THE LOST KEYS OF FREEMASONRY
or The Secret of Hiram Abiff
by
MANLY P. HALL
PUBLISHER'S
FOREWORD
The
steady demand and increasing popularity of this volume, of
which
eighteen thousand copies have been printed since it first
appeared
a few years ago, have brought the present revised and
rearranged
edition into being. The text can be
read with profit by
both
new and old Mason, for within its pages lies an interpretation
of
Masonic symbolism which supplements the monitorial instruction
usually
given in the lodges.
The
leading Masonic scholars of all times have agreed that the
symbols
of the Fraternity are susceptible of the most profound
interpretation
and thus reveal to the truly initiated certain
secrets
concerning the spiritual realities of life.
Freemasonry is
therefore
more than a mere social organization a few centuries old,
and
can be regarded as a perpetuation of the philosophical
mysteries
and initiations of the ancients. This
is in keeping with
the
inner tradition of the Craft, a heritage from pre-Revival days.
The
present volume will appeal to the thoughtful Mason as an
inspiring
work, for it satisfies the yearning for further light and
leads
the initiate to that Sanctum Sanctorum where the mysteries
are
revealed. The book is a
contribution to Masonic idealism,
revealing
the profounder aspects of our ancient and gentle
Fraternity
- those unique and distinctive features which have
proved
a constant inspiration through the centuries.
FOREWORD
By
REYNOLD E. BLIGHT, 33 degree, K. T.
Reality
forever eludes us. Infinity mocks
our puny efforts to
imprison
it in definition and dogma. Our
most splendid
realizations
are only adumbrations of the Light. In
his endeavors,
man
is but a mollusk seeking to encompass the ocean.
Yet
man may not cease his struggle to find God.
There is a
yearning
in his soul that will not let him rest, an urge that
compels
him to attempt the impossible, to attain the unattainable.
He
lifts feeble hands to grasp the stars and despite a million
years
of failure and millenniums of disappointment, the soul of man
springs
heavenward with even greater avidity than when the race was
young.
He
pursues, even though the flying ideal eternally slips from his
embrace.
Even though he never clasps the goddess of his dreams, he
refuses
to believe that she is a phantom. To
him she is the only
reality.
He reaches upward and will not be content until the sword
of
Orion is in his hands, and glorious Arcturus glearns from his
breast.
Man
is Parsifal searching for the Sacred Cup; Sir Launfal
adventuring
for the Holy Grail. Life is a
divine adventure, a
splendid
quest
Language
falls. Words are mere cyphers, and
who can read the
riddle?
These words we use, what are they but vain shadows of form
and
sense? We strive to clothe our highest thought with verbal
trappings
that our brother may see and understand; and when we
would
describe a saint he sees a demon; and when we would present a
wise
man he beholds a fool. "Fie
upon you," he cries; "thou, too,
art
a fool."
So
wisdom drapes her truth with symbolism, and covers her insight
with
allegory. Creeds, rituals, poems
are parables and symbols.
The
ignorant take them literally and build for themselves prison
houses
of words and with bitter speech and bitterer taunt denounce
those
who will not join them in the dungeon. Before
the rapt
vision
of the seer, dogma and ceremony, legend and trope dissolve
and
fade, and he sees behind the fact the truth, behind the symbol
the
Reality.
Through
the shadow shines ever the Perfect Light.
What
is a Mason? He is a man who in his heart has been duly and
truly
prepared, has been found worthy and well qualified, has been
admitted
to the fraternity of builders, been invested with certain
passwords
and signs by which he may be enabled to work and receive
wages
as a Master Mason, and travel in foreign lands in search of
that
which was lost - The Word.
Down
through the misty vistas of the ages rings a clarion
declaration
and although the very heavens echo to the
reverberations,
but few hear and fewer understand: "In the
beginning
was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was
God."
Here
then is the eternal paradox. The
Word is lost yet it is ever
with
us. The light that illumines the
distant horizon shines in
our
hearts. "Thou wouldist not seek me hadst thou not found me." We
travel
afar only to find that which we hunger for at home.
And
as Victor Hugo says: "The thirst for the Infinite proves
infinity."
That
which we seek lives in our souls.
This,
the unspeakable truth, the unutterable perfection, the author
has
set before us in these pages. Not a
Mason himself, he has read
the
deeper meaning of the ritual. Not
having assumed the formal
obligations,
he calls upon all mankind to enter into the holy of
holies.
Not initiated into the physical craft, he declares the
secret
doctrine that all may hear.
With
vivid allegory and profound philosophical disquisition he
expounds
the sublime teachings of Freemasonry, older than all
religions,
as universal as human aspiration.
It
is well. Blessed are the eyes that
see, and the ears that hear,
and
the heart that understands.
INTRODUCTION
Freemasonry,
though not a religion, is essentially religious. Most
of
its legends and allegories are of a sacred nature; much of it is
woven
into the structure of Christianity. We
have learned to
consider
our own religion as the only inspired one, and this
probably
accounts for much of the misunderstanding in the world
today
concerning the place occupied by Freemasonry in the spiritual
ethics
of our race. A religion is a
divinely inspired code of
morals.
A religious person is one inspired to nobler livi ng by
this
code. He is identified by the code
which is his source of
illumination.
Thus we may say that a Christian is one who receives
his
spiritual ideals of right and wrong from the message of the
Christ,
while a Buddhist is one who molds his life into the
archetype
of morality given by the great Gautama, or one of the
other
Buddhas. All doctrines which seek
to unfold and preserve
that
invisible spark in man named Spirit, are said to be spirit
ual.
Those which ignore this invisible element and concent rate
entirely
upon the visible are said to be material. There
is in
religion
a wonderful point of balance, where the materialist and
spiritist
meet on the plane of logic and reason. Science
and
theology
are two ends of a single truth, but the world will never
receive
the full benefit of their investigations until they have
made
peace with each other, and labor hand in hand for the
accomplishment
of the great work - the liberation of spirit and in
telligence
from the three-dimensional prison-house of ignora nce,
superstition,
and fear. That which gives man a knowledge of himself
can
be inspired only by the Self - and God is the Self in all
things.
In truth, He is the inspiration and the thing inspired.
It
has
been stated in Scripture that God was the Word and that the
Word
was made flesh. Man's task now is
to make flesh reflect the
glory
of that Word, which is within the soul of himself. It is
this
task which has created the need of religion - not one faith
alone
but many creeds, each searching in its own way, e ach meeting
the
needs of individual people, each emphasizing one point above
all
the others.
Twelve
Fellow Craftsmen are exploring the four points of the
compass.
Are not these twelve the twelve great world religions,
each
seeking in its own way for that which was lost in the ages
past,
and the quest of which is the birthright of man? Is not the
quest
for Reality in a world of illusions the task for which each
comes
into the world? We are here to gain balance in a sphere of
unbalance;
to find rest in a restless thing; to unveil illusion;
and
to slay the dragon of our own animal natures.
As David, King
of
Israel, gave to the hands of his son Solomon the task he could
not
accomplish, so each generation gives to the next the work of
building
the temple, or rather, rebuilding the dwelling of the
Lord,
which is on Mount Moriah.
Truth
is not lost, yet it must be sought for and found. Reality is
ever-present
- dimensionless yet all-prevailing. Man - creature of
attitudes
and desires, and servant of impressions and opinions -
cannot,
with the wavering unbalance of an untutored mind, learn to
know
that which he himself does not possess. As
man attains a
quality,
he discovers that quality, and recognizes about him the
thing
newborn within himself. Man is born
with eyes, yet only
after
long years of sorrow does he learn to see clearl y and in
harmony
with the Plan. He is born with
senses, but only after long
experience
and fruitless strivings does he bring these senses to
the
temple and lays them as offerings upon the altar of the great
Father,
who alone does all things well and with understanding.
Man
is,
in truth, born in the sin of ignorance, but with a capacity for
understanding.
He has a mind capable of wisdom, a heart capable of
feeling,
and a hand strong for the great work in life - truing the
rough
ashlar into the perfect sto ne.
What
more can any creature ask than the opportunity to prove the
thing
he is, the dream that inspires him, the vision that leads him
on?
We have no right to ask for wisdom. In
whose name do we beg
for
understanding? By what authority do we demand happiness? None
of
these things is the birthright of any creature; yet all may have
them,
if they will cultivate within themselves the thing that they
desire.
There is no need of asking, nor does any Deity bow down to
give
man these things that he desires. Man
i s given by Nature, a
gift,
and that gift is the privilege of labor. Through
labor he
learns
all things.
Religions
are groups of people, gathered together in the labor of
learning.
The world is a school. We
are here to learn, and our
presence
here proves our need of instruction. Every
living
creature
is struggling to break the strangling bonds of limitation
-
that pressing narrowness which inhabits vision and leaves the
life
without an ideal. Every soul is
engaged in a great work - the
labor
of personal liberation from the state of ignorance. The
world
is a great prison; its bars are the Unknown.
And eac h is a
prisoner
until, at last, he earns the right to tear these bars from
their
moldering sockets, and pass, illuminated and inspired, into
the
darkness, which becomes lighted by that presence. All peoples
seek
the temple where God dwells, where the spirit of the great
Truth
illuminates the shadows of human ignorance, but they know not
which
way to turn nor where this temple is. The mist of dogma
surrounds
them. Ages of thoughtlessness bind
them in. Limitation
weakens
them and retards their footsteps. They wander in darkness
seeking
light, failing to realize that the Eght is in the heart of
the
darkness.
To
the few who have found Him, God is revealed.
These, in turn,
reveal
Him to man, striving to tell ignorance the message of
wisdom.
But seldom does man understand the mystery that has been
unveiled.
He tries weakly to follow in the steps of those who have
attained,
but all too often finds the path more difficult than he
even
dreamed. So he kneels in prayer
before the mountain he cannot
climb,
from whose top gleams the light which he is neither strong
enough
to reach nor wise enough to comprehend. He
l ives the law
as
he knows it, always fearing in his heart that he has not read
aright
the flaming letters in the sky, and that in living the
letter
of the Law he has murdered the spirit. Man
bows humbly to
the
Unknown, peopling the shadows of his own ignorance with saints
and
saviors, ghosts and spectres, gods and demons.
Ignorance fears
all
things, falling, terror-stricken before the passing wind.
Superstition
stands as the monument to ignorance, and b efore it
kneel
all who realize their own weakness; wh o see in all things
the
strength they do not possess; who give to sticks and stones the
power
to bruise them; who change the beauties of Nature into the
dwelling
place of ghouls and ogres. Wisdom
fears no thing, but
still
bows humbly to its own Source. While
superstition hates all
things,
wisdom, with its deeper understanding, loves all things;
for
it has seen the beauty, the tenderness, and the sweetness which
underlie
Life's mystery.
Life
is the span of time appointed for accomplishment.
Every
fleeting
moment is an opportunity, and those who are great are the
ones
who have recognized life as the opportunity for all things.
Arts,
sciences, and religions are monuments standing for what
humanity
has already accomplished. They
stand as memorials to the
unfolding
mind of man, and through them man acquires more efficient
and
more intelligent methods of attaining prescribed results.
Blessed
are those who can profit by the experiences of ot hers;
who,
adding to that which has already been built, can make their
inspiration
real, their dreams practical. Those
who give man the
things
he needs, while seldom appreciated in their own age, are
later
recognized as the Saviors of the human race.
Masonry
is a structure built upon experience. Each
stone is a
sequential
step in the unfolding of intelligence. The
shrines of
Masonry
are ornamented by the jewels of a thousand ages; its
rituals
ring with the words of enlightened seers and illuminated
sages.
A hundred religions have brought their gifts of wisdom to
its
altar. Arts and sciences unnumbered
have contributed to its
symbolism.
It is more than a faith; it is a path of certainty.
It
is
more than a belief; it is a fact. Masonry
is a univers ity,
teaching
the liberal arts and sciences of the soul to all who will
attend
to its words. It is a shadow of the
great Atlantean Mystery
School,
which stood with all its splendor in the ancient City of
the
Golden Gates, where now the turbulent Atlantic rolls in
unbroken
sweep. Its chairs are seats of
learning; its pillars
uphold
the arch of universal education, not only in material
things,
but also in those qualities which are of the spirit. Up on
its
trestleboards are inscribed the sacred truths of all nations
and
of all peoples, and upon those who understand its sacred depths
has
dawned the great Reality. Masonry
is, in truth, that long-lost
thing
which all peoples have sought in all ages.
Masonry is the
common
denominator as well as the common devisor of human
aspiration.
Most
of the religions of the world are like processions: one leads,
and
the many follow. In the footsteps
of the demigods, man follows
in
his search for truth and illumination. The
Christian follows
the
gentle Nazarene up the winding slopes of Calvary. The Buddhist
follows
his great emancipator through his wanderings in the
wilderness.
The Mohammedan makes his pilgrimage across the desert
sands
to the black tent at Mecca. Truth
leads, and ignorance
follows
in his train. Spirit blazes the
trail, and ma tter follows
behind.
In the world today ideals live but a moment in their
purity,
before the gathering hosts of darkness snuff out the
gleaming
spark. The Mystery School, however,
remains unmoved. It
does
not bring its light to man; man must bring his light to it.
Ideals,
coming into the world, become idols within a few short
hours,
but man, entering the gates of the sanctuary, changes the
idol
back to an ideal.
Man
is climbing an endless flight of steps, with his eyes fixed
upon
the goal at the top. Many cannot
see the goal, and only one
or
two steps are visible before them. He
has learned, however, one
great
lesson - namely, that as he builds his own character he is
given
strength to climb the steps. Hence
a Mason is a builder of
the
temple of character. He is the
architect of a sublime mystery
-
the gleaming, glowing temple of his own soul.
He realizes that
he
best serves God when he joins with the Great Ar chitect in
building
more noble structures in the universe below.
All who are
attempting
to attain mastery through constructive efforts are
Masons
at heart, regardless of religious sect or belief. A Mason
is
not necessarily a member of a lodge. In
a broad sense, he is
any
person who daily tries to live the Masonic life, and to serve
intelligently
the needs of the Great Architect. The
Masonic
brother
pledges himself to assist all other temple-builders in
whatever
extremity of life; and in so doing he pled ges himself to
every
living thing, for they are all temple-builders, building more
noble
structures to the glory of the universal God.
