Lodge Burroughs Strange No. 87
Vijayawada, India

"Masons unite" proclaims the Ancient Charges, "with the virtuous of every persuasion, in the firm and pleasing bound of fraternal love : they are taught to view the errors of mankind with compassion, and to strive by the purity of their own conduct, to demonstrate the superior excel. Hence of the faith they may profess. Thus Masonry is the centre of union between good men and true and happy means of conciliating friendship amongst those who must otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance."

The fundamental aim of Masonry is to make us all good men. The concept of goodness, however, cannot be precisely and adequately defined, for it depends upon one's own background, family, friends, education, training, experience and so forth. These vary with each individual; nevertheless certain broad basic concepts of the benefit and well-being of mankind, and it is on this basis that candidates have been and are admitted to Freemasonry.

The teachings of Freemasonry have brought a new and vital meaning to the concept of goodness, for it is said that Masonry makes a good man better not only is an individual but also as member of a universal society. This is a basic and most important Masonic concept. The good man is the very foundation and support of our institution. For ages past it has been the food men who have created and protected goodness can be manifested only by the good acts that we as Masons perform to further develop and protect those concepts with Masonry holds dear.

Freemasonry has taught us from the beginning the idea that the individual must seek a path of self-improvement, of truth and greater understanding, of truth and greater understanding, of deeper sympathy and benevolence, of genuine love of fellow men. And as Masons we must always recognise the importance of discharging our individual responsibilities to God, to our neighbours and to ourselves.

To lives as a good man in the present day world has become a great challenge. We live in an ever more rapidly changing world, where humanity is not only divided on racial and nationalistic lines, but also where the younger generation, in their search for the meaning of life, disagree with established beliefs and concepts.

Masons, individually and collectively, have much to offer to the world in helping to understand and to find solutions for the ever-recurring complicated problems of the modern day. This we cannot do unless we realise the continuous need for self-knowledge, self examination and self-appraisal. The great challenges of life cannot be solved until we have first understood ourselves. Freemasonry's significant role is to stimulate this understanding. Each Lodge is tremendously important to the growth of Masonry. While the Lodge as a whole is a source of inspiration to the members, bringing them vision and understanding to spread the message of Freemasonry, its members, individually and collectively, have a positive role to play in promoting the Masonic prosperity of the Lodge by ever reaching out to bring good men and true into its fold.

As regular Masons all of us have taken the three Degrees and attained the status of Master Masons. the Symbolic Lodge has imparted to us all the light it can. From this point onwards masonry becomes a purely personal matter to each Brother, and can mean much or little to him. It can rule and guide his life and bring him happiness and memorable experiences, or it can be ignored and forgotten, descending on that individuals' inclination and understanding. The teachings of Masonry contain the seeds of honour, truth, morality, charity, belief in a Supreme Being and Brotherly Love not only for a Masonic brother but for all mankind. If these seeds fall upon barren ground of a selfish, shallow, unthinking mird they will rot and disappear, but if they fall on the rice soil of a receptive, thoughtful and intelligent mind and are watered and nourished by love and attention, they will sprout and grow into a wonderful tree "whose evergreen leaves will never wither and fall off and the fragrance of its everlasting blossoms will fill his life with the greatest happiness ever given to man".

The first requisite of a Mason is an absolute belief in the existence of a Supreme Being who , from his High Place governs His Universe and infuses it with his life. In Freemasonry He is depicted as The Great Architect of the Universe, the Grand Geometrician and the Most High. This is the Masonic conception of the Trinity of the Deity as exe notified in the Masonic rituals; His attributes are Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. In these three words the goal of every Lodge of Freemasons is expressed, namely, to build their Temple with Wisdom, to stand together in Strength as columns supporting that Temple, fortifying each other through the bond of Unity and trust producing an ordered Beauty in all relations, divine and human.

Freemasonry believes in immortality, the Masons must rise after death into new life and other spheres of being and of activity. "Through death they arrive at the assurance that there is no death but only lite Eternal." this belief in immortality runs through the entire Masonic tradition and find its culmination in the Third Degree wherein the Truth as to life and death is preserved.

The fundamental principles of the Order of Freemasonry is Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Its task is the perfecting of Humanity to the Glory of The Great Architect of the Universe. This noble aim necessarily includes the cultivation of the virtues of kindliness, understanding, tolerance, patience and all forms of practical help. The principles of morality inculcated in Freemasonry are Universal. They are therefore applicable to all religions end to all religions and to all systems of thought which strive towards the Light. they reinforce whatever religious beliefs one may hold or stand in place of them where an individual has preferred to serve the Creator in the abstract without being attached to any particular creed. Because of his understanding and wide tolerance, a mason can be a link, a reconciliation bridging the gap which may tend to separate people of varying beliefs. Freemasonry is therefore universal, and hits is particularly borne out by its ceremonials working.

