and all of us, awaiting dormant to be enkindled
into a glowing light reflecting its brightness into
the lives of those around us, or else to be disregarded
or even be covered up so that it would appear to be
impossible for it ever to shine forth.
The secrets of the most profound truths
in masonry are not revealed in the Lodge at all. The
real secrets lie concealed in the ancient symbols of
Freemasonry, as heavily belied to a Mason as to any
other. The Key to these secrets lie in the study of
the sciences of symbolism in general and Masonic symbols
in particular. Each of our symbols points to a moral
lesson and is used as an example for the material life,
but there are other interoperations having reference
to the spiritual, and until one 'ardently' "seeks"
and finds that inner meaning and applies it spiritually,
his goal towards enlightenment, his awakening, remains
as distant as ever.
In our entanglements of our present
material life we find it an uphill task to study and
concentrate on the spiritual aspects of life and to
fine the Universal Truth. Yet there remains the premises
contained in the Rules of our faith and practice to
assist us in our quest, as the Gospel (St. Matthew.
ch. VII, v. 7.) guides us:-" Ask, and it shall
be given you; sekk, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened upto you."
As Masons we are recommended "to
study such of the liberal arts and sciences as may lie
within the compass of our attainment". Now the
study is purely a matter of personal endeavour - something
we can neighter purchase nor delegate to others. It
can only come from within ourselves as the result of
our own inclinations and efforts. It is at ask which
demands liberal application of mind, concentration,
time and above all the initial appreciations of the
fundamental and basic principles of the subject we desire
to pursue. We have not to leave any stone unturned in
our endeavour to find the key to the mysteries and symbols
which vell the profound beauty and glory of this Truth.
Man having been gifted with intelligence
has freedom of decision and freedom to plan, and imperfect
creature that he is, his decisions and planning can
go wrong. With our limited vision we cannot definitely
judge to what extent moral good is stimulated by an
equivalent recompense, or moral evil punished by a proportionate
recoil, but we definitely know that we do in variably
pay the price for our mistakes, for our stupidity, for
our ignorance of the right comprehension, of right actions.
Action in the right direction is the
means of progress while proper knowledge is the outward
sign of inward growth and that a general desire for
self-knowledge, following the worldly knowledge, leads
ultimately to that, in which both meet together and
find their common ground - the God-knowledge. The Knowledge
of man's being is the knowledge, which the world needs
most today. It is this knowledge with which men can
bring about the most good in all spheres and activities
of life.
The seat of Truth is in our secret
hearts and not in the tongue which often imparts falsehood.
It is manifestly apparent therefore that our study in
the quest of Truth must commence from within the heart
- with the Centre" - and we must in the first instance
start to scrutinize, examine, search and endeavor to
discover something of our own being The Bible says,
"Truth is God and It Truth". Truth is in nature
itself as it came from the Divine Creator and it is
open to be read with the same unbiased mind, the same
open eye when we search for the universal human good
and the divine interpretation of God's creation In order
to find and gaint he knowledge of Truth, the adulterations
and artificial accumnlations of generations, beliefs
and dogma have to be carefully checked and wherever
necessary, must be weeded out and ellminated as they
cannot be relied upon and consideration as Truth. They
are totally opposed to the Immutable Laws of the Universe.
"Man may become co-worker"
indicate Her Sheshta, the old wise men of Egypt, "with
both Nature and Divlinty on higher places of he will
He may sit in the Councils of Destiny and help to shape
the progress of the human race, or he may crawl like
a worm and be trodden under foot, till through misery
and pain he struggles to the Light," Ardent search
therefore is the keynote and a lead is provided for
us at one installation for a general desire for knowledge
and later on when our attention is drawn to that "most
interesting of all human studies - the knowledge of
yourself."
Progressing further in the course of
our studies, we come across a guideline - an injunction
written over the Temple of the Mysteries :- "Man
know thyself, and thou shalt know the Universe and God".
Pope also speaks in the same tone in his "Essay
On Man" :-
"Know then thyself-presume not
God to scan The proper study of mankind is man."
Man in his right domain is limitess.
He knows no lights of time nor space when he knows himself.
He is not obliged to toil wearily along.
"Man being born out of the bosom
of the Divine", says George Kaufmann, "his
conclous life has its source beyond the threshold of
his consciousness. The world be sees around him through
his external senses is unintelligible in its wholeness
except in relation to a larger whole, extending beyond
the threshold of self perception. he has a fundamental
need to pass the threshold or to gain some Inner relationship
to the realities that the beyond it."
But when are we to realise our Source
- our Divine Creator, because in action we are far below
His diving principles, much less are we trying to understand
what that is which is to keep pure ? We might say we
must keep our MIND pure, but let us question, have we
understood what is mind? We go on talking parrotlike
without understanding and therein lies our failure.
We must attempt to give our mind - our lower self -
second place and consciously attempt to improve ourselves
by the dictates of our heart.
The heart is our Sun and the mind is
our Moon and both of them are the All-pervading Eyes
of the G.A.O.T.U. We do not refer to the physical Sun
and Moon which we see everyday. "The real Sun and
the real Moon are as invisible as the real Man"
says the Secret Doctrine. Now our Moon is out of focus
at present and therefore we refuse to listen to the
voice that comes from within our heart - the Golden
Gate. We have to attempt to open that gate and find
out the way. Rather than allowing it to be clogged by
subjugating it to the Lower Mind, we must let the mind
be controlled by the heart. Then through the heart will
the Light from the Divine Source shine, the Golden Sun
will rise in all its splendour, the doors will open,
the truth will be out and we are perhaps face to face
with our Divine Master.
Brethren, let us then "toll on,
and in our toil, rejoice", and play our part in
making a highway towards that world in which there shall
be one language and that language be Truth; one law,
and that law be love; one task and that task to do unto
others as we would that others should do unto us, so
that when our sojourn on this planet comes to an end
and death the leveller strikes the hour of high twelve
to summon, us to the Grand Lodge Above, we may proceed
on our onward journey with a happy heart to be welcomed
by the Celestial Grand Master saying, "Well done,
thou true and faithful servant. Enter, free and of good
report." S.M.I.B
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