The
true Masonic Lodge is a Mystery School, a place where
candidates
are taken out of the follies and foibles of the world
and
instructed in the mysteries of life, relationships, and the
identity
of that germ of spiritual essence within, which is, in
truth,
the Son of God, beloved of His Father. The
Mason views life
seriously,
realizing that every wasted moment is a lost
opportunity,
and that Omnipotence is gained only through
earnestness
and endeavor. Above all other
relationships he
recognizes
the unive rsal brotherhood of every living thing. The
symbol
of the clasped hands, explained in the Lodge, reflects his
attitude
towards all the world, for he is the comrade of all
created
things. He realizes also that his
spirit is a glowing,
gleaming
jewel which he must enshrine within a holy temple built by
the
labor of his hands, the meditation of his heart, and the
aspiration
of his soul.
Freemasonry
is a philosophy which is essentially creedless. It is
the
truer for it. Its brothers bow to
truth regardless of the
bearer;
they serve light, instead of wrangling over the one who
brings
it. In this way they prove that
they are seeking to know
better
the will and the dictates of the Invincible One. No truer
religion
exists than that of world comradeship and brotherhood, for
the
purpose of glorifying one God and building for Him a temple of
constructive
attitude and noble character.
PROLOGUE
IN
THE FIELDS OF CHAOS
The
first flush of awakening Life pierced the impenetrable expanse
of
Cosmic Night, turning the darkness of negation into the dim
twilight
of unfolding being. Silhouetted
against the shadowy
gateways
of Eternity, the lonely figure of a mystic stranger stood
upon
the nebulous banks of swirling substance. Robed
in a shimmery
blue
mantle of mystery and his head encircled by a golden crown of
dazzling
light, the darkness of Chaos fled before the rays that
poured
like streams of living fire from his form divin e.
From
some Cosmos greater far than ours this mystic visitor came,
answering
the call of Divinity. From star to
star he strode and
from
world to universe he was known, yet forever concealed by the
filmy
garments of chaotic night. Suddenly
the clouds broke and a
wondrous
light descended from somewhere among the seething waves of
force;
it bathed this lonely form in a radiance celestial, each
sparkling
crystal of mist gleaming like a diamond bathed in the
living
fire of the Divine.
In
the gleaming flame of cosmic light bordered by the dark clouds
of
not-being two great forms appeared and a mighty Voice thrilled
eternity,
each sparkling atom pulsating with the power of the
Creator's
Word* while the great blue-robed figure bowed in awe
before
the foot-stool of His Maker as a hand reached down from
heaven,
its fingers extended the benediction.
"Of
all creation I have chosen you and upon you my seal is placed.
You
are the chosen instrument of my hand and I appoint you to be
the
Builder of my Temple. You shall
raise its pillars and tile its
floor;
you shall ornament it with metals and with jewels and you
shall
be the master of my workmen. In
your hands I place the plans
and
here on the tracing board of livig substance I have impressed
the
plan you are to follow, tracing its every letter and angle in
the
fiery lines of my moving finger. Hiram
Ab iff, chosen builder
of
your Father's house, up and to your work. Yonder
are the fleecy
clouds,
the
*
The Creative Fiat, or rate of vibration through which all things
are
created.
gray
mists of dawn, the gleams of heavenly light, and the darkness
of
the sleep of creation. From these shall you build, without the
sound
of hammer or the voice of workmen, the temple of your God,
eternal
in the heavens. The swirling,
ceaseless motion of negation
you
shall chain to grind your stones. Among
these spirits of
not-being
shall you slack your lime and lay your footings; for I
have
watched you through the years of your youth; I have guided you
through
the days of your manhood. I have
weighed y ou in the
balance
and you have not been found wanting. Therefore,
to you
give
I the glory of work, and here ordain you as the Builder of my
House.
Unto you I give the word of the Master Builder; unto you I
give
the tools of the craft; unto you I give the power that has
been
vested in me. Be faithful unto
these things. Bring them back
when
you have finished, and I will give you the name known to God
alone.
So mote it be."
The
great light died out of the heavens, the streaming fingers of
living
light vanished in the misty, lonely twilight, and again
covered
not-being with its sable mantle. Hiram
Abiff again stood
alone,
gazing out into the endless ocean of oblivion - nothing but
swirling,
seething matter as far as eye could see. Then
he
straightened
his shoulders and, taking the trestleboard in his
hands
and clasping to his heart the glowing Word of the Master,
walked
slowly away and was swallowed up in the mists of primord ial
dawn.
How
may man measure timeless eternity? Ages passed, and the lonely
Builder
labored with his plan with only love and humility in his
heart,
his hand molding the darkness which he blessed while his
eyes
were raised above where the Great Light had shone down from
heaven.
In the divine solitude he labored, with no voice to cheer,
no
spirit to condemn - alone in the boundless all with the great
chill
of the morning mist upon his brow, but his heart still warm
with
the light of the Master's Word. It
seemed a ho peless task.
No
single pair of hands could mold that darkness; no single heart,
no
matter how true, could be great enough to project pulsing cosmic
love
into the cold mist of oblivion. Though
the darkness settled
ever
closer about him and the misty fingers of negation twined
round
his being, still with divine trust the Builder labored; with
divine
hope he laid his footings, and from the boundless clay he
made
the molds to cast his sacred ornaments. Slowl y the building
grew
and dim forms molded by the Maste r's hand took shape about
him.
Three huge, soulless creatures had the Master fashioned, great
beings
which loomed like grim spectres in the semi-darkness. They
were
three builders he had blessed and now in stately file they
passed
before him, and Hiram held out his arms to his creation,
saying,
"Brothers, I have built you for your works. I have formed
you
to labor with me in the building of the Master's house. You
are
the children of my being; I have labored with yo u, now labor
with
me for the glory of o ur God."
But
the spectres laughed. Turning upon their maker and striking him
with
his own tools given him by God out of heaven, they left their
Grand
Master dying in the midst of his labors, broken and crushed
by
the threefold powers of cosmic night. As
he lay bleeding at the
feet
of his handiwork the martyred Builder raised his eyes to the
seething
clouds, and his face was sweet with divine love and cosmic
understanding
as he prayed unto the Master who had sent him forth:
"O
Master of Workmen, Great Architect of the universe, my labors
are
not finished. Why must they always
remain undone? I have not
completed
the thing for which Thou hast sent me unto being, for my
very
creations have turned against me and the tools Thou gavest me
have
destroyed me. The children that I formed in love, in their
ignorance
have murdered me. Here, Father, is
the Word Thou gavest
me
now red with my own blood. O Master, I return it to Thee for I
have
kept it sacred in my heart. Here
are the too ls, the tracing
board,
and the vessels I have wrought. Around
me stand the ruins
of
my temple which I must leave. Unto
Thee, O God, the divine
Knower
of all things, I return them all, realizing that in Thy good
time
lies the fulfillment of all things. Thou,
O God, knowest our
down-sitting
and our uprising and Thou understandest our thoughts
afar
off. In Thy name, Father, I have labored and in Thy cause I
die,
a faithful builder."
The
Master fell back, his upturned face sweet in the last repose of
death,
and the light rays no longer pouring from him.
The gray
clouds
gathered closer as though to form a winding sheet around the
body
of their murdered Master.
Suddenly
the heavens opened again and a shaft of light bathed the
form
of Hiram in a glory celestial. Again
the Voice spoke from the
heavens
where the Great King sat upon the clouds of creation: "He
is
not dead; he is asleep. Who will
awaken him? His labors are not
done,
and in death he guards the sacred relics more closely than
ever,
for the Word and the tracing board are his - I have given
them
to him. But he must remain asleep
until these three who have
slain
him shall bring him back to life, for ever y wrong must be
righted,
and the slayers of my house, the destroyers of my temple,
must
labor in the place of their Builder until they raise their
Master
from the dead."
The
three murderers fell on their knees and raised their hands to
heaven
as though to ward off the light which had disclosed their
crime:
"O God, great is our sin, for we have slain our Grand
Master,
Hiram Abiff! Just is Thy punishment and as we have slain
him
we now dedicate our lives to his resurrection.
The first was
our
human weakness, the second our sacred duty."
"Be
it so," answered the Voice from Heaven.
The great Light
vanished
and the clouds of darkness and mist concealed the body of
the
murdered Master. It was swallowed
up in the swirling darkness
which
left no mark, no gravestone to mark the place where the
Builder
had lain.
"O
God!" cried the three murderers, "where shall we find our Master
now?"
A
hand reached down again from the Great Unseen and a tiny lamp was
handed
them, whose oil flame burned silently and clearly in the
darkness.
"By this light shall ye seek him whom ye have slain."
The
three forms surrounded the light and bowed in prayer and
thanksgiving
for this solitary gleam which was to light the
darkness
of their way. From somewhere above
in the regions of
not-being
the great Voice spoke, a thundering Voice that filled
Chaos
with its sound: "He cometh forth as a flower and is cut down;
he
teeth also as a shadow and continueth not; as the waters fail
from
the sea and the flood decayeth and drieth up, so man lieth
down
and riseth not again. Yet have I
compassion upon the children
of
my creation; I administer unto them in time of trouble and save
them
with an everlasting salvation. Seek
ye where the broken twig
lies
and the dead stick molds away, where the clouds float together
and
the stones rest by the hillside, for all these mark the grave
of
Hiram who has carried my Will with him to the tomb. This
eternal
quest is yours until ye have found your Builder, until the
cup
giveth up its secret, until the grave givet h up its ghosts.
No
more shall I speak until ye have found and rais ed my beloved
Son,
and have listened to the words of my Messenger and with Him as
your
guide have finished the temple which I shall then inhabit.
Amen."
The
gray dawn still lay asleep in the arms of darkness. Out
through
the great mystery of not-being all was silence, unknowable.
Through
the misty dawn, like strange phantoms of a dream, three
figures
wandered over the great Unknown carrying in their hands a
tiny
light, the lamp given to them by their Builder's Father.
Over
stick
and stone and cloud and star they wandered, eternally in
search
of a silent grave, stopping again and again to explore the
depths
of some mystic recess, praying for liberation fr om their
endless
search; yet bound by their vows to raise the Builder they
had
slain, whose grave was marked by the broken twig, and whose
body
was laid away in the white winding sheet of death somewhere
over
the brow of the eternal hill.
TEMPLE
BUILDERS
You
are the temple builders of the future. With
your hands must be
raised
the domes and spires of a coming civilization.
Upon the
foundation
you have laid, tomorrow shall build a far more noble
edifice.
Builders of the temple of character wherein should dwell
an
enlightened spirit; truers of the rock of relationship; molders
of
those vessels created to contain the oil of life: up, and to the
task
appointed! Never before in the history of men have you had the
opportunity
that now confronts you. The world waits - waits for the
illuminated
one who shall come from between the pillars of the
portico.
Humility, hoodwinked and bound, seeks entrance to the
temple
of wisdom. Fling wide the gate, and
let the worthy enter.
Fling
wide the gate, and let the light that is the life of men
shine
forth. Hasten to complete the
dwelling of the Lord, that the
Spirit
of God may come and dwell among His people, sanctified and
ordained
according to His law.
CHAPTER
I
THE
ETERNAL QUEST
The
average Mason, as well as the modern student of Masonic ideals,
little
realizes the cosmic obligation he takes upon himself when he
begins
his search for the sacred truths of Nature as they are
concealed
in the ancient and modern rituals. He
must not lightly
regard
his vows, and if he would not bring upon himself years and
ages
of suffering he must cease to consider Freemasonry solely as a
social
order only a few centuries old. He
must realize that the
ancient
mystic teachings as perpetuated in the mo dern rites are
sacred,
and that powers unseen and unrecognized mold the destiny of
those
who consciously and of their own free will take upon
themselves
the obligations of the Fraternity.
Freemasonry
is not a material thing: it is a science of the soul;
it
is not a creed or doctrine but a universal expression of the
Divine
Wisdom.* The coming together of medieval guilds or even the
building
of Solomon's temple as it is understood today has little,
if
anything, to do with the true origin of Freemasonry, for Masonry
does
not deal with personalities. In its
highest sense, it is
neither
historical nor archaeological, but is a divine symbolic
language
perpetuating under certain concrete symbols the sacred
mysteries
of the ancients. Only those who see
in it a cosmic
study,
a life work, a divine inspiration to better thinking, better
feeling,
and better living, with the spiritual attainment of
enlightenment
as the end, and with the daily life of the true Mason
as
the means, have gained even the slightest insight into the true
mysteries
of the ancient rites.
The
age of the Masonic school is not to be calculated by hundreds
or
even thousands of years, for it never had any origin in the
worlds
of form. The world as we see it is
merely an experimental
laboratory
in which man is laboring to build and express greater
and
more perfect vehicles. Into this
laboratory pour myriads
*This
term is used as synonymous with a very secret and sacred
philosophy
that has existed for all time, and has been the
inspiration
of the great saints and sages of all ages, i. e., the
perfect
wisdom of God, revealing itself through a secret hierarchy
of
illumined minds.
of
rays descending from the cosmic hierarchies.* These mighty
globes
and orbs which focus their energies upon mankind and mold
its
destiny do so in an orderly manner, each in its own way and
place,
and it is the working of these mystic hierarchies in the
universe
which forms the pattern around which the Masonic school
has
been built, for the true lodge of the Mason is the universe.
Freed
of limitations of creed and sect, he stands a master of all
faiths,
and those who take up the study of Freemasonry witho ut
realizing
the depth, the beauty, and the spiritual power of its
philosophy
can never gain anything of permanence from their
studies.
The age of the Mystery Schools can be traced by the
student
back to the dawn of time, ages and aeons ago, when the
temple
of the Solar Man was in the making. That
was the first
Temple
of the King, and therein were given and laid down the true
mysteries
of the ancient lodge, and it was the gods of creation and
th
e spirits of the dawn who first tiled the Master's lodge.
