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I consider it a great privilege to
have been called upon to assist in this Consecration
Ceremony in he sacred Office of Chaplain, and to have
been given the opportunity to deliver this Oration.
The Oration has to relate to the Nature and Purposes
of the Institution of Freemasonry, and while I shall
certainly deal with these aspects, I propose to devote
some attention also to a subject which I think deserves
serious thought, namely, the limitations of Freemasonry
in India.
The Oxford Dictionary gives as the
meaning of the terms Freemasonry : "A peculiar
system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated
by symbols." It will at once occur to any Freemason
conversant with the ritual that this is no original
definition, but only what is put in the mouth of the
Entered Apprentice when he is questioned "What
is Freemasonry?" at the time of examining him in
his proficiency for being passed to the Fellow Craft
Degree. Thus, though the ritual itself has set the seal
of approval on this definition, one doubts whether it
is in fact a comprehensive definition of the term Freemasonry.
For, Freemasonry is not merely a code of ethics system
of morality, but is an Order based on belief, declared
in writing, no person however good, noble and great,
can gain admission into the fraternity. This belief
in a Supreme Being has to be not merely a passive one,
but an active, passionate and constant one. This is
evident from the fact that masonic rituals contain prayers
at every stage to the Almighty, invoking His assistance
and blessings on what is about to be done. It may therefore
be seen that a full definition of Freemasonry must indicate
that it is system of morality based on belief in a Supreme
Being.
Freemasonry was brought to India by
the British over two centuries ago. When the Sun of
the British Empire began to rise, the British race spread
all over the world, taking with them, wherever they
went, characteristic British institutions like the English
language, the Rule of Law, Club Life, and a well-ordered
public and domestic life, to mentioned only a few. Among
these was Freemasonry. The primary object in starting
masonic institutions in India was obviously for the
British themselves to derive inspiration in their daily
lives, but before long, the inherent driving force provided
by the principals and tenets of Freemasonry made it
inevitable that Indians should be submitted to the Order.
The distinction of being the first Indian in South India
to be initiated as freemason belongs to the then Nabob
of the Carnatic, Omdat-ul-Omra Bahadur, the year being
1776 and the place Trichinopoly. It will only be appropriate
that at the time of the Consecration of a new Lodge
today, we remember the British who brought masonry to
our country and also the first Indian who was initiated
into masonry in South India 196 years ago. The British
as the Ruling in the sub-continent have disappeared
from the Indian scene, so also the Princely Order which
provided the Nabob of the Carnatic, but freemasonry
continues to exist in India ; it has become the mighty
tree that is the Grand Lodge of India, and it is growing
very fast as today's Consecration shows.
Here in Madurai I cannot but give expression
to the fact that I was privileged to see the Light of
Freemasonry in this town in the year 1940 in Lodge Pandyan,
the sponsoring Lodge of the Lodge which we have met
to consecrate. The circumstances under which that event
happened will bear narration, if for no other purpose,
at least to show what a chance event it was. I was then
a very junior Officer in the Indian Civil Service, and
was working in this City as City First Class magistrate.
There was talk in the local Clubs and among the local
officials that the Chief Secretary was shortly visiting
the City to consecrate a new masonic temple. My curiosity
was aroused as to what was this institution about, which
could bring down as exalted personage like the Chief
Secretary all the way from Madras to so distant a place.
Soon I learnt something about Freemasonry, and a friend
of mine offered to take steps to get me admitted into
the Lodge Pandyan, if I was interested. I had not the
slightest hesitation in deciding to join an institution
of which the Chief Secretary (Sir George Boag) was the
Head. It will be recalled that he was for many years
the District Grand Master of Madras, as several Chief
Secretary before him had been, and that on his retirement
from Government service and settling down in England,
he continued till his death to be actively associated
with freemasonry, especially in the Conclave of which
he became the Grand Supreme Ruler. He kept up his interest
in freemasonry in the Madras District even while he
was leading a retired life in England, and was in constant
correspondence with the late Rt. Wor. Bro. T. V. Muthukrishna
Iyer (his successor as the District Grand Master of
Madras) and the late Rt. Wor. Bro. S.T. Srinivasagopalachari,
our fist Regional Grand Master in Southern India, on
masonic matters. I cannot but be grateful to his revered
name so long as breath in me lasts, because it was that
name which created a fascination in me for freemasonry
and which primarily induced me to join the fraternity.
