Lodge Burroughs Strange No. 87
Vijayawada, India

What is freemasonry and how is Charity connected with it? There is a simple answer to these questions even when you ask someone to join or become a member in freemasonry. Masons feel that it is necessary to understand and explain the objects of freemasonry fully while interviewing a candidate to join as a member of this fraternity.

We all agree that it is a society of noble men, which strongly believes in the “Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man”. This unique institution, when compared to other organizations existing in this fast-paced world, clearly propagates the philosophy, principles and practice of equality among its members, to avoid causes for division and strife, shun ego and work for the upliftment of humanity with disciplined and righteous living. Its concepts are based on age long experiences of mankind and the wisdom gained and communicated by the wise persons from time immemorial and contained in the Holy scriptures of practically all the religions of our world. We invoke the blessings of the almighty during the ceremonies in freemasonry. The message it has, is goodwill towards men, peace on earth and glory to God in the highest possible way. Swami Vivekananda, Rajagopalachari, Moti Lal Nehru and several other dignitaries in India were said to be the initiates of our order.

It would be worthwhile to remind here again, that freemasonry is a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols, which professes and reaffirms faith in God, to serve mankind with true dedication and thus bind oneself and enjoy the love, concord and fraternal affection on equal footing and same level with all the brethren who are masons irrespective of the difference in religious, ethnic, social, cultural, educational and professional status. This unity in diversity brings him closer to other masons furthermore and that’s what freemasonry educates and reminds during the ceremonies and ritual portions delivered to the candidates. In the “Charge after Initiation” it substantiates the duties a mason owes to himself, the society, the nation and the whole mankind. Charity is essentially a fundamental requirement deeply connected and practiced by its members wholeheartedly, for the benefit of the society in general and masons in particular.

Human nature in today's world has changed to nourish self-interest, which urges for the fulfillment of one’s desires and demands at any cost. Masonry on the other hand teaches us to regulate actions, limit desires, share the brotherly love, joys and sorrows of the living beings by imbibing and inculcating the qualities and virtues of Prudence, Justice, Logic, Obedience, Temperance, Tolerance, Fortitude, Relief, Truth, Love & Affection, Fidelity, Wisdom, Watchfulness, Discretion and above all practice the dignified beneficence called benevolence i.e. Charity.

A great world-renowned author and also a mason himself, Bro. Norman Vincent Peale has redefined masonry in his articles which when reworded gives the real meaning as follows:-

1. Masonry is kindness and fidelity at home.
2. Masonry is honesty, sincerity of truthfulness in professional relationship.
3. Masonry is compassion, help and assistance to weaker sections in life through charity.
4. Masonry is reverence and obedience to God.
5. Masonry is a reward to make a good man a better man in life.

Only men of lawful age and of good report are admitted into masonry on their own free will and accord who then keep progressing in the science and rewarded in due course.

Several candidates after joining masonry being apprehensive of the fact that whether it is a practical step to act upon or adopt whatever was explained in the ceremony, where is it laid down and how one should follow all the good teachings heard by them? The answer convinces and satisfies them that it is laid down in the annals of a faithful practice. The practice of our teachings works as a springboard to come up in life successfully. This is what freemasonry asks us to adapt, adopt and improve.

CHARITY – An important aspect of FREEMASONRY.

The practice of Charity is one of the fundamental principles of this progressive fraternity.

The ceremonies of all the degrees in freemasonry impress the candidates on CHARITY as this teaches every member to help and assist a brother during the time of his distress and be generous in benevolence, an important and a peculiar characteristic and cardinal virtue of our fraternity. The summons every month carries the item “To honour the cause of Charity” and that goes to show how important Charity is in freemasonry. Charity has deeper roots in a freemason’s heart. An awakening comes to members through the ceremonies and thus different lodges in all regions of the country undertake several projects for charitable purposes. The estimation is that Masonic lodges in India contribute and utilize a sum of more than rupees ten lakhs annually towards charity.