The Masonic Lodge is a mystical organization in which the life side of all participants are set in motion. Though masonry appears largely as a matter of form, it is really an institution for the movement of life. It not only stimulates the life side of the Brethren who constitute the Lodge, but also influences them environmentally through the equipments of the Lodge, the Regalia which the Brethren wear, the jewels, the emblems and the symbols with which the Lodge is adorned. The magnetism which emanates from all the things inside the Lodge Room such as the pedestals, the Volumes of Sacred Law, the Columns, the Tracing Boards, ins ome mystic manner exerts a profound influence on the minds of the brethren.

The edifice of Masonry is built on the foundations of the three Craft Degrees. The first of these is the Degree of Entered Apprentice. Every candidate for Freemasonry Becomes on his initiation an E.A. To whom is his entered as an apprentice ? Not to the Lodge, not to the Master, but to the Great Architect of the Universe himself. The true purpose of Freemasonry, namely that he should be a true servant of God, and that assisted by the teachings of Masonry he should so mould and perfect his life and character as to recollect the beauties of true Godliness in all his thoughts, words, and actions, to the honour and Glory of the Great Architect.

Masonry is a training for life. The Masonic ceremonies offer a most effective training for the physical, emotional and mental faculties of the individual. The considerable amount of physical action involved in the ceremonial work provides virtual training for action in daily life, the significance of which one may not realise in the beginning. The combination of efficiency and grace which is needed for Masonic work can give and extraordinary quality to life. The Masonic rituals are a training in a synthesis of these qualities.

In order that the work we do inside the Lodge and the training we receive thereby may be rendered purposeful, it is necessary to relate them to our life outside the Lodge so that they may become an undivided harmonious whole. Freemasonry has not only spiritual, moral and philosophical purpose but a social purpose as well. this is in accordance with the tradition of the East. In India, for example, these two values which are held to be loftiest and noblest by almost all people. They are Satya, meaning Truth, and Dharma, meaning Duty. Dharma also indicates the relationship we own to all human beings, in fact to all forms of life. It is a fraternal relationship we owe to all human beings, in fact to all forms of life. It is a fraternal relationship which recognizes the worth of every individual. These correspond absolutely with the Grand principles of the Order, namely, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth and to various other virtues as well.

We carry out spiritual work when we meet together in a Lodge and perform a Ceremony. The Temple has a certain atmosphere. The moment we enter the Temple we feel the sanctity attached to our work. We leave behind our pre-occupations and thoughts connected with the self when we enter a Lodge which is tyled. We feel around us a spirit of deep unity and aspiration. This feeling is intersitied when the Lodge is opened in the prescribed manner, and more especially when the Volumes of Sacred Law are opened, for there-from shine all the Light that exists and through them all knowledge is revealed.

In Masonry there is no dogma. To liberate mankind from dogma, personal prejudices and opinions which are not based on fact or reality, is the high aim of Freemasonry.

A candidate for initiation is compared to a Rough Ashlar. It is the business of Masonry to transform him into a Perfect-Ashlar which is a smooth and perfect cube. But he is not the rough shapeless block of stone brought from the quarry. When he appears at the door of the Lodge he has already acquired a certain shape, for the tongue of good report that he is a man of good character has been heard in his favour and before initiation he affirms that his motives for entry into the Order are not marcenary. The Rough Ashlar indicates the untrained mind of the initiate, rough and unpolished. He is supposed to be in a state of darkness and ignorance. He is first taught to clrb his intemperance towards his fellow-men and to obey the commands of his conscience. The Gavel represents the force of conscience which should keep down all vain and unbecoming thoughts so that our feelings and actions may be pure and unpolluted. It is interesting to note that in the process of transformation from the rough to the perfect condition, the ashiar is being reduced in his weight and dimensions when the superfluous knobs and excrescences are knocked off. The process leading to perfection is therefore one of removing all the superfluous ugly material from the block of stone until the perfect form is revealed. Nothing is added to the stone. From this is clear that the rough Ashlar contains within itself the perfect from. Similar is the case with human beings. There is present in every human being that quality which can be moulded into a perfect character. After the superfluous knobs and excrescence have been removed by the Gavel, the Chisel is employed to further smooth and prepare the rough stone. The Chief points out that education and perseverance are necessary to attain perfection, and that the rude material of our natures receives its polish and retirement from repeated efforts alone and that nothing short of indefatigable exertion can enlighten the mind. Purify the heart and develop the virtues. In the work of transformation from the rough state to the finished stone, constant use has to be made of the S., the L., and P.R., which are the W.T. of the F.C., save as the spiritual edifice, must constantly observe the laws of square conduct, level steps and upright intentions.