Looking back over the period of well
over three decades during which I have been exposed
to masonry, the question may well be posed, "What
is the balance aheet like ? What are the credits and
debits ? Would you have been the better or the worse
if you had not been a mason ?". The debit side
can be figured out easily. First, the financial obligations.
I suppose that the expenditure might have run to a five
figure sum. Second, the considerable time taken up in
attending meetings of Craft Lodges and the Side Degrees,
not to mention the District Grand Lodge, the Regional
Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodge of India. And lastly,
the problem of some masons coming up with requests of
all kinds in regard to activities in the outside world,
to an extent that smacks of exploiting masonry. The
credit side is more difficult to list. First I may mention
the new dimension to life that is provided by becoming
a mason ; it is like entering a new world, of fresh
air, sun shine and gorgeous colours. Then the 'acquisition
of a knowledge about the Supreme Being without being
burdened with all the theology to which traditional
religion attaches so much importance. This knowledge
- I would venture to call it Divine knowledge Brahma
Vidya - at once makes us realize that all mankind is
one, and that the barriers of religions, caste, race
etc are only for the unenlightened. We are also filled,
every second of our waking life, with a sense of wonder,
awe and respect for the mighty works of the Almighty,
for the hidden mysteries of nature and science. We are
also enthused to be alive and active while it is yet
day, for the night cometh when no man can work. Our
interest are aroused to study and master such of the
liberal arts and science as may lie within the compass
of our attainments. A code of ethics, morality and virtue
is laid before us to guide us in our daily life. We
are privileged to know and cultivate the friendship
of numerous people, whom otherwise we might have never
come across. We are privileged too, to bring into the
Order many good men, and thereby enrich them and also
the institution. Lastly, we are provided constant opportunities
to keep our masonic knowledge upto date, improve it,
share it with others, and practice to the extent possible,
the principles and tenets of the system. It will at
once be seen that the entries on the credit side cannot
at all be evaluated in terms of money - they are priceless.
Never was such a balance sheet met with in any business
concern. I have never regretted joining masonry ; on
the contrary, I often reflect how much poorer I would
have been if had not seen the light of freemasonry.
Brethren, I feel sure that every mason
present here today, will arrive at a similar balance
sheet in regard to his association with freemasonry.
Perhaps so will also be the case with the vast majority
of the fraternity. I deliberately qualify my statement
here, because I know that there are some who have become
unattached after having been members of Lodges for some
time ; I know also that even among those who are still
in the Craft, there are a few who have reservations
about freemasonry, and the are frequently known to voice
criticisms about one aspect or other of the institution.
It will be quite worth our while to conduct case studies
of such dissatisfied brethren, because that would provide
us with an insight into certain aspects of our institution
where remedial action may be called for. My own assessment
is that in almost all these cases, the dissatisfaction
or disillusionment would not have been in respect of
the institution itself, but only against certain personalities
- e.g. that some office bearer of the Lodge (usually
the Director of Ceremonies, or the Secretary or the
Treasurer) behaved discourteously towards him ; or that
in private life, some masonic friend of his let him
down ; or that he was denied the masonic promotions
that were his due. Out rituals furnish answers to all
such situations, and it will be found that the root
cause of the dissatisfaction of the brethren concerned
is to be traced to the fact that they had not yet really
become masons except in name, and that they had not
yet imbibed the principles of the Order.
What is the real purpose of Freemasonry
? Is it not to improve our character, develop our personality,
and keep us in equilibrium in the rugged path of life
? Is it not to make us appreciate our place in the divine
scheme of things, and become constantly aware of the
True and Living God Most High ? Is it not to so dispose
our heart and mind that we practice charity in the widest
sense of the term ? Is it not to so transform us that
we are welcomed in any society, and relied on to give
a helping hand to any good cause for amelioration of
mankind ? Brethren, while it is true that freemasonry
has several facets, let us always bear in mind that
all those facets must finally and up to making better
men of us. If there is any failure in regard to this,
then something has gone wrong somewhere, and there would
be need for an investigation and setting right matters.
It will invariably be found that the remedy is more
masonic education, in the widest sense of the term,
and a stricter practise of the principle and tenets
of freemasonry. The cause would certainly not be any
shortcoming in our tenets and principles, or any lacunae
in our rituals, usages and customs.