The
initiated brother realizes that his so called symbols and
rituals
are merely blinds
*The
groups of celestial intelligences governing the creative
processes
in cosmos.
fabricated
by the wise to perpetuate ideas incomprehensible to the
average
individual. He also realizes that
few Masons of today know
or
appreciate the mystic meaning concealed within these rituals.
With
religious faith we perpetuate the form, worshiping it instead
of
the life, but those who have not recognized the truth in the
crystallized
ritual, those who have not liberated the spiritual
germ
from the shell of empty words, are not Masons, regardless of
their
physical degrees and outward honors.
In
the work we are taking up it is not the intention to dwell upon
the
modern concepts of the Craft but to consider Freemasonry as it
really
is to those who know, a great cosmic organism whose true
brothers
and children are tied together not by spoken oaths but by
lives
so lived that they are capable of seeing through the blank
wall
and opening the window which is now concealed by the rubbish
of
materiality. When this is done and
the mysteries of the
universe
unfold before the aspiring candidate, then in t ruth he
discovers
what Freemasonry really is. Its
material aspects
interest
him no longer for he has unmasked the Mystery School which
he
is capable of recognizing only when he himself has spiritually
become
a member of it.
Those
who have examined and studied its ancient lore have no doubt
that
Freemasonry, like the universe itself, which is the greatest
of
all schools, deals with the unfolding of a three-fold principle;
for
all the universe is governed by the same three kings who are
called
the builders of the Masonic temple. They
are not
personalities
but principles, great intelligent energies and powers
which
in God, man, and the universe have charge of the molding of
cosmic
substance into the habitation of the living king , the
temple
built through the ages first of unconscious and then
conscious
effort on the part of every individual who is expressing
in
his daily life the creative principles of these three kings.
The
true brodaer of the ancient Craft realized that the completion
of
the temple he was building to the King of the Universe was a
duty
or rather a privilege which he owed to his God, to his
brother,
and to himself. He knew that
certain steps must be taken
and
that his temple must be built according to the plan. Today it
seems
that the plan is lost, however, for in the majority of cases
Freemasonry
is no longer an operative art but is merely a
speculative
idea until each brother, reading the mystery of hi s
symbols
and pondering over the beautiful allegories unfolded in his
ritual,
realizes that he himself contains the keys and the plans so
long
lost to his Craft and that if he would ever learn Freemasonry
he
must unlock its doors with the key wrought from the base metals
of
his own being.
True
Freemasonry is esoteric; it is not a thing of this world.
All
that
we have here is a link, a doorway, through which the student
may
pass into the unknown. Freemasonry
has nothing to do with
things
of form save that it realizes form is molded by and
manifests
the life it contains. Consequently
the student is
seeking
so to mold his life that the form will glorify the God
whose
temple he is slowly building as he awakens one by one the
workmen
within himself and directs them to carry out the plan that
h
as been given him out of heaven.
So
far as it is possible to discover, ancient Freemasonry and the
beautiful
cosmic allegories that it teaches, perpetuated through
hundreds
of lodges and ancient mysteries, forms the oldest of the
Mystery
Schools;* and its preser-
*
This is a term used by the ancients to designate the esoteric
side
of their religious ceremonials. The
candidate passing through
these
mysteries was initiated into the mysteries of Nature and the
arcane
side of natural law.
vation
through the ages has not depended upon itself as an exoteric
body
of partly evolved individuals but upon a concealed
brotherhood,
the exoteric side of Freemasonry. All the great
mystery,
Schools have hierarchies upon the spiritual planes of
Nature
which are expressing themselves in this world through creeds
and
organizations. The true student
seeks to lift himself from the
exoteric
body upward spiritually until he joins the esoteric group
which,
without a lodge on the physical plane of Nature, is fa r
greater
than all the lodges of which it is the central fire. The
spiritual
instructors of humanity are forced to labor in the
concrete
world with things comprehensible to the concrete mind, and
there
man begins to comprehend the meaning of the allegories and
symbols
which surround his exoteric work as soon as he prepares
himself
to receive them. The true Mason
realizes that the work of
the
Mystery Schools in the world is of an inclusive rathe r than an
exclusive
nature, and that the only lodge which is b road enough to
express
his ideals is one whose dome is the heavens, whose pillars
are
the corners of creation, whose checker-board floor is composed
of
the crossing currents of human emotion and whose altar is the
human
heart. Creeds cannot bind the true
seeker for truth.
Realizing
the unity of all truth, the Mason also realizes that the
hierarchies
laboring with him have given him in his varying degrees
the
mystic spiritual rituals of all the Mystery S chools in the
world,
and if he would fill his place i n the plan he must not
enter
this sacred study for what he can get out of it but that he
may
learn how to serve.
In
Freemasonry is concealed the mystery of creation, the answer to
the
problem of existence, and the path the student must tread in
order
to join those who are really the living powers behind the
thrones
of modern national and international affairs.
The true
student
realizes most of all that the taking of degrees does not
make
a man a Mason. A Mason is not
appointed; he is evolved and he
must
realize that the position he holds in the exoteric lodge means
nothing
compared to his position in the spiritual l odge of life.
He
must forever discard the idea that he can be told or instructed
in
the sacred Mysteries or that his being a member of an
organization
improves him in any way. He must
realize that his
duty
is to build and evolve the sacred teachings in his own being:
that
nothing but his own purified being can unlock the door to the
sealed
libraries of human consciousness, and that his Masonic rites
must
eternally be speculative until he makes them opera tive by
living
the life of the mystic Mason. His
ka rmic responsibilities
increase
with his opportunities. Those who
are surrounded with
knowledge
and opportunity for self-improvement and make nothing of
these
opportunities are the lazy workmen who will be spiritually,
if
not physically, cast out of the temple of the king.
The
Masonic order is not a mere social organization, but is
composed
of all those who have banded themselves together to learn
and
apply the principles of mysticism and the occult rites.
They
are
(or should be) philosophers, sages and sober-minded individuals
who
have dedicated thernselves upon the Masonic altar and vowed by
all
they hold dear that the world shall be better, wiser, and
happier
because they have lived. Those who
enter these mystic
rites
and pass between the pillars seeking either prestige or
commercial
advantage are blasphemers, and while in this world we
may
count them as successful, they are the cosmic failures who have
barred
themselves out from the true rite whose keynote is
unselfishness
and whose workers have renounced the things of earth.
In
ancient times many years of preparation were required before the
neophyte
was permitted to enter the temple of the Mysteries. In
this
way the shallow, the curious, the faint of heart, and those
unable
to withstand the temptations of life were automatically
eliminated
by their inability to meet the requirements for
admission.
The successful candidate wbo did pass between the
pillars
entered the temple, keenly realizing his sublime
opportunity,
his divine obligation, and the mystic privilege which
he
had earned for himself through years of special preparation.
Only
those are truly Masons who enter their temple in reverence,
who
seek not the ephemeral things of life but the treasures which
are
eternal, whose sole desire is to know the true mystery of the
Craft
that they may join as honest workmen those who have gone
before
as builders of the Universal Temple. The
Masonic ritual is
not
a ceremony, but a life to be lived. Those alone are truly
Masons
who, dedicating their lives and their fortunes upo n the a
ltar
of the living flame, undertake the construction of the one
universal
building of which they are the workmen and their God the
living
Architect. When we have Masons like
this the Craft will
again
be operative, the flaming triangle will shine forth with
greater
lustre, the dead builder will rise from his tomb, and the
Lost
Word so long concealed from the profane will blaze forth again
with
the power that makes all things new.
In
the pages that follow have been set down a number of thoughts
for
the study and consideration of temple builders, craftsmen and
artisans
alike. They are the keys which, if
only read, will leave
the
student still in ignorance but, if lived, will change the
speculative
Masonry of today into the operative Masonry of
tomorrow,
when each builder, realizing his own place, will see
things
which he never saw before, not because they were not there
but
because he was blind. And there are
none so blind as those who
will
not see.
THOUGHTLESSNESS
The
noblest tool of the Mason is his mind, but its value is
measured
by the use made of it. Thoughtful in all things, the
aspiring
candidate to divine wisdom attains reality in sincere
desire,
in meditation, and in silence. Let
the keynote of the
Craft,
and of the Ritual, be written in blazing letters: THINK OF
ME.
What is the meaning of this mystic maze of symbols, rites and
rituals?
THINK! What does life mean, with the criss-crossings of
human
relationship, the endless pageantry of qualities masqueradin
g
in a carnival of fools? THINK! What is the plan behind it all,
and
who the planner? Where dwells the Great Architect, and what is
the
tracing board upon which he designs? THINK! What is the human
soul,
and why the endless yearning to ends unknown, along pathways
where
each must wander unaccompanied? Why mind, why soul, why
spirit,
and in truth, why anything? THINK! Is there an answer? If
so,
where will the truth be found? Think, Brothers o f the Craft,
think
deeply; for if truth exists, you have it, and if truth be
within
the reach of living creature, what other goal is worth the
struggle?
CHAPTERII
THE
CANDIDATE
There
comes a time in the growth of every living individual thing
when
it realizes with dawning consciousness that it is a prisoner.
While
apparently free to move and have its being, the struggling
life
cognizes through ever greater vehicles its own limitations.
It
is at this point that man cries out with greater insistence to
be
liberated from the binding ties which, though invisible to
mortal
eyes, still chain him with bonds far more terrible than
those
of any physical prison.
Many
have read the story of the prisoner of Chillon who paced back
and
forth in the narrow confines of his prison cell, while the blue
waters
rolled ceaselessly above his head and the only sound that
broke
the stillness of his eternal night was the constant swishing
and
lapping of the waves. We pity the
prisoner in his physical
tomb
and we are sad at heart, for we know how life loves liberty.
But
there is one prisoner whose plight is far worse than those of
earth.
He has not even the narrow confines of a prison cell around
Him;
He cannot pace ceaselessly to and fro and wear ruts in the
cobblestones
of His dungeon floor. That eternal
Prisoner is Life
incarnate
within the dark stone walls of matter, with not a single
ray
to brighten the blackness of His fate. He
fights eternally,
praying
in the dark confines of gloomy walls for light and
opportunity.
This is the eternal Prisoner who, through the
ceaseless
ages of cosmic unfoldment, through forms unnumbered an d
species
now unknown, strives eternally to libe rate Himself and
gain
self conscious expression, the birthright of every created
thing.
He awaits the day when, standing upon the rocks that now
form
His shapeless tomb, He may raise His arms to heaven, bathed in
the
sunlight of spiritual freedom, free to join the sparkling atoms
and
dancing light-beings released from the bonds of prison wall and
tomb.
Around
Life - that wondrous germ in the heart of every living
thing,
that sacred Prisoner in His gloomy cell, that Master Builder
laid
away in the grave of matter - has been built the wondrous
legend
of the Holy Sepulchre. Under
allegories unnumbered, the
mystic
philosophers of the ages, have perpetuated this wonderful
story,
and among the Craft Masons it forms the mystic ritual of
Hiram,
the Master Builder, murdered in his temple by the very
builders
who should have served him as he labored to perfect the
dwelling
place of his God.
Matter
is the tomb. It is the dead wall of
substance not yet
awakened
into the pulsating energies of Spirit. It
exists in many
degrees
and forms, not only in the chemical elements which form the
solids
of our universe but in finer and more subtle substances.
These,
though expressing through emotion and thought, are still
beings
of the world of form. These
substances form the great cross
of
matter which opposes the growth of all things and by opposition
makes
all growth possible. It is the
great cross o f hydrogen,
nitrogen,
oxygen, and carbon upon which even the life germ in
protoplasm
is crucified and suspended in agony. These
substances
are
incapable of giving it adequate expression.
The Spirit within
cries
out for freedom: freedom to be, to express, to manifest its
true
place in the Great Plan of cosmic unfoldment.
It
is this great yearning within the heart of man which sends him
slowly
onward toward the gate of the Temple; it is this inner urge
for
greater understanding and greater light which brought into
being
through the law of necessity the great cosmic Masonic Lodge
dedicated
to those seeking union with the Powers of Light that
their
prison walls might be removed. This
shell cannot be
discarded:
it must be raised into union with the Life; each dead,
crystallized
atom in the human body tnust be set vibrating and
spinning
to a higher rate of consciousness. Through
purification,
through
knowledge, and through service to his fellow man the
candidate
sequentially unfolds these mystic properties, building
better
and more perfect bodies through which his higher life
secures
even greater manifestation. The
expression of man through
constructive
thought, emotion, and action liberates the higher
nature
from bodies which in their crystallized states are incapa
ble
of giving him his natural opportunities.
In
Freemasonry this crystallized substance of matter is called the
grave
and represents the Holy Sepulchre. This
is the grave within
which
the lost Builder lies and with Him are the plans of the
Temple
and the Master's Word, and it is this builder, our Grand
Master,
whom we must seek and raise from the dead.
This noble Son
of
Light cries out to us in every expression of matter. Every
stick
and stone marks His resting place, and the sprig of acacia
promises
that through the long winter of spiritual darkne ss when
the
sun does not shine for man, this Light still awaits the day of
liberation
when each one of us shall raise Him by the grip of the
Grand
Master, the true grip of a Master Mason. We
cannot hear this
Voice
that calls eternally, but we feel its inner urge. A great
unknown
something pulls at our heartstrings. As
the ages roll by,
the
deep desire to be greater, to live better, and to think God's
thoughts,
builds within ourselves the qualifica tions of a
candidate
who, when asked why he takes the path , would truly
answer
if he knew mentally the things he feels: "I hear a voice
that
cries out to me from flora and fauna, from the stones, from
the
clouds, from the very heaven itself. Each
fiery atom spinning
and
twisting in Cosmos cries out to me with the voice of my Master.
I
can hear Hiram Abiff, my Grand Master, crying out in his agony,
the
agony of life hidden within the darkness of its prison walls,
seeking
for the expression which I have denied it, lab oring, to
bring
closer the day of its liberation , and I have learned to know
that
I am responsible for those walls. My
daily actions are the
things
which as ruffians and traitors are murdering my God."