Let us examine the necessity and importance of Charity and how it helps in one’s lifetime to be charitable. Swami Vivekananda, who was also a mason said” Three things are necessary to make any man great and any nation great:

1. Conviction of the powers of goodness.
2. Absence of jealousy and suspicion.
3. Benevolence: Helping all who are trying to be and do good. The road to the Good is the roughest and steepest in the universe. So many succeed and so many fall, but character has to be established through a thousand stumbles”.

Scriptures from the religions of every faith teach us about benevolence and ask us to follow three essential acts to be performed regularly. First, to say prayers to the almighty, Secondly, to exercise the virtue of togetherness to benefit society, and thirdly to practice charity to all living beings. Through ages, the humanity has adopted these virtues to survive in adverse circumstances and freemasonry has encouraged this philosophy furthermore. In order to substantiate this fact, it will not be out of place to mention about the charges delivered to candidates from our ritual manuals, during our ceremonies in craft and other degrees. There are many portions, which emphasize on the importance of charity. The essence of “ Charge in the North East”, in the first degree is to deeply drive home the practice of charity.

Similarly, in other superior degrees the candidates are asked to practice charity with compassion for love and relief to the distressed brethren. Freemasonry may not be a charitable institution on its own but provides a strong base to become charitable. This also strengthens a person’s heart to be generous and be soft towards every human being during one’s approach for any kind of help particularly during a bad period in life. The soothing effect it gives to the soul of a donor or beneficiary cannot be expressed in words but the fact remains that both of them enjoy the satisfaction and blessings of the almighty alike.

The famous novelist Charles Dickens wrote, “Charity begins at Home and justice begins next door”, but freemasonry believes in charity that begins from a freemason’s heart and justice begins and benefit goes to many doors to save many lives from miseries. This is why every lodge has special charity collections made regularly, which are used to fund useful and meaningful projects and help to individuals. We can observe from the projects completed which are the living examples to prove this fact that contributions made by masons in cash or kind, have been utilized in proper way to the majestic looks of the dilapidated Masonic structures or buildings in cities either by way of renovation or new constructions of temples and no doubt these reflect well and bring satisfaction to all who contribute for this noble cause and are very helpful to masons for holding meetings in comfort. There are a number of Charitable projects which perhaps every lodge has either it’s own or those sponsored by other lodges and assisted by masons from different regions of the country. Even the Grand Lodge of India as well as the regional grand lodges put their mite to fund such projects, which are worthwhile and provide relief to a wide society of the downtrodden and weaker sections on human grounds. In addition to this, masonic charity has left an indelible impression on the minds of philanthropists across the world, which has gone to the extent of rehabilitating the badly affected families of fishermen during Tsunami floods havoc in India as well as other Asian countries. Masonic fraternity was second to none and rose to the occasion on its own to provide shelters to the badly affected and displaced poor communities. This virtue was practiced by masons in our country and adopted the housing projects first, which has won many a hearts. Besides the rehabilitation projects for the affected families during natural calamities, masons have come out to the rescue of slum dwellers in the cities with various other projects. To mention some, there have been free medical camps organized by member doctors, arranged for poor children, their parents or neighbours who could not afford to go to hospitals for treatments. Members associated with projects for medical aids or those who spend their valuable time to assist the doctors, can be also called as donors for such devotion of spending their valuable time for relief is certainly a part of charity.

Charity can be defined in other forms also, that need not be only monetary help or donations in cash. To name a few other ways, which can be termed as charity are:

Educating a student by assisting with books, knowledge, tuitions, scholarships, conveyance, school bags, furniture, a study room, food, household goods, electrical fittings, stationery, clothes or any such need which fulfils the requirements of education. According to the Upanishads, a sound advice given to a student is equal to charity.

Even Providing relief to aged men and women or orphans residing in “Old age homes” and orphanages respectively is a valuable contribution for charity. Benevolence cannot be confined to humans alone; it should be extended to all living beings.

