In the concluding part of my first message in the last issue of The Square & Compasses (October to December 2006), I had mentioned that during my tenure, I shall be looking forward to meeting as many brethren as possible all over the country. Happily this desire of mine has been fulfilled to some extent during January 2007 to March 2007, when all the Regions held their Annual Meetings one after the other.
While this issue carries some details of the Annual Meetings. I must record that it has been a very satisfying experience for me personally. to have been able to attend these meetings and therebygetan opportunity of mingling and interacting with a cross section of my brethren in all walks of life, from different parts of the country. I was particularly happy to note that there was a good and healthy mix of young and old Freemasons in all theRegions.

In my address, after my instailation, I had broadly indicated about my Vision for Freemasonry in India. I am indeed very happy to observe the enthusiasm with which my suggestion for Masonic Liberalization and making Freemasonry more vibrant and dynamic in the country, has found favour and every effort is being made in ali the Regions to implement them. I look forward to some concrete results in this connection very soon, which of course, I trust and hope, will be achieved with your efforts and cooperation.

All of us have at one time or the other been mentioning to the brethren, to adopt Freemasonry as a way of life. Generally this is taken more as an advice relating to moral aspects viz., square conduct upright actions and charity in words and deed, etc. However those of you, who might have read the article "How Does Freemasonry add Value to our Life" which appeared in the last issue of The Square & Compasses, must have seen how Freemasonry also helps us in the practical aspects of our day to day life, in terms of development of Social skills, Speaking and Memorizing skills, Discipline in Dress and behaviour, as demanded by the occasion, Organizational and leadership qualities, increasing our interest in History and of volunteering in various social activities, thereby helping to promote better social involvement and interaction. I do hope that Freemasons all over the country, especially the younger brethren, who are involved in various types of managerial and other professional work will benefit from Freemasonry in their own lives and also in becoming useful members in the Community.

We have heard and it is said that Freemasonry has been in existence from times immemorial. In factit may perhaps be proper to say that Freemasonry is "Timeless", because we can state without any possibility of contradiction that "Once a Mason, always a Mason, both in Creed as well as in Deed". A real Freemason or a true Freemason, will always be one, who strives for Truth and ardently seeks for knowledge; possesses honour, courage of conviction, is firm in principle and virtuous in thought, word and deed, has rectitude of conduct, sound sense of values, sterling character and be Charitable in disposition, have capacity to act rather than react, do what is right not because he is compelled to do so, but because he is firmly convinced that the basis of all morality is to do what one must, inspite of pressures, dangers and consequences, while atthe same time duly adopting the principle of acting on the plumb, through the uprightness of his actions. In fact while Freemasonry is a Way of Life, it is also a lesson in Ethical and Moral behaviour.

Masonry teaches some important principles. There is a major role for Freemasonry in this age of individualism, materialism, free choice and transience: to provide amoral basis for wise decision-making and self-development. Freemasonry, through its well-defined and stable authority structures, rituals and illuminating allegories, provides an environment of peace and harmony in which the intellectual faculty is encouraged to develop and in which moral values and wisdom are fostered in the individual.

Freemasonry emphasizes that self-development depends upon the individual's improved knowledge and understanding of himself and the world about him. Freemasonry reminds us that self-development is undertaken in a material world, and that the development of the intellectual faculty occurs within a mortal body. It uses the tools of operative masons and translates their use into moral values and the building of the spirit It leads the individual ultimately to recognize that reverence and respect for God is wisdom, and that to shun evil is understanding.

Although Freemasonry is veiled by the mistof the past, it points to God and eternity. It is concerned with the past, the present and the future, and belongs to future ages. Freemasonry has an important role to play in providing responsible opportunities for individual self-development, for its members and others, in a world which is increasingly characterised by creative individualism, scientific discovery and pervasive change.

There is no doubt that Freemasonry has a great deal to offer in terms of wise decision-making in an increasingly transient world. Whether Freemasonry will make a substantial positive contribution to future society will ultimately depend upon reconciling the disparity between the philosophy, the perspectives and assumptions of Freemasonry, and current community perceptions and values.
The way forward is not to double our efforts on ritual, or to increase our benevolence, or even to strive for new members. These will necessarily follow, if we rediscover the Masonic vision of the ritual-writers. To go forward we mustfirstunderstand the philosophy uponwhich our ritual is based. Then we must reinterpret that philosophy in the light of a changed world.