There
are many legends of the Holy Sepulchre which for so many
centuries
had been in the hands of the infidel and which the
Christian
worlds sought to retake in the days of the Crusades. Few
Masons
realize that this Holy Sepulchre, or tomb, is in reality
negation
and crystallization - matter that has sealed within itself
the
Spirit of Life which must remain in darkness until the growth
of
each individual being gives it walls of glowing gold and changes
its
stones into windows. As we develop
better and bet ter vehicles
of
expression, these walls slowly expand until at last Spirit rises
triumphant
from its tomb and, blessing the very walls that confined
it,
raises them to union with itself.
We
may first consider the murderers of Hiram.
These three
ruffians,
who, when the Builder seeks to leave his temple, strike
him
with the tools of his own Craft until finally they slay him and
bring
the temple down in destruction upon their own heads,
symbolize
the three expressions of our own lower natures which are
in
truth the murderers of the good within ourselves. These three
may
be called thought, desire, and action. When
purified and
transmuted
they are three glorious avenues through which may mani
fest
the great life power of the three kings, the glowing builders
of
the Cosmic Lodge manifesting in this world as spiritual thought,
constructive
emotion, and useful daily labor in the various places
and
positions where we find ourselves while carrying on the
Master's
work. These three form the Flaming
Triangle which
glorifies
every living Mason, but when crystallized and perverted
they
form a triangular prison through which the light cann ot shine
and
the Life is forced to languish in the dim darkness of despair,
until
man himself through his higher understanding liberates the
energies
and powers which are indeed the builders and glorifiers of
his
Father's House.
Now
let us consider how these three fiery kings of the dawn became,
through
perversion of their manifestation by man, the ruffians who
murdered
Hiram - the energizing powers of cosmos which course
through
the blood of every living being, seeking to beautify and
perfect
the temple they would build according to the plan laid down
on
the tracing board by the Master Architect of the universe.
First
in the mind is one of the three kings, or rather we shall say
a
channel through which he manifests; for King Solo mon is the
power
of mind which, perverted, becomes a destroyer who tears down
with
the very powers which nourish and build. The
right
application
of thought, when seeking the answer to the cosmic
problem
of destiny, liberates man's spirit which soars above the
concrete
through that wonderful power of mind, with its dreams and
its
ideals.
When
man's thoughts rise upon the wings of aspiration, when he
pushes
back the darkness with the strength of reason and logic,
then
indeed the builder is liberated from his dungeon and the light
pours
in, bathing him with life and power. This
light enables us
to
seek more clearly the mystery of creation and to find with
greater
certainty our place in the Great Plan, for as man unfolds
his
bodies he gains talents with which he can explore the mysteries
of
Nature and search for the hidden workings of the Div ine.
Through
these powers the Builder is liberated and his consciousness
goes
forth conquering and to conquer. These
higher ideals, these
spiritual
concepts, these altruistic, philanthropic, educative
applications
of thought power glorify the Builder; for they give
the
power of expression and those who can express themselves are
free.
When man can mold his thoughts, his emotions, and his actions
into
faithful expressions of his highest ideals then li berty is
his,
for ignorance is the darkness of Chaos and knowledge is the
light
of Cosmos.
In
spite of the fact that many of us live apparently to gratify the
desires
of the body and as servants of the lower nature, still
there
is within each of us a power which may remain latent for a
great
length of time. This power lives
eternities perhaps, and yet
at
some time during our growth there comes a great yearning for
freedom,
when, having discovered that the pleasures of sense
gratification
are eternally elusive and unsatisfying, we make an
examination
of ourselves and begin to realize that there a re
greater
reasons for our being. It is
sometimes reason, sometimes
suffering,
sometimes a great desire to be helpful, that brings out
the
first latent powers which show that one long wandering in the
darkness
is about to take the path that leads to Light.
Having
lived
life in all its experiences, he has learned to realize that
all
the manifestations of being, all the various experiences
through
which he passes, are steps leading in one direction; that,
consciously
or unconsciously, all souls are being le d to the
portico
of the temple where for the first time they see and realize
the
glory of Divinity. It is then that
they understand the age-old
allegory
of the martyred Builder and feel his power within
themselves
crying out from the prison of materiality.
Nothing else
seems
worth while; and, regardless of cost, suffering, or the
taunts
of the world, the candidate slowly ascends the steps that
lead
to the temple eternal. The reason
that governs Cosmos he does
not
know, the laws which mold his being he do es not realize, but
he
does know that somewhere behind the veil of human ignorance
there
is an eternal light toward which step by step he must labor.
With
his eyes fixed on the heavens above and his hands clasped in
prayer
he passes slowly as a candidate up the steps.
In fear and
trembling,
yet with a divine realization of good, he raps on the
door
and awaits in silence the answer from within.
CHAPTER
III
THE
ENTERED APPRENTICE There are three grand steps in the
unfoldment
of the human soul before it completes the dwelling place
of
the spirit. These have been caged
respectively youth, manhood,
and
old age; or, as the Mason would say, the Entered Apprentice,
the
Fellow Craft, and the Master Builder. All
life passes through
these
three grand stages of human consciousness.
They can be
listed
as the man on the outside looking in, the man going in, and
the
man inside. The path of human life
is governed as all things
are
by the laws of analogy, and as at birth we start our
pilgrimmage
through youth, manhood, and old age, so the spiritual
consciousness
of man in his cosmic path of unfoldment passes from
unconsciousness
to perfect consciousness in the Grand Lodge of the
universe.
Before the initiation of the Entered Apprentice degree
can
be properly understood and appreciated, certain requirements
must
be considered, not merely those of the physical world but also
those
of the spiritual world.
The
Mason must realize that his true initiation is a spiritual and
not
a physical ritual, and that his initiation into the living
temple
of the spiritual hierarchy regulating Freemasonry may not
occur
until years after he has taken the physical degree, or
spiritually
he may be a Grand Master before he comes into the
world.
There are probably few instances in the history of
Freemasonry
where the spiritual ordination of the aspiring seeker
took
place at the same time as the physical initiation, because the
t
rue initiation depends upon the cultivation of certain soul
qualities
- an individual and personal matter which is left
entirely
to the volition of the mystic Mason and which he must
carry
out in silence and alone.
The
court of the tabernacle of the ancient Jews was divided into
three
parts: the outer court, the holy place, and the most Holy of
Holies.
These three divisions represent the three grand divisions
of
human consciousness. The degree of
Entered Apprentice is
acquired
when the student signifies his intention to take the rough
ashlar
which he cuts from the quarry and prepares for the truing of
the
Fellow Craft.
In
other words, the first degree is really one of preparation; it
is
a material step dealing with material things, for all spiritual
life
must be raised upon a material foundation.
Seven
is the number of the Entered Apprentice as it relates to the
seven
liberal arts and sciences, and these are the powers with
which
the Entered Apprentice must labor before he is worthy to go
onward
into the more elevated and advanced degrees.
They are much
mistaken
who believe that they can reach the spiritual planes of
Nature
without first passing through and molding matter into the
expression
of spiritual power; for the first stage in the growth of
a
Master Mason is mastery of the concrete condition s of life and
the
developments of sense centers which will later become channels
for
the expression of spiritual truths.
All
growth is a gradual procedure carried on in an orderly,
masterly
way, as exemplified by the opening and closing of a lodge.
The
universe is divided into planes and these planes are divided
from
each other by the rates of vibration which pass through them.
As
the spiritual consciousness progresses through the chain, the
lower
lose connection with it when it has raised itself above their
level,
until finally only the Grand Masters are capable of
remaining
in session, and unknown even to the Master Mason it
finally
passes back again to the spiritual hierarchy from which it
came.
Action
is the keynote of the Entered Apprentice lodge. All growth
is
the result of exercise and the intensifying of vibratory rates.
It
is through exercise that the muscles of the human body are
strengthened;
it is through the seven liberal arts and sciences
that
the human mind receives certain impulses which, in turn,
stimulate
internal centers of consciousness. These
centers of
consciousness,
through still greater development, will later give
fuller
expression to these inner powers; but the Entered Appr
entice
has for his first duty the awakening of these powers, and,
like
the youth of whom he is a symbol, his ideals and labors must
be
tied closely to concrete things. For
him both points of the
compasses
are under the square; for him the reasons which manifest
through
the heart and mind - the two polarities of expression are
darkened
and concealed beneath the square which measures the block
of
bodies. He knows not the reason
why; his work is t o follow the
directions
of those whose knowledge is greater th an his own; but
as
the result of the application of energies, through action and
reaction
he slowly builds and evolves the powers of discrimination
and
the strength of character which mark the Fellow Craft degree.
It
is obvious that the rough ashlar symbolizes the body. It also
represents
cosmic root substance which is taken out of the quarry
of
the universe by the first expressions of intelligence and molded
by
them into ever finer and more perfect lines until finally it
becomes
the perfect stone for the Builder's temple.
How
can emotion manifest save through form? How can mind manifest
until
the intricately evolved brain cells of matter have raised
their
organic quality to form the ground-work upon which other
things
may be based? All students of human mature realize that
every
expression of man depends upon organic quality; that in every
living
thing this differs; and that the fineness of this matter is
the
certain indication of growth - mental, physical or spiritual.
True
to the doctrines of his Craft, the Entered Apprentice must
beautify
his temple. He must build within himself by his actions,
by
the power of his hand and the tools of his Craft, certain
qualities
which make possible his initiation into the higher
degrees
of the spiritual lodge.
We
know that the cube block is symbolic of the tomb.
It is also
well
known that the Entered Apprentice is incapable of rolling away
the
stone or of transmuting it into a greater or higher thing; but
it
is his privilege to purify and glorify that stone and begin the
great
work of preparing it for the temple of his King.
Few
realize that since the universe is made up of individuals in
various
stages of development, responsibility is consequently
individual,
and everything which man wishes to gain he must himself
build
and maintain. If he is to use his
finer bodies for the
purpose
for which they were intended, he must treat them well, that
they
may be good and faithful servants in the great work he is
preparing
for.
The
quarries represent the limitless powers of natural resources.
They
are symbolic of the practically endless field of human
opportunity;
they symbolize the cosmic substances from which man
must
gather the stones for his temple. At
this stage in his
growth,
the Entered Apprentice is privileged to gather the stones
which
he wishes to true during his progress through the lodge, for
at
this point he symbolizes the youth who is choosing his life
work.
He represents the human ego who in the dawn of time gath
ered
many blocks and cubes and broken stones from the Great Quarry.
These
rough and broken stones that as yet will not fit into
anything
are the partially evolved powers and senses with which he
labors.
In the first state he must gather these materials, and
those
who have not gathered them can never true them. During the
involuntary
period of human consciousness, the Entered Apprentice
in
the Great Lodge was man, who labored with these rough blocks,
seeking
the tools and the power with which to true them . As he
evolves
down through the ages, he gains the tools and cosmically
passes
on to the degree of Fellow Craft where he trues his ashlar
in
harmony with the plans upon the Master's tracing board.
This
rough,
uncut ashlar has three dimensions, representative of the
three
ruffians who at this stage are destroyers of the fourth
dimensional
life concealed within the ugly, ill-shaped stone.
The
lost key of the Entered Apprentice is service.
Why, he may not
ask;
when, he does not know. His work is
to do, to act, to express
himself
in some way - constructively if possible, but destructively
rather
than not at all. Without action, he
loses his great work;
without
tools, which symbolize the body, he cannot act in an
organized
manner. Consequently, it is
necessary to master the arts
and
sciences which place in his hands intelligent tools for the
expression
of energy. Beauty is the keynote to
h is ideal. With
his
concrete ideals he must beautify all with which he comes in
contact,
so that the works of his hand may be acceptable in the
eyes
of the Great Architect of the Universe.
His
daily life, in home, business, and society, together with the
realization
of the fundamental unity of each with all, form the
base
upon which the aspiring candidate may raise a greater
superstructure.
In truth he must live the life, the result of
which
is the purification of his body, so that the more attenuated
forces
of the higher degrees may express themselves through the
finer
sensitivity of the receiving pole within himself. When he
reaches
this stage in his growth, he is spiritually worthy to co
nsider
advancement into a higher degree. This
advancement is not
the
result of election or ballot, but is an automatic process in
which,
having sensitized his consciousness by his life, he thereby
attunes
himself to the next succeeding plane of expression. All
initiation
is the result of adjustments of the evolving life to the
physical,
emotional, and mental planes of consciousness through
which
it passes.
We
may now consider the spiritual requirements of one who feels
that
he would mystically correlate himself with that great
spiritual
fraternity which, concealed behind the exoteric rite,
forms
the living power of the Entered Apprentice lodge:
1.
It is essential that the Entered Apprentice should have studied
sufficiently
the subject of anatomy to have at least a general idea
of
the physical body, for the entire degree is based upon the
mystery
of form. The human body is the
highest manifestation of
form
which he is capable of analyzing. Consequently,
he must
devote
himself to the study of his own being and its mysteries and
complexities.
2.
The Entered Apprentice must realize that his body is the living
temple
of the living God and treat it accordingly; for when he
abuses
or mistreats it he breaks the sacred obligations which he
must
assume before he can ever hope to understand the true
mysteries
of the Craft. The breaking of his
pact with the higher
Life
evolving within himself unfailingly invokes the retributive
agencies
of Nature.
3.
He must study the problem of the maintenance of bodies through
food,
clothing, breathing, and other necessities, as all of these
are
important steps in the Entered Apprentice lodge. Those who eat
immoderately,
dress improperly, and use only about one-third of
their
lung capacity can never have the physical efficiency
necessary
for the fullest expression of the higher Life.
4.
He must grow physically and in the expression of concrete
things.
Human relationships must be idealized at this time, and he
must
seek to unfold all unselfish qualities which are necessary for
the
harmonious working of the Mason and his fellow men on the
physical
plane of Nature.
5.
He must seek to round off all inequalities.
He can best do this
by
balancing his mental and physical organisms through the
application
and study of the seven liberal arts and sciences.
Until
he is relatively master of these principles on the highest
plane
within his own being, he cannot hope spiritually to attract
to
himself, through the qualities of his own character, the
life-giving
ray of the Fellow Craft. When he
reaches this point,
however,
he is spiritually ready to hope for membership in a more
advanced
degree.