The estimated number of freemasons
in the world is of the order of six millions. There
are some 110 Grand Lodges in the world which the Grand
Lodge of India of India is on terms of recognition and
fraternal relations. The Order exists in all countries
where there is freedom of association, freedom of speech
and freedom of belief. In some countries, it is not
easy to become a mason, there are long waiting lists,
and it is considered an honour to be made a member of
the Order. In a few countries, leading public figures
are all masons, and in fact, the climb to public recognition
is parallel with the climb in the Order. In countries
like the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand a
sizable proportion of the adult male population are
masons, and the Head of the Order is Royalty, or the
Governor-General. It is known that most President of
the United States have been masons. Even in India, during
the British period, the top people in Government were
leaders of the Order. In Madras itself, several Governors
have been the District Grand masters, and took very
active part in masonic activities. One of them (Lord
Elphinstone) laid the foundation stone of a masonic
hall in 1839, and when it was found that additional
funds were required to complete the building, started
a donation list, his own donation of Rs. 1000/- heading
the list. Another, Lord Connemara, was made the District
Grand Master in 1888 even though he was only a Master
Mason, and even though some eye-brows were raised about
the property of elevating to the position of District
Head a brother who had not passed through the Eastern
Chair. In the conditions prevail in the foreseeable
future, there seems to be no possibility at all of the
Head of a State, of the provincial Heads of Government,
or political leaders coming forward to fill high posts
in the masonic hierarchy. In fact, very few political
figures appear to have been attracted to the fraternity
at all. This raises the further question, can we seriously
claim that there is in our fraternity, a fair cross-section
of all important and influential sections of the populations
in our country. I am afraid that such a claim cannot
be sustained at all. With reference to the total size
of our population, again, which is of the order of some
550 millions the number in the fraternity, which is
of the order of about 11,000 is infinitesimal. The bulk
of the membership comes from the middle class and even
the lower middle class. The rich and the super-rich
in the fraternity can be counted on the fingers' ends.
There is again the fact that all our masonic rituals
have practically to be only in English, and this language
is now fighting for its very survival in an atmosphere
of linguistic passions. The moment there is any strong
move for converting the rituals into local languages
may also be the moment when the toll of Freemasonry's
eclipse in India will be sounded.
The above considerations may appear
to strike a pessimist note about the scope freemasonry
in India from making any impact on the course of national
life in our country, but my object is not to strike
such a note, but to impress on the brethren the need
to be realistic. We must not have any exaggerated importance
of our own place in the Indian scene and as to what
we can achieve. While undertaking projects for the welfare
of the community cannot be strictly regarded as the
main purpose of freemasonry, and while there is nothing
seriously wrong in our trying to do our best to alleviate
human suffering and distress, let us be keenly aware
of our limitations I doubt whether we should try to
vie with strictly service organizations like Rotary
and Lions in taking up community projects. I feel strongly
that the main purpose of freemasonry is to improve the
character of the individual mason, and leave it to him
to practise our tenets and principles in the outside
world. Even if we are so few that we will be lost in
the ocean of humanity surrounding us in this country,
there is every reason to hope that even isolated lamps
shining here and there may diffuse some light and bring
some cheer.
The foundation of freemasonry lies
in the daughter lodges. We in the Grand Lodge of India
have now the exclusive privilege to consecrate new lodges,
as the other existing sister Constitutions (namely the
English, the Scottish and the Irish) can function only
with the lodges that remained in those Constitutions
in November 1961. I myself have had the privilege of
participating in the Consecration of some ten new lodges
since the formation of the G.L.I. This Lodge Rajasabal
is coming into existence to fulfil a real need, as the
solitary lodge so far in Madurai has grown beyond what
may be regarding as the suitable limit from the point
of view of providing adequate opportunities for new
entrants to come up in masonry. It bears the name of
great and senior mason who has distinguished himself
in other fields also. Masonry has permeated him, and
his personality ; his words and actions all exude masonry.
Under him as the Founder Master, and always as the leader,
there can be no doubt whatever that this new lodge will
grow and flourish. Let every meeting of the Lodge become
a "Raja Sabhai", namely a King's durbar in
the best sense of the term-something like King Solomon's
Court, where dignity decorum and discipline prevail
' where talent is discovered and encouraged, and the
principles of our progressive science are implanted
firmly in the breasts of all who attend.
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