In the endl take this opportunity to thank those brethren, who inspite of having paid the lifetime subscription for The Square and Compasses, have voluntarily responded to the appeal of paying the difference between the original life time subscription and the current life time subscription. I look forward more and more brethren subscribing to the The Square & Compasses, so that they remain update in their masonic knowledge and simultaneously with the official magazine of the Grand Lodge gets benefited. I also hope that the readers will note that simultaneously the increase in subscription rates, effort has been made to bring some qualitative changes in the The Square & Compasses. I, therefore, look forward to the continued supportof ourbrethrenin making the magazine more and more popular.

Once again,I wish you and each memberofyour families a Happy Prosperous and Fruitful Year ahead.

Justice Devinder Gupta
Grand Master

Brethren and Lodges are requested to contribute Articles / Materials as also Photographs of Masonic interest for publication in The Square & Compasses, including such Articles/Materials gathered from Internet and other sources dearly acknowledging details of such sources. The Editor reserves the right to edit/modify/summarize such contributions at his discretion. Such Articles, etc., once accepted for publication, shall be the property of the GrandLodge of India. No remuneration will, however, be payable for such contribution.

My editorial observations in the last issue was the first one after I took over as Grand Secretary for the second time. Since then some further developments have taken place in my Masonic careeH M.W. the Grand Master was also pleased to install me as the Regional Grand Master of Northern India, at the Annual Meeting of the Region held on February 10-11, 2007. So while I now wear two caps, this editorial comes to you in my capacity as Grand Secretary! Though our Constitution prohibits any one from holding two Offices under the Grand Lodge, an exception is available only to theRegional Grand Master who is allowed to hold two offices.

We had mentioned in our last issue about some changes we were trying to bring about in Square and Compasses. Some attempts in that direction have been made in this issue and we hope readers are able to notice some changes for thebetter.

What is lacking is however interaction with the readers. We would like to have some comments and suggestions from the Readers, whether they be bouquets or brickbats. Talking of brickbats, we did receive one and deservedly so, because it was a fairly bad blunder on our part, which missed us and most of our readers, except Bro. Vinay Chandla from Shimla, who has pointed out to us that in the photograph of M.W. the Grand Master appearing on the first page of the last Issue, along with his message, he Is wearing the Active Assistant Grand Master's Regalia! In addition we notice that the OSMJewel is also missing! We very much regret the inadvertent error and thank Bro. Chandla for pointing it out to us. Itwili be observed that we have rectified the mistake in this issue.

This quarter has been particularly busy with all the Four Regions holding their Annual Meetings, one after the other. We are carrying a write up of these meetings in this issue with photographs, wherever available. This also includes my own Installation as the Regional Grand Master of Northern India. Thanks to the Annual Reports received from many Lodges we have also fairly good write up under the caption 'Lodge Round Up'. However in order to sustain this section we need more material on a regular basis, from our Lodge Secretaries (as also from our Regional Grand Secretaries) about their Charitable and other activities as also any interesting aspects with photographs so that we can share these with our readers.

The other important aspect to be noted is the change in the Subscription Rate of the Magazlne,whichis now Rs.150 per annum, for 4 quarterly issues, or Rs.1500 for Lifetime subscription, commencing with this issue. The rates had to be increased because we were running into huge deficit due to the rise in cost of Printing and Postage, at the existing rate of Rs.50 per annum and Rs.750 as Life Time Subscription. The Board of General Purposes, which considered the matter at its last meeting held atKolkata in February 2007, has decided that these should be revised as indicated earlier. Another distuthing feature that has come to light, on a review of our records is that many brethren are in arrears of their subscription even from 2004 onwards and though they have been reminded and the magazines are regularly being posted to them, some of them have not responded so far. Fresh letters have been issued to individual Members, as also to the Lodges concerned for those subscribing through Lodges, along with a list of their subscribers, to pay at the revised rates as also to pay the arrears of subscription. I take this opportunity to appeal to all of them to respond to our letters as quickly as possible. Meanwhile however we will continue to post their copies to them.1 must take this opportunity to thank all those who have responded promptly, to our appeal and inspite of being Life Time Subscribers at the prevailing rates as applicable to them, have remitted the difference between their existing rates and the revised Life Time Subscription rates. We are also including in this issue a perforated sheet containing a proforma for remittance of subscription and for contribution of advertisements. I also appeal to the Brethren who are in a position to do so to contribute advertisements to help us to sustain the magazine based on the rationalized tariff using the proforma.

Last but not the least we Invite articles and other interesting material including photographs from our readers for inclusion in the Magazine.

S. Krishnan Grand Secretary

I amvery happy tobeamongstyou this evening,when as many as 20 Lodges in Chennal Area have organized this Area Meeting. I understand that this is the second such Area Meeting that is being organized.