The Perfect Ashlar which is kept in the Lodge room on the S. W.'s pedestal suspended from its derrick, indicates the mystic conception that it is hanging between heaven and earth. There is no indication where in the Temple its final destination is to be, and it is awaiting the pleasure of the Master Builder to be lowered into its proper place. Similarly when we reach the last moments of our life on earth and are about to take flight to the Grand Lodge Above, we too will remain suspended for a time between Heaven and Earth awaiting the pleasure of T.G.A.O.T.U. to be placed in the proper place in His Temple. The suspended Ashlar therefore teaches us to bend with humility and resignation to the Divine Will, content that He in his wisdom has assigned to every approved stone its place in his everlasting Temple and that what we have done earth towards the attainment of perfection will find due reward in His approbation.

Although in Masonry there are various agrees and distinctions illustrating the diversity of nature, yet we are taught to do her work in a spirit of equality and brotherless. This gives us a certain training and aches us the spirit we should carry into the her world. If we do so Masonry will come a much more living reality that it be otherwise. It will extend its influence of the world and be a perennial source of inspiration to all with whom we come into in fact, not only in relation to Masons. Only can be called a real Mason who displays is spirit of equality in spite of social, functional and other distinctions and differences.

The purpose behind Freemasonry is both various and sacred because it deals with the alities of man's nature, the motives which intimate him, the development of his inherent wers and the expansion of his consciousness. In recognition that Man is made in nod's image the masonic ritual aims to make a statement and acknowledged fact both or the individual and for all mankind. Our lasonic science tells us of the unceasing work of the Great Architect and points cut at each of us has the opportunity of consecrating our efforts towards conscious cooperation with His Work. All our training is towards this end. This training begins as soon as we are received into the Lodge as A., begins both in the Lodge and in our ves, and is all the more effective when here is understanding of the purpose of lite. We are apprentices of God sent into His workshop to learn the art of Creation, and with our thoughts and feelings to change the Universe from what it is to something nobler." (C. Jinarajadasa: The Divine Vision.)

The investiture of the E.A. with the Badge of a Freemason forms the climax to he ceremony of Initiation. The S. W. who invests him, refers to the Roman Eagle, the Golden Fleece and to Order of the Garter-all titles of very great honour redolent with the roma of the history and glories of ancient Rome and Greece and the adventurous spirit if the knights of old.

The Badge of Freemason is worn outside all other garments, and is the outer and visible sign of a member of the Craft; it is also an external representation of the true nature of the man within. As representing the purity, the inner reality and the innocence of brotherhood. It is to be considered as the badge or symbol of all those qualities. It has besides a personal significance in the life of a Mason. It makes a definite stage in his life, the taking of a step forward in evolutionary progress and his entry into a new and higher life. He became a Mason of his own free will and initiative; it was something within himself that impelled him to take that step. Others may place the light before him but he himself has to see it and take the first as well as the subsequent step towards it. He must be established in his own strength and the lesson he is taught in the Craft is that no one can stand on the Strength of another.

At the conclusion of the ceremony of initiation, the candidate listens to a wonderful Charge which he will not forget till the last breath passes out of his body. It is a blueprint for living the ideal Masonic life. It tells him about the ancient and honourable institution of Freemasonry which has come down to us from time immemorial, and that it conduces to make all those who are obedient to its precepts also honourable, for it rests on the foundation of the practice of every moral and social virtue, and that monarchs themselves have been promoters or the art. It recommends to his most serious contemplation the V. of the S. L. charging him to consider it as the unerring standard of truth ard justice, and to regulate his actions by the divine precepts it contains and to discharge his duties to God, to his neighbour and to himself accordingly. It teaches him how to conduct himself as a citizen of the world and as an individual; to practice every domestic as well as public virtue with Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice; and to maintain in their fullest splendour the truly Masonic ornaments of Benevolence and Charity. It reminds him of his duties of Masonry and to preserve inviolate the Secrecy, the Fidelity and the Obedience he owes to it. It exhorts him to dedicate himself to such pursuits as will enable him to be respectable in life, useful to mankind and an member. And finally it exhorts him to study the Liberal Arts and Sciences and without sacrificing his personal duties to endeavour to make a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge.

Freemasonry doth verily play a vital role in the personal life of every Mason.