The
Mason must realize that his innermost motives are the index of
his
real self, and those who allow social position, financial or
business
considerations or selfish and materialistic ideals, to
lead
them into the Masonic Brotherhood have thereby automatically
separated
themselves from the Craft. They can
never do any harm to
Freemasonry
by joining because they cannot get in. Ensconced within
the
lodge, they may feel that they have deceived the Grand Master
of
the Universe, but when the spiritual lodge me ets to carry on
the
true work of the Craft, they are disqualified and absent.
Watch
fobs, lapel badges, and other insignia do not make Masons;
neither
does the ritual ordain them. Masons
are evolved through
the
self-conscious effort to live up to the highest ideals within
themselves;
their lives are the sole insignia of their rank,
greater
by far than any visible, tangible credential.
Bearingy
this in mind, it is possible for the unselfish, aspiring
soul
to become spiritually and liberally vouched for by the centers
of
consciousness as an Entered Apprentice. It
means he has taken
the
first grand step on the path of personal liberation. He is now
symbolized
as the child with the smiling face, for with the
simplicity
of a child he places himself under the protection of his
great
spiritual Father, willing and glad to obey each of His
commands.
Having reached this point and having done th e best it
was
possible for him to do, he is in position to hope that the
powers
that be, moving in their mysterious manner, may find him
worthy
to undertake the second great step in spiritual liberation.
CHAPTER
IV THE FELLOW CRAFT
Life
manifests not only through action on the physical plane, but
through
human emotion and sentiment. This
is the type of energy
taken
up by the student when he starts his labors in the Fellow
Craft.
From youth with its smiling face, he passes on to the
greater
responsibilities of manhood.
On
the second step of the temple stands a soldier dressed in
shining
armor, but his sword is sheathed and a book is in his hand.
He
is symbolic of strength, the energy of Mars, and the wonderful
step
in spiritual unfoldment which we know as Fellow Craft.
Through
each one of us course the fiery rays of human emotion, a
great
seething cauldron of power behind each expression of human
energy.
Like spirited horses chafing at the bit, like hounds eager
for
the chase, the emotional powers cannot be held in che ck, but
break
the walls of restraint and pour forth as fiery expressions of
dynamic
energy. This great principle of emotion we know as the
second
murderer of Hiram. Through the
perversion of human emotions
there
comes into the world untold sorrow, which through reaction,
manifests
in the mental and physical bodies.
It
is strange how divine powers may become perverted until each
expression
and urge becomes a ruffian and a murderer.
The divine
compassion
of the gods manifests in this world of form very
differently
than in the realms of light. Divine
compassion is
emergized
by the same influxes as mortal passions and the lusts of
earth.
The spiritual light rays of Cosmos - the Fire Princes of
the
Dawn - which seethe and surge through the unregenerate man, are
the
impulses which he perverts to murder and hate.
The cea seless
power
of Chaos, the seething pinwheel spiralds of perpetual motion,
whose
majestic cadences are the music of the spheres, are energized
by
the same great power that man uses to destroy the highest and
best.
The same mystic power that keeps the planets in their orbits
around
the solar body, the same energy that keeps each electron
spinning
and whirling, the same energy that is building the temple
of
God, is now a merciless slave-driver which , unmastered and
uncurbed,
strikes the Compassionate One and sends him reeling
backward
into the darkness of his prison. Man
does not listen to
that
little voice which speaks to him in ever loving, ever
sorrowful
tones. This voice speaks of the
peace accompanying the
constructive
application of energy which he must chain if he would
master
the powers of creation. How long
will it take King Hiram of
Tyre,
the warrior on the second step, symbolic of the Fellow Craft
of
the Cosmic Lodge, to teach mankind the lessons of sel f-mastery?
The
teacher can do it only as he daily depicts the miseries which
are
the resilt of uncurbed appetites. The
strength of man was not
given
to be used destructively but that he might build a temple
worthy
to be the dwelling place of the Great Architect of the
universe.
God is glorifying himself through the individualized
portions
of himself, and is slowly teaching these individualized
portions
to understand and glorify the whole.
The
day has come when Fellow Craftsmen must know and apply their
knowledge.
The lost key to their grade is the mastery of emotion,
which
places the energy of the universe at their disposal. Man can
only
expect to be entrusted with great power by proving his ability
to
use it constructively and selflessly. When
the Mason learns
that
the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application
of
the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his
Craft.
The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and
before
he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to
properly
apply energy. He must follow in the
footsteps of his
forefather,
Tubal-Cain, who with the mighty strength of the war god
hammered
his sword into a plowshare. Incessant
vigilance over
thought,
action, and desire is indispensable to those who wish to
make
progress in the unfolding of their own being, and the Fellow
Craft's
degree is the degree of transmutation. The
hand that slays
must
lift the fallen, while the lips given to cursing must be
taught
to pray. The heart that hates must
learn the mystery of
compassion,
as the result of a deeper and more perfect
understanding
of man's relation to his brother. The
firm, kind
hand
of spirit must curb the flaming powers of emotion with an iron
grip.
In the realization and application of these principles lies
the
key of the Fellow Craft.
In
this degree, the two points of the compass (one higher than the
other),
symbolize the heart and mind, and with the expression of
the
higher emotions the heart point of the compass is liberated
from
the square, which is an instrument used to measure the block
of
matter and therefore symbolizes form.
A
large percentage of the people of the world at the present time
are
passing through, spiritually, the degree of the Fellow Craft,
with
its five senses. The sense
perceptions come under the control
of
the emotional energies, therefore the development of the senses
is
necessary to the constructive expression of the Fellow Craft
power.
Man must realize that all the powers which his many years
of
need have earned for him have come in order that through them he
may
liberate more fully the prisoner within his own being.
As the
Fellow
Craft degree is the middle of the three, the spiritual duty
of
each member is to reach the point of poise or balance, which is
always
secured between extremes. The
mastery of expression is also
to
be found in this degree. The
keywords of the Fellow Craft may
be
briefly defined as compassion, poise, and transmutation.
In
the Fellow Craft degree is concealed the dynamo of human life.
The
Fellow Craft is the worker with elemental fire, which it is his
duty
to transmute into spiritual light. The
heart is the center of
his
activity and it is while in this degree that the human side of
the
nature with its constructive emotions should be brought out and
emphasized.
But all of these expressions of the human heart must
become
transmuted into the emotionless compassion of the gods, who
despite
the suffering of the moment, gaze down upon mankind and see
that
it is good.
When
the candidate feels that he has reached a point where he is
able
to manifest every energizing current and fire-flame in a
constructive,
balanced manner and has spiritually lifted the heart
sentiments
of the mystic out of the cube of matter, he may then
expect
that the degree of Master Mason is not far off, and so may
look
forward eagerly to the time of his spiritual ordination into
the
higher degree. He should now study
himself and realize that he
cannot
receive promotion into the spiritual lodge unti l his heart
is
attuned to a superior, spiritual influx from the causal planes
of
consciousness.
The
following requirements are necessary before the student can
spiritually
say that he is a member of the ancient and accepted
rite
of the Fellow Craft:
1.
The mastery of emotional outbreaks of all kinds, poise under
trying
conditions, kindness in the face of unkindness, and
simplicity
with its accompanying power. These
points show that the
seeker
is worthy of being taught by a Fellow Craftsman.
2.
The mastery of the animal energies, the curbing of passion and
desire,
and the control of the lower nature mark the faithful
attempts
on the part of the student to be worthy of the Fellow
Craft.
3.
The understanding and mastery of the creative forces, the
consecration
of them to the unfolding of the spiritual nature, and
a
proper understanding of their physical application, are necessary
steps
at this stage of the student's growth.
4.
The transmutation of personal affection into impersonal
compassion
shows that the Fellow Craftsman truly understands his
duties
and is living in a manner worthy of his order.
Personalities
cannot bind the true second degree member, for having
raised
one point of the compasses he now realizes that all personal
manifestations
are governed by impersonal principles.
5.
At this point the candidate consecrates the five senses to the
study
of human problems with the unfolding of sense centers as the
motive;
for he realizes that the five senses are keys, the proper
application
of which will give him material for spiritual
transmutation
if he will apply to them the common divisor of
analogy.
The
Entered Apprentice may be termed a materialistic degree.
The
Fellow
Craft is religious and mystical, while the Master Mason is
occult
or philosophical. Each of these is
a degree in the
unfoldment
of a connected life and intelligence, revealing in ever
fuller
expression the gradual liberation of the Master from the
trianglar
cell of threefold negation which marks the early stage of
individualization.
CHAPTER
V THE MASTER MASON
On
the upper steps of spiritual unfoldment stands the Master Mason,
who
spiritually represents the graduate from the school of esoteric
learning.
In the ancient symbols he is represented as an old man
leaning
upon a staff, his long white beard upon his chest, and his
deep,
piercing eyes sheltered by the brows of a philosopher.
He is
in
truth old, not in years, but in wisdom and understanding, which
are
the only true measurement of age. Through
years and lives of
labor
he has found the staff of life and tr uth upon which he
leans.
He no longer depends upon the words of others but upon the
still
voice that speaks from the heart of his own being. There is
no
more glorious position that a man may hold than that of a Master
Builder,
who has risen by labor through the degrees of human
consciousness.
Time is the differentiation of eternity devised by
man
to measure the passage of human events. On
the spiritual
planes
of Nature it is the space or distance between the s tages of
spiritual
growth and hence is not m easurable by material means.
Many
a child comes into this world a Grand Master of the Masonic
School,
while many a revered and honored brother passes silently to
rest
without having gained admittance to its gate.
The Master
Mason
is one whose life is full, pressed down and brimming over
with
the experience he has gained in his slow pilgrimage up the
winding
stairs.
The
Master Mason embodies the power of the human mind, that
connecting
link which binds heaven and earth together in an endless
chain.
His spiritual light is greater because he has evolved a
higher
vehicle for its expression. Above
even constructive action
and
emotion soars the power of thought which swiftly flies on wings
to
the source of Light. The mind is
the highest form of his human
expression
and he passes into the great darkness of the inner room
illuminated
only by the fruits of reason. The
glor ious privileges
of
a Master Mason are in keeping with his greater knowledge and
wisdom.
From the student he has blossomed forth as the teacher;
from
the kingdom of those who follow he has joined that little
group
who must always lead the way. For
him the Heavens have
opened
and the Great Light has bathed him in its radiance. The
Prodigal
Son, so long a wanderer in the regions of darkness, has
returned
again to his Father's house. The
voice speaks from the
Heavens,
its power thrilling the Master until hi s own being seems
filled
with its divinity, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom
I
am well pleased." The ancients taught that the sun was not a
source
of light, life, or power, but a medium through which life
and
light were reflected into physical substance.
The Master Mason
is
in truth a sun, a great reflector of light, who radiates through
his
organism, purified by ages of preparation, the glorious power
which
is the light of the Lodge. He, in
truth, has become the
spokesman
of the Most High. He st ands
between the glowing fire
light
and the world. Through him passes
Hydra, the great snake,
and
from its month there pours to man the light of God. His symbol
is
the rising sun, for in him the globe of day has indeed risen in
all
its splendor from the darkness of the night, illuminating the
immortal
East with the first promise of approaching day.
With
a sigh the Master lays aside his tools. For
him the temple is
nearing
completion, the last stones are being placed, and he slakes
his
lime with a vague regret as he sees dome and minaret rise
through
the power of his handiwork. The
true Master does not long
for
rest, and as he sees the days of his labor close, a sadness
weighs
upon his heart. Slowly the brothers
of his Craft leave him,
each
going his respective way; and, climbing step by step, the
Master
stands alone on the pinnacle of the temple. One stone must
yet
be placed, but this he cannot find. Somewhere
it lies
concealed.
In prayer he kneels, asking the powers that be to aid
him
in his search. The light of the sun
shines upon him and bathes
him
in a splendor celestial. Suddenly a
voice speaks from the
Heavens,
saying, "The temple is finished and in my faithful Master
is
found the missing stone."
Both
points of the compasses are now lifted from under the square.
The
divine is liberated from its cube; heart and mind alike are
liberated
from the symbol of mortality, and as emotion and thought
they
unite for the glorification of the greatest and the highest.
Then
the Sun and Moon are united and the Hermetic Degree is
consummated.
The
Master Mason is afforded opportunities far beyond the reach of
ordinary
man, but he must not fail to realize that with every
opportunity
comes a cosmic responsibility. It
is worse by far to
know
and not to do than never to have known at all.
He realizes
that
the choice of avoiding responsibility is no longer his and
that
for him all problems must be met and solved.
The only joy in
the
heart of the Master is the joy of seeing the fruits of his
handiwork.
It can be truly said of the Master that throug h
suffering
he has learned to be glad, through weeping he has learned
to
smile, and through dying he has learned to live. The
purification
and probationship of his previous degrees have so
spiritualized
his being that he is in truth a glorious example of
God's
Plan for His children. The greatest
sermon he can preach,
the
greatest lesson he can teach, is that of standing forth a
living
proof of the Eternal Plan. The
Master Mason is not
ordained:
h e is the natural product of cause and effect, and none
but
those who live the cause can produce the effect. The Master
Mason,
if he be truly a Master, is in communication with the unseen
powers
that move the destinies of life. As
the Eldest Brother of
the
lodge, he is the spokesman for the spiritual hierarchies of his
Craft.
He no longer follows the direction of others, but on his
own
tracing board he lays out the plans which his brothers are to
follow.
He realizes this, and so lives that every line and plan
which
he gives out is inspired by the divine with in h imself.
His
glorious
opportunity to be a factor in the growth of others comes
before
all else. At the seat of mercy he
kneels, a faithful
servant
of the Highest within himself and worthy to be given
control
over the lives of others by having first controlled
himself.
Much
is said concerning the loss of the Master's Word and how the
seekers
go out to find it but bring back only substitutes. The
true
Master knows that those who go out can never find the secret
trust.
He alone can find it who goes within.
The true Master
Builder
has never lost the Word but has cherished it in the
spiritual
locket of his own being. From those
who have the eyes to
see,
nothing is concealed; to those who have the right to know, all
things
are open books. The true Word of
the three Grand Masters
has
never been concealed from those who have the right to know it
nor
has it ever been revealed to those who have not prepared a
worthy
shrine to contain it. The Master
knows, for he is a Temple
Builder.