The scriptures of all religions prevailing in the universe advise us, as to why one should be charitable and how it helps in this birth. The sublime and comprehensive divine precepts of Vedas, the oldest scriptures preach the importance of charity that one should earn with both hands but donate with many hands i.e. to be more generous for the cause of charity. Charity immensely helps and has a special significance to achieve salvation—called MOKSHA, thus to come out of the cycles of births and deaths, but to reach this stage one has to observe some of the prescribed rituals, which, when practiced along with charity infuse the confidence needed to work towards this goal. Upanishads emphasize the need for sacrifices by humans and one of the virtues mentioned therein is “Sacrifice through Charity- anything which is in excess of your requirement should be donated to others who need it, be it food, clothes, or money. One should not remain satisfied with one’s own progress in life but derive satisfaction in the welfare of all”. Charity should never be preferred as publicity but a genuine help without expectation for name and fame is recognized by the almighty in its true meaning of Karma (action), according to our saints who have sacrificed their lives and gave us the practical & spiritual guidance.

Prophet Muhammad in Holy Koran says: Every good act is charity, an exhortation of your fellow man to virtuous deeds, is equal to alms giving; assisting the blind man is charity.

Zend Avesta mentions: Happiness and immortality will be the lot of the faithful and charitable person.

Buddhism describes Charity as an act of nonviolence by sacrificing for others in whatever way possible, with a minimal requirement of living for own self and giving the rest to the needy, an accomplishment and regular practice of charity for all fellow mortals.

Jainism gives a great importance to Charity. Even supplying drinking water to thirsty is an act of charity. Fulfilling the desires of pilgrims with food, clothing and shelter is considered charity. Teaching non-violence to all communities is another virtue for charity.

Bible confirms that Charity blesses a donor fully, to get rid of sins committed inadvertently. A mere assurance of assistance should bring smile on the face of the recipient and fills the heart with joy for God looketh at the heart.

Simon Jenkins, a journalist from United States of America, writes on the virtue of philanthropy that” 19th century was the age of capitalism, the 20th century of socialism, but it seems, 21st century will be the age of Charity”, as business stalwarts around the world like Mr. Warren Buffet and Mr. Bill Gates will surpass the earlier established charitable foundations and keep the world wonderstruck with the financial aids for relieving sufferings and diseases prevailing at present” This thought for charity will touch hearts of millions, which will perhaps remain unmatched for years in the modern history. Robert E.Farley—a poet, in his collections titled “ Think Happiness” says, “Charity is a blessing- chance to serve others. Think of the service you may render, not of serving self alone; think of happiness of others, and in this you will find your own!” Let this awakening come to the rest of the world thoughtfully, of course without racial prejudice. Freemasonry, on similar lines, urges to practice charity and feels that, the more you give for the noble causes, the more you gain. Undoubtedly, blessings thus received from the core of the recipients’ heart will certainly help in some part of life. This again, is a proven fact. Our dignified institution called freemasonry has balanced the materialistic lives of brethren with spiritualism, regulated their actions to limit desires to practice charity. Masonry has been there in the past; it is here in the present and shall be there in future to guide men who believe in love, peace and harmony.

In conclusion, from time immemorial, freemasonry has been a way of life and provides a great opportunity to practice charity too, as this is an inseparable or rather an integral part and Masonic ornament of the fraternity. The effort has to be there to rope in the present generation into its fold with constant enrolment and expansion by inviting the prospective candidates to join this wonderful fraternity and thus become a forerunner among other organizations to spread the message of universal brotherhood through practice of charity. The progress of masonry along with Charity as one of the cardinal virtues must continue together in real meanings of Hope, Relief, Brotherly Love and Obedience to the Great Architect of the universe.

Looking back with pride what masonry has achieved so far and looking ahead with confidence on an optimistic note that Freemasonry will rejuvenate and keep many hearts throbbing with joy and enthusiasm through Charity for years to come satisfies its members and well wishers alike.

Acknowledgements:

1. The Rigveda
2. What is Freemasonry? - Fred J.W.Crowe
3. Fountainhead of Religion – Dr. Ganga Prasad