Brethren, apart from the pleasure and the satisfaction of attending one's own Lodge and occasionally visiting other Lodges and thus gaining Masonic knowledge and experience, attending of such Area Meetings, serves a wider and more Important purpose. While no Ritual Working as such takes place in such meetings, the Brethren, particularly thejunior amongst them, get an opportunity to know more about Masonic Protocol and Procedures and the grandeur attached to such events, as also of meeting Senior and knowledgeable brethren informally, for not only exchanging of Masonic information, but also, getting to know more of their Brethren for a more enduring relationship. Another important purpose served by such meetings, particularly the one organized here, is of hearing the report of the Lodges in the Area, which enables Brethren to appreciate and emulate the efforts put in by Lodges in various Masonic activities and charitable projects. The recognition eamedby the Lodges and the Brethren for their achievements through Trophies awarded on such occasions also serves as an incentive to achieve similar recognition by others.

Those of you who were present at the Grand Festival just aboutamonth ago atDelhi and had heard me after my Installation, might have noted my observation that it is desirable to bring a measure of liberalization in Freemasonry. I had also at the same time indicated that this did not imply any deviation from our established usages and customs, but that the idea was to make a dent in Society through our behaviour as Freemasons and by our charitable projects. In this context I would like to reiterate what I said then, by mentioning that all of us must recognize the fact that the Lodge is the basic unit of our structure and that all Masonic activities have obviously, therefore, to start at that level. I would therefore, urge all Lodges to undertake a self- evaluation and an honest heart searching, to see, to what extent each of them is propagating the basic principles of Freemasonry and its philosophy. It is also very important that apart from major charitable activities taken up at the Regional or the National level, Lodges too should make special efforts to take up meaningful smaller charitable activities, best suited to their size, location and capabilities, so that such activities make an impact in Society locally and create more Interest in the public about Freemasonry and its activities. In the earlier days there was a tendency to project Freemasonry as an elite exdusive organization, the membership ofwhich was difficult Jam sure all of you would agree with me that times have changed now and Freemasonry all over the World is becoming more open and information about it is more easily accessible now. We should, therefore not have any hesitation in being more open about what Freemasonry is and what Freemasons stands for. Masonry teaches that each man has a duty not only to himself but also to others. We must do what we can to make the world a better place. Whether that means cleaning up the environment, working on civic projects, or helping children to work or read or see - theworld should be a better place because we have passed through it. We believe in a certain reverence for living things, tenderness toward peoplewho suffer- a loving kindness for our fellow man, and a desire to do right. Masonryteaches that although all men are fallible and capable of much wrong, when they discover the goodness of heart, they have found the true essence, of virtue. Masonry helps men see their potential for deep goodness and virtue.
Masons are Involved with the problems and needs of others because we know It gives each of us a good feeling unlike any other to help. Much of our help is given anonymously. We are not after gratitude; we are more than rewarded by that feeling which comes from knowing we have helped another person overcome some adversity, so that their life can go on.

Brethren, I do not want to make a long speech on this occasion. However, reverting back again to what I said at Delhi after my Installation, Iwould like to reiterate my Vision about Freemasonry in India as follows:

1 BringaboutMasonlcLiberalizationin the country
2 Check Dropouts by vigorous steps at the Lodge Level Instill more Freemasonry in Men, by spreading the message and philosophy of Freemasonry as wideiy as possible.
3 Adopt "Each One Bring One" as a slogan and start practicing it so that we not only have more men in Freemasonry, but also ensure that more men will have more Freemasonry in them.
4 Last but not the least, constantly endeavors to make Freemasonry more vibrantand dynamic in the country.

The office of the Grand Lodge of India will soon be sending round circular giving suggestions as to how the Regions and the Lodges could go about in achieving the Vision.

I am well aware that Freemasonry in the Southern Region is already quite vibrant, but there is always scope for further enhancement of the achievements already made.

I would therefore urge the Lodges and every individual member in the Region, as also the Regional Grand Master and his Officers, to help the Grand Lodge of India, to achieve this Vision. Suggestions if any in this regard would also be mostwelcome.

I congratulate the recipients of the Long Term Service Jewels, W.Bro. V. Nataraj and W.Bro. Dr. P. Prem Kumar and wish them Long and fruitful years of furtherservice to Freemasonry. I thank you for your felicitations and also take this opportunity to add my own personal felicitatlons to my immediate predecessor M.W.Bro. Arun Chintopanth, OSM, for his contribution to Freemasonry in India during his tenure. I now request the Members of my Deputation to join mein thanking the Regional Grand Master of Southern India R.W.Bro. G.K. Selvarajan and the Organizers of this Area Meeting for the courtesy extended to me and the Members of the my deputation. I wish you and all the Members of your family aVery Happy and Prosperous New Year.