Within the setting of his own bodies, the Philosopher's
Stone
is placed; for in truth it is the heart of the Phoenix, that
strange
bird which rises with renewed youth from the ashes of its
burned
body. When the Master's heart is as
pure and white as the
diamond
that he wears, he will then become a living stone-the crown
jewel
in the diadem of his Craft.
The
Word is found when the Master himself is ordained by the living
hand
of God, cleansed by living water, baptized by living fire, a
Priest-King
after the Order of Melchizedek, who is above the law.
The
geat work of the Master Mason can be called the art of balance.
To
him is given the work of balancing the triangle that it may
blaze
forth with the glory of the Divine Degree.
The triple
energies
of thought, desire, and action must be united in a
harmonious
blending of expression. He holds in
his hands the
triple
keys; he wears the triple crown of the ancient Magus, for he
is
in truth the King of heaven, earth, and hell.
Salt, sulphur,
and
mercury are the elements of his work and with the philosophi
cal
mercury he seeks to blend all powers to the glorifying of one
end.
Behind
the degree of Master Mason, there is another not known to
earth.
Far above him stretch other steps concealed by the blue
veil
which divides the seen from the unseen. The
true Brother
knows
this, therefore he works with an end in view far above the
concept
of mortal mind. He seeks to be
worthy to pass behind that
veil
and join that band who, unhonored and unsung, carry the
responsibilities
of human growth. His eyes are fixed
forever on
the
Seven Stars which shine down from somewhere above the uppe r
rung
of the ladder. With hope, faith,
and charity he climbs the
steps,
and whispering the Master's Word to the Keeper of the Gates,
passes
on behind the veil. It is then, and
then only, that a true
Mason
is born. Only behind this veil does
the mystic student come
into
his own. The things which we see
around us are but
forms-promises
of a thing unnamed, symbols of a truth unknown. It
is
in the spiritual temple built without the voice of wo rkmen or
the
sound of hammer that the true initiation is given, and there,
robed
in the simple lambskin of a purified body, the student
becomes
a Master Mason, chosen out of the world to be an active
worker
in the name of the Great Architect. It
is there alone,
unseen
by mortal eyes, that the Greater Degrees are given and there
the
soul radiating the light of Spirit becomes a living; star in
the
blue canopy of the Masonic lodge.
TRANSMUTATION
Masonry
is eternal truth, personified, idealized, and yet made
simple.
Eternal truth alone can serve it. Virtue
is its priest,
patience
its warden, illumination its master. The world cannot know
this,
however, save when Masons in their daily life prove that it
is
so. Its truth is divine, and is not to be desecrated or defamed
by
the thoughtlessness of its keepers. Its temple is a holy place,
to
be entered in reverence. Material thoughts and material
dissensions
must be left without its gate. They
may not enter.
Only
the pure of heart, regenerated and transmuted, may pass the
sanctity
of its veil. The schemer has no
place in its ranks, nor
the
materialist in its shrine; for Masons walk on hallowed ground,
sanctified
by the veneration of ages. Let the
tongue be stilled,
let
the heart be stilled, let the mind be stilled.
In reverence
and
in the silence, stillness shall speak: the voice of stillness
is
the voice of the Creator. Show your
light and yo ur power to
men,
but before God what have you to offe r, save in humility? Your
robes,
your tinsel, and your jewels mean naught to Him, until your
own
body and soul, gleaming with the radiance of perfection, become
the
living ornaments of your Lodge.
THE
PRESENCE OF THE MASTER
The
Mason believes in the Great Architect, the living keystone of
creation's
plan, the Master of all Lodges, without whose spirit
there
is no work. Let him never forget
that the Master is near.
Day
and night let him feet the presence of the Supreme or
Overshadowing
One. The All-Seeing Eye is upon
him. Day and night
this
great Orb measures his depths, seeing into his innermost soul
of
souls, judging his life, reading his thoughts, measuring his
aspirations,
and rewarding his sincerity. To
this All-Seein g One
he
is accountable; to none other must he account.
This Spirit
passes
with him out of the Lodge and measures the Mason in the
world.
This Spirit is with him when he buys and sells. It is with
him
in his home. By the light of day
and by the darkness of night
it
judges him. It hears each thoughtless word. It is the silent
witness
to every transaction of life, the silent Partner of every
man.
By the jury of his acts, each man is judged. Let e very Mason
know
that his obligations include not only those w ithin the narrow
Lodge,
bordered by walls of stone and brick, but those in the Great
Lodge,
walled only by the dome of heaven. The
Valley of
Jehoshaphat
waits for him who is false to any creature, as surely
as
it waited for the breakers of the Cosmic oath.
CHAPTER
VI
THE
QUALIFICATIONS OF A TRUE MASON
Every
true Mason has come into the realization that there is but
one
Lodge - that is, the Universe - and but one Brotherhood,
composed
of everything that moves or exists in any of the planes of
Nature.
He realizes that the Temple of Solomon is really the
Temple
of the Solar Man -Sol-Om-On - the King of the Universe
manifesting
through his three primordial builders. He
realizes
that
his vow of brotherhood and fraternity is universal, and that
mineral,
plant, animal, and man are all included in the true Mas
onic
Craft. His duty as an elder brother to all the kingdoms of
Nature
beneath him is well understood by the true Craftsman, who
would
rather die than fail in this, his great obligation. He has
dedicated
his life upon the altar of his God and is willing and
glad
to serve the lesser through the powers he has gained from the
greater.
The mystic Mason, in building the eyes that see behind the
apparent
ritual, recognizes the oneness of life manif esting
through
the diversity of form.
The
true disciple of ancient Masonry has given up forever the
worship
of personalities. With his greater
insight, he realizes
that
all forms and their position in material affairs are of no
importance
to him compared to the life which is evolving within.
Those
who allow appearances or worldly expressions to deter them
from
their self-appointed tasks are failures in Masonry, for
Masonry
is an abstract science of spiritual unfoldment. Material
prosperity
is not the measure of soul growth. The
true Mason r
ealizes
that behind these diverse forms there is one connected Life
Principle,
the spark of God in all living things. It
is this Life
which
he considers when measuring the worth of a brother. It is to
this
Life that he appeals for a recognition of spiritual Unity.
He
realizes
that it is the discovery of this spark of Unity which
makes
him a conscious member of the Cosmic Lodge.
Most of all, he
must
learn to understand that this divine spark shines out as
brightly
from the body of a foe as it does from t he dearest
friend.
The true Mason has learned to be divinely impersonal in
thought,
action, and desire.
The
true Mason is not creed-bound. He
realizes with the divine
illumination
of his lodge that as Mason his religion must be
universal:
Christ, Buddha or Mohammed, the name means little, for
he
recognizes only the light and not the bearer.
He worships at
every
shrine, bows before every altar, whether in temple, mosque or
cathedral,
realizing with his truer understanding the oneness of
all
spiritual truth. All true Masons
know that they only are
heathen
who, having great ideals, do not live up to them. Th ey
know
that all religions are but one story told in divers ways for
peoples
whose ideals differ but whose great purpose is in harmony
with
Masonic ideals. North, east, south
and west stretch the
diversities
of human thought, and while the ideals of man
apparently
differ, when all is said and the crystallization of form
with
its false concepts is swept away, one basic truth remains: all
existing
things are Temple Builders, laboring for a single end.
No
true
Mason can be narrow, for his Lodge is the divine expression of
all
broadness. There is no place for
little minds in a great work.
The
true Mason must develop the powers of observation. He must
seek
eternally in all the manifestations of Nature for the things
which
he has lost because he failed to work for them. He must
become
a student of human nature and see in those around him the
unfolding
and varying expressions of one connected spiritual
Intelligence.
The great spiritual ritual of his
lodge is enacted
before
him in every action of his fellow man. The
entire Masonic
initiation
is an open secret, for anyone can see it played ou t on
the
city street corners as well as in the untracked wilderness.
The
Mason has sworn that every day he will extract from life its
message
for him and build it into the temple of his God. He seeks
to
learn the things which will make him of greater service in the
Divine
Plan, a better instrument in the hands of the Great
Architect,
who is laboring eternally to unfold life through the
medium
of living things. The Mason
realizes, moreover, tha t his
vows,
taken of his own free will and accord, give him th e divine
opportunity
of being a living tool in the hands of a Master
Workman.
The
true Master Mason enters his lodge with one thought uppermost
in
his mind: "How can I, as an individual, be of greater use in the
Universal
Plan? What can I do to be worthy to comprehend the
mysteries
which are unfolded here? How can I build the eyes to see
the
things which are concealed from those who lack spiritual
understanding?"
The true Mason is supremely unselfish in every
expression
and application of the powers that have been entrusted
to
him. No true Brother seeks anything
for himself, but uns
elfishly
labors for the good of all. No
person who assumes a
spiritual
obligation for what he can get out of it is worthy of
applying
for the position even of water-carrier. The
true Light
can
come only to those who, asking nothing, gladly give all to it.
The
true brother of the Craft, while constantly striving to improve
himself,
mentally, physically, and spiritually through the days of
his
life, never makes his own desires the goal for his works.
He
has
a duty and that duty is to fit into the plans of another.
He
must
be ready at any hour of the day or night to drop his own
ideals
at the call of the Builder. The
work must be done and he
has
dedicated his life to the service of those who know the bonds
of
neither time nor space. He must be
ready at any moment's notice
and
his life should be turned into preparing himself for that call
which
may come when he least expects it. The
Master Mason knows
that
those most useful to the Plan are those who have gained the
most
from the practical experiences of life. It
is not what goes
on
within the tiled lodge which is the basis of his greatness, but
rather
the way in which he meets the problems of daily life. The
true
Masonic student is known by his brotherly a ctions and common
sense.
Every
Mason knows that a broken vow brings with it a terrible
penalty.
Let him also realize that failure to live mentally,
spiritually,
and morally up to one's highest ideals constitutes the
greatest
of all broken oaths. When a Mason
swears that he will
devote
his life to the building of his Father's house and then
defiles
his living temple through the perversion of mental power,
emotional
force, and active energy, he is breaking a vow which
imposes
not hours but ages of misery. If he
is worthy to be a M
ason,
he must be great enough to restrain the lower side of his own
nature
which is daily murdering his Grand Master.
He must realize
that
a misdirected life is a broken vow and that daily service,
purification,
and the constructive application of energy is a
living
invocation which builds within and draws to him the power of
the
Creator. His life is the only
prayer acceptable in the eyes of
the
Most High. An impure life is a
broken trust; a destructive
action
is a living curse; a narrow mind is a strang le-cord around
the
throat of God.
All
true Masons know that their work is not secret, but they
realize
that it must remain unknown to all who do not live the true
Masonic
life. Yet if the so-called secrets
of Freemasonry were
shouted
from the housetops, the Fraternity would be absolutely
safe;
for certain spiritual qualities are necessary before the real
Masonic
secrets can be understood by the brethren themselves. Hence
it
is that the alleged "exposures" of Freemasonry, printed by the
thousands
and tens of thousands since 1730 down to the present
hour,
cannot injure the Fraternity. They
reveal merely the outward
forms
and ceremonies of Freemasonry. Only
those who have been
weighed
in the balance and found to be true, upright, and square
have
prepared themselves by their own growth to appreciate the
inner
meanings of their Craft. To the
rest of their brethren
within
or without the lodge their sacred rituals must remain, as
Shakespeare
might have said, "Words, words, words." Within the
Mason's
own being is concealed the Power, which, blazi ng forth
from
his purified being, constitutes the Builder's Word. His life
is
the sole password which admits him to the true Masonic Lodge.
His
spiritual urge is the sprig of acacia which, through the
darkness
of ignorance, still proves that the spiritual fire is
alight.
Within himself he must build those qualities which will
make
possible his true understanding of the Craft.
He can show the
world
only forms which mean nothing; the life within is fo rever
concealed
until the eye of Spirit reveals it.
The
Master Mason realizes charity to be one of the greatest traits
which
the Elder Brothers have unfolded, which means not only
properly
regulated charity of the purse but charity in thought and
action.
He realizes that all the workmen are not on the same step,
but
wherever each may be, he is doing the best he can according to
his
light. Each is laboring with the
tools that he has, and he, as
a
Master Mason, does not spend his time in criticizing but in
helping
them to improve their tools. Instead
of bla ming poor
tools,
let us always blame ourselves for having them.
The Master
Mason
does not find fault; he does not criticize nor does he
complain,
but with malice towards none and charity towards all he
seeks
to be worthy of his Father's trust. In
silence he labors,
with
compassion he suffers, and if the builders strike him as he
seeks
to work with them, his last word will be a prayer for them.
The
greater the Mason, the more advanced in his Craft, the more
fatherly
he grows, the walls of his Lodge broade ning out until all
living
things are sheltered and guarded within the blue folds of
his
cape. From laboring with the few he
seeks to assist all,
realizing
with his broader understanding the weaknesses of others
but
the strength of right.
A
Mason is not proud of his position. He
is not puffed up by his
honor,
but with a sinking heart is eternally ashamed of his own
place,
realizing that it is far below the standard of his Craft.
The
farther he goes, the more he realizes that he is standing on
slippery
places and if he allows himself for one moment to lose his
simplicity
and humility, a fall is inevitable. A
true Mason never
feels
himself worthy of his Craft. A
student may stand on the top
of
Fool's Mountain self-satisfied in his position , but the true
Brother
is always noted for his simplicity.
A
Mason cannot be ordained or elected by ballot.
He is evolved
through
ages of self-purification and spiritual transmutation.
There
are thousands of Masons who are brethren in name only, for
their
failure to exemplify the ideals of their Craft makes them
unresponsive
to the teachings and purpose of Freemasonry.
The
Masonic
life forms the first key of the Temple and without this
key,
none of the doors can be opened. When
this fact is better
realized
and lived, Freemasonry will awake, and speak the Word s o
long
withheld. The speculative Craft
will then become operative,
and
the Ancient Wisdom so long concealed will rise from the ruins
of
its temple as the greatest spiritual truth yet revealed to man.
The
true Master Mason recognizes the value of seeking for truth
wherever
he can find it. It makes no difference if it be in the
enemy's
camp; if it be truth, he will go there gladly to secure it.
The
Masonic Lodge is universal; therefore all true Masons will seek
through
the extremities of creation for their Light.
The true
brother
of the Craft knows and applies one great paradox. He must
search
for the high things in lowly places and find the lowly
things
in high places. The Mason who feels
holier than his fellow
man
has raised a barrier around himself through which no light can
pass,
for the one who in truth is the greatest is the servant of
all.
Many brethren make a great mistake in building a wall around
their
secrets, for they succeed only in shutting out their own
light.
Their divine opportunity is at hand. The time has come when
the
world needs the Ancient Wisdom as never before. Let the Mason
stand
forth and by living the doctrines which he preaches show to
his
brother man the glory of his work. He holds the keys to truth;
let
him unlock the door, and with his life and not his words preach
the
doctrine which he has so long professed.
The
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man were united in the
completion
of the Eternal Temple, the Great Work, for which all
things
came into being and through which all shall glorify their
Creator.
MASONS,
AWAKE!
Your
creed and your Craft demand the best that is in you. They
demand
the sanctifying of your life, the regeneration of your body,
the
purification of your soul, and the ordination of your spirit.
Yours
is the glorious opportunity; yours is the divine
responsibility.
Accept your task and follow in the footsteps of
the
Master Masons of the past, who with the flaming spirit of the
Craft
have illumined the world. You have
a great privilege - the
privilege
of illumined labor. You may know
the ends to which you
work,
while others must struggle in darkness. Your labors are not
to
be confined to the tiled Lodge alone, for a Mason must radiate
the
qualities of his Craft. Its light
must shine in his home and
in
his business, glorifying his association with his fellow men.
In
the Lodge and out of the Lodge, the Mason must represent the
highest
fruitage of sincere endeavor.
EPILOGUE
THE PRIEST OF RA
What
words are there in modern language to describe the great
temple
of Ammon Ra? It now stands amidst the sands of Egypt a pile
of
broken ruins, but in the heyday of its glory it rose a forest of
plumed
pillars holding up roofs of solid sandstone, carved by hands
long
laid to rest into friezes of lotus blossoms and papyrus and
colored
lifelike by pigments the secrets of which were lost with
the
civilization that discovered them.
A
checkerboard floor of black and white blocks stretched out until
it
was lost among the wilderness of pillars. From
the massive
walls
the impassive faces of gods unnamed looked down upon the
silent
files of priests who kept alight the altar fires, whose
feeble
glow alone alighted the massive chambeors throughout the
darkness
of an Egyptian night. It was a
weird, impressive scene,
and
the flickering lights sent strange, ghostly forms scurrying
among
the piles of granite which rose like mighty altars from the
darkness
below to be lost in the shadows above.
Suddenly
a figure emerged from the shadows, carrying in his hand a
small
oil lamp which pierced the darkness like some distant star,
bringing
into strange relief the figure of him who bore it. He
appeared
to be old, for his long beard and braided hair were quite
gray,
but his large black eyes shone with a fire seldom seen even
in
youth. He was robed from head to
foot in blue and gold, and
around
his forehead was coiled a snake of precious metal, set with
jewelled
eyes that gave out flashes of light. Neve
r had the light
of
Ra's chamber shone on a grander head or a form more powerful
than
that of the high priest of the temple. He
was the mouthpiece
of
the gods and the sacred wisdom of ancient Egypt was impressed in
fiery
letters upon his soul. As he
crossed the great room - in one
hand
the sceptre of the priestcraft, in the other the tiny lamp -
he
was more like a spirit visitor from beyond the environs of death
than
a physical being, for his jewelled san dals made no sound and
the
sheen from his robes form ed a halo of light around his stately
form.
Down
through the silent passageways, lined with their massive
pillars,
passed the phantom figure - down steps lined with kneeling
sphinxes
and through avenues of crouching lions the priest picked
his
way until at last he reached a vaulted chamber whose marble
floor
bore strange designs traced in some language long forgotten.
Each
angle of the many-sided and dimly-lighted room was filled by a
seated
figure carved in stone, so massive that its head and
shoulders
were lost in shadows no eye could pierce.
In
the center of this mystic chamber stood a great chest of some
black
stone carved with serpents and strange winged dragons.
The
lid
was a solid slab, weighing hundreds of pounds, without handle
of
any kind and the chest apparently had no means of being opened
without
the aid of some herculean power.
The
high priest leaned over and from the lamp he carried lighted
the
fire upon an altar that stood near, sending the shadows of that
weird
chamber scurrying into the most distant corners. As the
flame
rose, it was reflected from the great stone faces above,
which
seemed to stare at the black coffer in the center of the room
with
their strange, sightless eyes.
Raising
his serpent-wound staff and facing the chest of sombre
marble,
the priest called out in a voice that echoed and re-echoed
from
every nook and cranny of the ancient temple:
"Aradamas,
come forth!"
Then
a strange thing happened. The heavy
slab that formed the
cover
of the great coffer slowly raised as though lifted by unseen
hands
and there emerged from its dark recesses a slim, white-clad
figure
with his forearms crossed on his breast-the figure of a man
perhaps
thirty years old, his long, black hair hanging down upon
his
white-robed shoulders in strange contrast to the seamless
garment
that he wore. His face, devoid of
emotion, was as handsome
and
serene as the great face of Ammon Ra himself that gazed down
upon
the scene. Silently Aradamas
stepped from the ancient tomb
and
advanced slowly toward the high priest. When
about ten paces
from
the earthly representative of the gods, he paused, unfolded
his
arms, and extended them across his chest in salutation.
In one
hand
he carried a cross with a ring as the upper arm and this he
proffered
to the priest. Aradamas stood in
silence as the high
priest,
raising his sceptre to one of the great stone figures,
addressed
an invocation to the Sun-God of the universe.
This
finished,
he then addressed the youthful figure as follows:
"Aradamas,
you seek to know the mystery of creation, you ask that
the
divine illumination of the Thrice-Greatest and the wisdom that
for
ages has been the one gift the gods would shower upon mankind,
be
entrusted to you. Little you
understand of the thing you ask,
but
those who know have said that he who proves worthy may receive
the
truth. Therefore, stand you here
today to prove your divine
birthright
to the teaching that you ask."
The
priest pronounced these words slowly and solemnly and then
pointed
with his sceptre to a great dim archway surmounted by a
winged
globe of gleaming gold.
"Before
thee, up those steps and through those passageways, lies
the
path that leads to the eye of judgment and the feet of Ammon
Ra.
Go, and if thy heart be pure, as pure as the garment that thou
wearest,
and if thy motive be unselfish, thy feet shall not stumble
and
thy being shall be filled with light. But
remember that Typhon
and
his hosts of death lurk in every shadow and that death is the
result
of failure."
Aradamas
turned and again folded his arms over his breast in the
sign
of the cross. As he walked slowly through the somber arch, the
shadows
of the great Unknown closed over him who had dedicated his
life
to the search for the Eternal. The
priest watched him until
he
was lost to sight among the massive pillars beyond the shent
span
that divided the living from the dead. Then
slowly falling on
his
knees before the gigantic statue of Ra and raising his eyes to
the
shadows that through the long night conceal ed the face of the
Sun-God,
he prayed that the youth might pass from the darkness of
the
temple pillars to the light he sought.
It
seemed that for a second a glow played around the face of the
enormous
statue and a strange hush of peace filled the ancient
temple.
The high priest sensed this, for rising, he relighted his
lamp
and walked slowly away. His beacon
of light shone fainter and
fainter
in the distance, and finally was lost to view among the
papyrus
blooms of the temple pillars. All
that remained were the
dying
flames on the altar, which sent strange flickering glows over
the
great stone coffer and the twelve judges of the Egyptian dead.
In
the meantime, Aradamas, his hands still crossed on his breast,
walked
slowly onward and upward until the last ray from the burning
altar
fire was lost to view among the shadows far behind. Through
years
of purification he had prepared himself for the great ordeal,
and
with a purified body and a balanced mind, he wended his way in
and
out amoung the pillars that loomed about him.
As he walked
along,
there seemed to radiate from his being a faint golden glow
which
illuminated the pillars as he passed the m.
He seemed a
ghostly
form amid a grove of ancient trees.
Suddenly
the pillars widened out to form another vaulted room,
dimly
lit by a reddish haze. As Aradamas
proceeded, there appeared
around
him swirling wisps of this scarlet light. First
they
appeared
as swiftly moving clouds, but slowly they took form, and
strange
misty figures in flowing draperies hovered in the air and
held
out long swaying arms to stay his progress.
Wraiths of ruddy
mist
hovered about him and whispered soft words into his ears,
while
weird music, like the voice of the storm and the cri es of
night
birds, resounded through the lofty halls. Still
Aradamas
walked
on calm and masterful, his fine, spiritual face outlined by
his
raven locks in strange contrast to the sinuous forms that
gathered
around and tried to lure him from his purpose.
Unmindful
of
strange forms that beckoned from ghostly archways and the
pleading
of soft voices, he passed steadily on his way with but one
thought
in his mind:
"Fiat
Lux!" (Let there be light.)
The
ghastly music grew louder and louder, terminating at last in a
mighty
roar. The very walls shook; the
dancing forms swayed like
flickering
candle shadows and, still pleading and beckoning,
vanished
among the pillars of the temple.
As
the temple walls tottered, Aradamas paused; then with slow
measured
step he resumed his search for some ray of light, finding
always
darkness deeper than before. Suddenly
before him loomed
another
doorway, flanked on either side by an obelisk of carved
marble,
one black and the other white. Through
the doorway glowed
a
dim light, concealed by a gossamer veil of blue silk.
As
Aradamas slowly climbed the flight of steps leading to the
doorway,
there materialized upon the ground at his feet a swirl of
lurid
mist. In the faint glow that it
cast, it twisted like some
oily
gas, filling the entire chamber with a loathsome miasma.
Then
out
of this cloud issued a gigantic form - half human, half
reptile.
In its bloodshot eyes burned ruddy pods of demon fire,
while
great claw-like hands reached out to enfold and crush the
slender
figure that confronted it. Aradamas
wavered for a s ingle
instant
as the horrible apparition lunged forward, its size doubly
magnified
in the iridescent fog. Then the
white-robed neophyte
again
slowly advanced, his arms still crossed on his breast.
He
raised
his fine face, illumined by a divine light, and courageously
faced
the hideous specter. As he
confronted the menacing form, for
an
instant it loomed over him like a towering demon. Suddenly
Aradamas
raised the cross he carried and held it u p before the
monster.
As he did so, the Crux Ansata gleamed with a wondrous
golden
light, which, striking the oily, scaly monster, seemed to
dissolve
its every particle into golden sparks. As
the last of the
demon
guardians vanished before the rays of the cross, a bolt of
lightning
flashed through the ancient hallways and, striking the
veil
that hung between the obelisks, rent it down the center and
disclosed
a vaulted chamber with a circular dome, dimly lighted by
invisible
lamps.
Bearing
his now flaming cross, Aradamas entered the room and
instinctively
gazed upward to the lofty dome. There,
floating in
space,
far above his head, he saw a great closed eye surrounded by
fleecy
clouds and rainbow colors. Long
Aradamas gazed upon the
wonderful
sight, for he knew that it was the Eye of Horus, the
All-Seeing
Eye of the gods.
As
he stood there, he prayed that the will of the gods might be
made
known unto him and that in some way he might be found worthy
to
open that closed eye in the temple of the living God.
As
he stood there gazing upward, the eyelid flickered. As the
great
orb slowly opened, the chamber was filled with a dazzling,
blinding
light that seemed to consume the very stones with fire.
Aradamas
staggered. It seemed as if every
atom of his being was
scorched
by the effulgence of that glow. He
instinctively closed
his
eyes and now he feared to open them, for in that terrific blaze
of
splendor it seemed that only blindness would follow his action.
Little
by little, a strange feeling of peace and ca lm descended
upon
him and at length he dared to open his eyes to find that the
glare
was gone, the entire chamber was bathed in a soft, wondrous
glow
from the mighty Eye in the ceiling. The
white robe he had
worn
had also given place to one of living fire which blazed as
though
with the reflection of thousands of lesser eyes from the
divine
orb above. As his eyes became
accustomed to the glow, he
saw
that he was no longer alone. He was
surrounded by twe lve
white-robed
figures who, bowing before him, held up strange
insignia
wrought from living gold.
As
Aradamas looked, all the figures pointed, and as he followed the
direction
of their hands, he saw a staircase of living light that
led
far up into the dome and passed the Eye in the ceiling.
With
one voice, the twelve said: "Yonder lies the way of
liberation."
Without
a moment's hesitation, Aradamas mounted the staircase, and
with
feet that seemed to barely touch the steps, climbed upward
into
the dawn of a great unknown. At
last, after climbing many
steps,
he reached a doorway that opened as he neared it. The
breath
of morning air fanned his cheek and a golden ray of sunshine
played
among the waves of his dark hair. He
stood on the top of a
mighty
pyramid, before him a blazing altar. In
the distance, far
over
the horizon, the rolling sands of the Egyptian de sert
reflected
the first rays of the morning sun which, like a globe of
golden
fire, rose again out of the eternal East. As
Aradamus stood
there,
a voice that seemed to issue from the very heavens chanted a
strange
song, and a hand, reaching out as it were from the globe of
day
itself, placed a serpent wrought of gyld upon the brow of the
new
initiate.
"Behold
Khepera, the rising sun! For as he brings the mighty globe
of
day out of the darkness of night, between his claws, so for thee
the
Sun of Spirit has risen from the darkness of night and in the
name
of the living God, we hail thee Priest of Ra."
SO
MOTE IT BE
ADDENDA
THE ROBE OF BLUE AND GOLD
Hidden
in the depths of the unknown, three silent beings weave the
endless
thread of human fate. They are
called the Sisters, known
to
mythology as the Norns or Fates who incessantly twist between
their
fingers a tiny cord, which one day is to be woven into a
living
garment - the coronation robe of the priest-king.
To
the mystics and philosophers of the world this garment is known
under
many names. To some it is the
simple yellow robe of
Buddahood.
By the ancient Jews it was symbolized as the robe of
the
high priest, the Garment of Glory unto the Lord. To the
Masonic
brethren, it is the robe of Blue and Gold - the Star of
Bethlehem
- the Wedding Garment of the Spirit.
Three
Fates weave the threads of this living garment, and man
himself
is the creator of his Fates. The
triple thread of thought,
action,
and desire binds him when he enters the sacred place or
seeks
admittance into the tiled lodge, but later this same cord is
woven
into a splendid garment whose purified folds clothe the
sacred
spark of his being.
We
all like to be well dressed. Robes
of velvet and ermine stand
for
symbols of rank and glory; but too many ermine capes have
covered
empty hearts, too many crowns have rested on the brows of
tyrants.
These are symbols of earthly things and in the world of
matter
are too often misplaced. The true
coronation robe - the
garment
molded after the pattern of heaven, the robe of glory of
the
Master Mason - is not of the earth; for it tells of his
spiritual
growth, his deeper understanding, and his consecrated
life.
The garments of the high priest of the tabernacle were but
symbols
of his own body, which, purified and transfigured,
glorified
the life within. The notes of the
tiny silver bells that
tinkled
with never-ending music from the fringe of his vestments
told
of a life harmonious, while the breastplate which rested amid
the
folds of the ephod reflected the gleams of heavenly truth from
the
facets of its gems.
There
is another garment without a seam which we are told was often
worn
by the ancient brethren in the days of the Essenes, when the
monastery
of the lowly Nazarenes rose in silent grandeur from the
steep
sides of Mt. Tabor, to be reflected in the inscrutable waters
of
the Dead Sea. This one-piece
garment is the spiral thread of
human
life which, when purified by right motive and right living,
becomes
a tiny thread of golden light, eternally weaving the
purified
garment of regenerated bodies. Like
the wh ite of the
lambskin
apron, it stands for the simple, the pure, and the
harmless.
These are the requirements of the Master Mason, who must
renounce
forever this world's pomp and vanity and seek to weave
that
simple one-piece robe of the soul which marks the Master,
consecrated
and consummated.
With
the eye of the mind we still can see the lowly Nazarene in his
spotless
robe of white - a garment no king's ransom could buy.
This
robe is woven out of the actions of our daily lives, each deed
weaving
into the endless pattern a thread, black or white,
according
to the motives which inspired our actions.
As the Master
Mason
labors in accordance with his vows, he slowly weaves this
spotless
robe out of the transmuted energy of his efforts. It is
this
white robe which must be worn under the vestments of state,
and
whose spotless surface sanctifies him for the robes of glory,
which
can be worn only over the stainless, seamless garment of his
purified
life.
When
this moment arrives and the candidate has completed his task -
when
he comes purified and regenerated to the altar of wisdom, he
is
truly baptized of the fire and its flame blazes up within
himself.
From him pour forth streams of light, and a great aura of
multicolored
fire bathes him with its radiance. The
sacred flame
of
the gods has found its resting place in him, and through him
renews
its covenant with man. He is then
truly a Freemason, a
child
of light. This wonderful garment,
of which all ea rthly
robes
are but symbols, is built of the highest qualities of human
nature,
the noblest of ideals, and the purest of aspirations. Its
coming
is made possible only through the purification of body and
unselfish
service to others in the name of the Creator.
When
the Mason has built all these powers into himself, there
radiates
from him a wonderful body of living fire, like that which
surrounded
the Master Jesus, at the moment of His transfiguration.
This
is the Robe of Glory, the garment of Blue and Gold which,
shining
forth as a five-pointed star of light, heralds the birth of
the
Christ within. Man is then indeed a
son of God, pouring forth
from
the depths of his own being the light rays which are the life
of
man.
Striking
hearts that have long been cold, this spiritual ray raises
them
from the dead. It is the living
light which illuminates those
still
buried in the darkness of materiality. It
is the power which
raises
by the strong grip of the lion's paw. It
is the Great Light
which,
seeking forever the spark of itself within all living
things,
reawakens dead ideals and smothered aspirations with the
power
of the Master's Eternal Word. Then
the Master Mason becomes
indeed
the Sun in Leo; and, reaching downward i nto the tomb of
crystallization,
raises the murdered Builder from the dead by the
grip
of the Master Mason.
As
the sun awakens the seedlings in the ground, so this Son of Man,
glowing
with the light divine, radiates from his own purified being
the
mystic shafts of redeeming light which awaken the seeds of hope
and
truth and a nobler life. Discouragement
and suffering too
often
brings down the temple, burying under its debris the true
reason
for being and the higher motives for living.
As
the glorious robe of the sun - the symbol of all life - bathes
and
warms creation with its glow, this same robe, enfolding all
things,
warms them and preserves them with its light and life.
Man
is
a god in the making, and as in the mystic myths of Egypt, on the
potter's
wheel he is being molded. When his
light shines out to
lift
and preserve all things, he receives the triple crown of
godhood,
and joins that throng of Master Masons who, in their robes
of
Blue and Gold, are seeking to dispel the darknes s of night with
the
triple light of the Masonic Lodge.
Ceaselessly
the Norns spin the thread of human fate. Age
in and
age
out, upon the looms of destiny are woven the living garments of
God.
Some are rich in glorious colors and wondrous fabrics, while
others
are broken and frayed before they leave the loom. All,
however,
are woven by these three Sisters - thought, action, and
desire
- with which the ignorant build walls of mud and bricks of
slime
between themselves and truth; while the pure of heart weave
from
these radiant threads garments of celestial bea uty.
Do
what we will, we cannot stop those nimble fingers which twist
the
threads, but we may change the quality of the thread they use.
We
should give these three eternal weavers only the noble and the
true;
then the work of their hands will be perfect.
The thread
they
twist may be red with the blood of others, or dark with the
uncertainties
of life; but if we resolve to be true, we may restore
its
purity and weave from it the seamless garment of a perfect
life.
This is man's most acceptable gift upon the al tar of the
Most
High, his supreme sacrifice to the Creator.
FRIENDSHIP
What
nobler relationship than that of friend? What nobler
compliment
can man bestow than friendship? The bonds and ties of
the
life we know break easily, but through eternity one bond
remains
- the bond of fellowship - the fellowship of atoms, of star
dust
in its endless flight, of suns and worlds, of gods and men.
The
clasped hands of comradeship unite in a bond eternal - the
fellowship
of spirit. Who is more desolate
than the friendless
one?
Who is more honored than one whose virtues have given him a fr
iend?
To have a friend is good, but to be a friend is better.
The
noblest
title ever given man, the highest title bestowed by the
gods,
was when the great Jove gazed down upon Prometheus and said,
"Behold,
a friend of man!" Who serves man, serves God. This is the
symbol
of the fellowship of your Craft, for the plan of God is
upheld
by the clasped hands of friends. The bonds of relationship
must
pass, but the friend remains. Serve
God by being a friend, -
a
friend of the soul of man, serving his needs, li ghting his
steps,
smoothing his way. Let the world of
its own accord say of
the
Mason, "Behold the friend of all." Let the world say of the
Lodge,
"This is indeed a fraternity of brothers, comrades in spirit
and
in truth."
THE
EMERALD TABLET OF HERMES (TABULA SMARAGDINA)
The
Emerald Tablet of Hermes, illustrated on the opposite page,
introduces
us to Hiram, the hero of the Masonic legend.
The name
Hiram
is taken from the Chaldean Chiram. The
first two words in
large
print mean the secret work. The
second line in large
letters--(CHIRAM
TELAT MECHASOT - means Chiram, the Universal
Agent,
one in Essence, but three in aspect. Translated,
the body
of
the Tablet reads as follows:
It
is true and no lie, certain, and to be depended upon, that the
superior
agrees with the inferior, and the inferior with the
superior,
to effect that one truly wonderful work. As
all things
owe
their existence to the will of the Only One, so all things owe
their
origin to One Only Thing, the most hidden, by the arrangement
of
the Only God. The father of that
One Only Thing is the Suit;
its
mother is the Moon; the wind carries it in its wings; but its
nurse
is a Spirituous Earth. That One
Only Thing (af ter God) is
the
father of all things in the universe. Its
power is perfect,
after
it has been united to a spirituous earth. Separate
that
spirituous
earth from the dense or crude earth by means of a gentle
heat,
with much attention. In great
measure it ascends from the
earth
up to heaven, and descends again, new born, on the earth, and
the
superior and inferior are increased in power. * * * By this
thou
wilt partake of the honors of the whole world an d darkness
will
fly from thee. This is the strength
o f all powers; with this
thou
wilt be able to overcome all things and to transmute all that
is
fine and all that is coarse. In
this manner the world was
created,
but the arrangements to follow this road are hidden. For
this
reason I am called CHIRAM TELAT MECHASOT, one in Essence, but
three
in aspect. In this Trinity is
hidden the wisdom of the whole
world.
It is ended now, what I have said concerning the effects of
the
Sun.
FINISH
OF THE TABULA SMARAGDINA
In
a rare, unpublished old manuscript dealing with early Masonic
and
Hermetic mysteries, we find the following information
concerning
the mysterious Universal Agent referred to as "Chiram"
(Hiram)
:
The
sense of this Emerald Tablet can sufficiently convince us that
the
author was well acquainted with the secret operations of Nature
and
with the secret work of the philosophers (alchemists and
Hermetists).
He likewise well knew and believed in the true God.
It
has been believed for several ages that Cham, one of the sons of
Noah,
is the author of this monument of antiquity.
A very ancient
author,
whose name is not known, who lived several centuries before
Christ,
mentions this tablet, and says that he had seen it in
Egypt,
at the court; that it was a precious stone, an emerald,
whereon
these characters were represented in bas-relief, not
engraved.
He
states that it was in his time esteemed over two thousand years
old,
and that the matter of this emerald had once been in a fluidic
state
like melted glass, and had been cast in a mold, and that to
this
flux the artist had given the hardness of a natural and
genuine
emerald, by (alchemical) art.
The
Canaanites were called the Phoenicians by the Greeks, who have
told
us that they had Hermes for one of their kings.
There is a
definite
relation between Chiram and Hermes.
Chiram
is a word composed of three words, denoting the Universal
Spirit,
the essence whereof the whole creation does consist, and
the
object of Chaldean, Egyptian, and genuine natural philosophy,
according
to its inner principles or properties. The
three Hebrew
words
Chamah, Rusch, and Majim, mean respectively Fire, Air, and
Water,
while their initial consonants, Ch, R, M, give us Chiram,
that
invisible essence which is the father of earth, fire, air and
water;
because, although immaterial in its own invis ible nature as
the
unmoved and electrical fire, when moved it becomes light and
visible;
and when collected and agitated, becomes heat and visible
and
tangible fire; and when associated with humidity it becomes
material.
The word Chiram has been metamorphosed into Hermes and
also
into Herman, and the translators of the Bible have made Chiram
by
changing Chet into He; both of these Hebrew word signs being
very
similar.
In
the word Hermaphrodite, (a word invented by the old
philosophers),
we find Hermes changed to Herm, signifying Chiram,
or
the Universal Agent, and Aphrodite, the passive principle of
humidity,
who is also called Venus, and is said to have been
produced
and generated by the sea.
We
also read that Hiram (Chiram), or the Universal Agent, assisted
King
Solomon to build the temple. No
doubt as Solomon possessed
wisdom,
he understood what to do with the corporealized Universal
Agent.
The Talmud of the Jews says that King Solomon built the
temple
by the assistance of Shamir. Now
this word signifies the
sun,
which is perpetually collecting the omnipresent, surrounding,
electrical
fire, or Spiritus Mundi, and sending it to us in the
planets,
in a visible manner called light.
This
electrical flame, corporealized and regenerated into the Stone
of
the Philosophers, enabled King Solomon to produce the immense
quantities
of gold and silver used to build and decorate his
temple.
These
paragraphs from an ancient philosopher may assist the Masonic
student
of today to realize the tremendous and undreamed-of shire
of
knowledge that lies behind the allegory which he often hears but
seldom
analyzes. Hiram, the Universal
Agent, might be translated
Vita
the power eternally building and unfolding the bodies of man.
The
use and abuse of energy is the keynote to the Masonic legend;
in
fact, it is the key to all things in Nature.
Hiram, as the
triple
energy, one in source but three in aspec t, can almost be
called
ether, that unknown hypothetical element which carries the
impulses
of the gods through the macrocosmic nervous system of the
Infinite;
for like Hermes, or Mercury, who was the messenger of the
gods,
ether carries impulses upon its wings. The
solving of the
mystery
of ether - or, if you prefer to call it vibrant space - is
the
great problem of Masonry. This
ether, as a hypothetical
medium,
brings energy to the three bodies of thought, emotion, and
action,
in this manner Chiram, the one in essence, becoming three
in
aspect - mental, emotional, and vital. The work which follows is
an
effort to bring to light other forgotten and neglected elements
of
the Masonic rites, and to emphasize the spirit of Hiram as the
Universal
Agent.
Freemasonry
is essentially mysterious, ritualistic, and ceremonial,
representing
abstract truth in concrete form. Earth
(or substance)
smothering
energy (or vitality) is the mystery behind the murder of
the
Builder.
MOTIVE
What
motive leads the Masonic candidate out of the world and up the
winding
stairway to the light? He alone can truly know, for in his
heart
is hidden the motive of his works. Is
he seeking the light
of
the East? Is he seeking wisdom eternal? Does he bring his life
and
offer it upon the altar of the Most high? Of all things, motive
is
most important. Though we fail
again and again, it our motive
be
true, we are victorious. Though
time after time we succeed, if
our
motive be unworthy, we have failed. Ent
er the temple in
reverence,
for it is in truth the dwelling place of a Great Spirit,
the
Spirit of Masonry. Masonry is an
ordainer of kings. Its hand
has
shaped the destinies of worlds, and the perfect fruitage of its
molding
is an honest man. What nobler thing
can be accomplished
than
the illumination of ignorance? What greater task is there than
the
joyous labor of service? And what nobler man can there be than
that
Mason who serves his Lights, and is himsel f a light unto his