2009-08 Lodgeroom

August 2009
Lodgeroom International Magazine

From time immemorial, mankind has pondered the
amazing cycle of birth and death. Approaching later
years, it is only natural that one contemplates the
'hereafter' and the fact that life is, indeed, fleeting.
In a world where life seems exceptionally cheap and
people are willing to give their lives for a cause, it is
more difficult to remember a simpler time when - to
those who took the time to contemplate - death was a
powerful reminder that we have precious little time on
earth and that soon we will return to the dust.
Some appendant bodies of Freemasonry have taken the
eternal search for understanding the meaning of life
and death and have sought to incorporate it into their
symbolism. It is for that reason, we sometimes find the
skull and crossbones, for example, in Masonic
iconography.
There are several reminders of mortality in the
Masonic degrees: the hourglass through which the
sands of time run so very swiftly, Father Time with his
scythe, the scythe itself, the spade, the coffin, and the
evergreen which reminds the Mason that from death
springs the hope of everlasting life.
The Knights Templar Degree (in the York Rite, one of
the 'family' of Masonic Degrees), the skull is a potent
reminder of one's limited opportunities to do good due
to fleeting time.
At least one appendant body has a degree where the
petitioner is left alone in a room with a skull in order
that he might contemplate the possibility and potential
of his remaining time on earth.
http://www.masonicinfo.com/mortality.htm
Mortality
Freemasonry: It s not about me changi ng t hem, it s about me changi ng me.
2
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Volume 2 - Issue 8 - September 2007
Between The Pillars
I may not agree with what you say,
but I will defend to the death your right to say it
Of This Take Due Notice, and Govern Yourselves Accord-
ingly:
Neither the editors, publishers or writers of this magazine represent themselves as
speaking FOR any Grand Lodge or official body. The material presented in this
publication is intended solely for informational purposes. The opinions presented
herein are solely those of the authors, editors and publishers. This magazine may
be redistributed freely, but may not be sold. The contents of the magazine are Copyright
of the respective authors and may not be republished without permission of the
Lodgeroom International Magazine.
Published by: Willam McElligott, P.M. PZ,
United Grand Lodge of England
Senior Editor: Giovanni Lombardo
Grande Oriente dItalia
Questions or Comments: [email protected]
Volume 2 - Issue 8 - September
2007
Letters to the Editor
The staff at the Lodgeroom International
would like to invite you to send your
comments in for inclusion in the
magazine. This magazine is for you, and
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continued on next page
Is it part of the Masonic way of life to talk about death ?
Even if it is read by those who have not yet been through
the devastation of loosing that special person.
I would like to make some observations. I like many
others have had a brush with the grin reaper and I guess I
think that gives me some right to express my opinion. But
my life experience I think also allows me to voice this
opinion.
My Mum died when I was 16 years old. I came home
from a day out with friends and she was gone. I was a bit
shell shocked and I cried, but I remember thinking it
should be worse than this, but hey, I was 16 and a MAN.
Mortality
Featured Articles
Mortality by Bill McElligott ............................................................................... 2
The Book of the Dead........................................................................................... 3
Articles of Nelson King ......................................................................................... 6
Articles of Tim Bryce ............................................................................................ 8
In St. Johns Prologue By: Piero Vitellaro Zuccarello ..................................... 12
Shakti and Shakta by Sir John Woodfoffe ....................................................... 16
George Washington the Man and Mason by Carl Claudy ............................. 24
A Solution by Theron Dunn .............................................................................. 26
The Tylers Sword by annon ............................................................................... 29
The Lodgeroom Contact Centre ........................................................................ 33
The Scandal that shook Freemasonry and Interview with Stephen Dafoe . 34
Featured Articles
Book Reviews begin at page ............................................................................. 34
More Light ........................................................................................................... 38
Haunted Chambers + Lifting the Veil ............................................................... 39
The Teachings of Freemasonry .......................................................................... 39
The Lodge of Perfection + Masonic Orders of Fraternity ............................ 40
Freemasons and Rosicrucians - the Enlightened ............................................ 41
The Threshing Floor by Dr. J. Naggy .............................................................. 44
Building Boaz by Dr. J. Naggy.......................................................................... 44
3
About a year later, my Cousin got married, everything
was going OK and then one of my relations came up
behind me and said " Your Ma, would have loved to be
here today'. Three days later, I managed to stop
sobbing.
Today I make it a 'must do' job to speak openly to my
Grandchildren about death and I explain at some point
I will not be here any more. You see I had managed to
get to the age of 16 and it never crossed my mind for
one second that at some point my Mother would not be
here.
I also tell my Grandkids that of course My Mother and
Father are still here, I am the sum total of who they
were. And that when I am gone, I will carry on in them.
All they have to do is listen and they will hear me
telling them all those silly sayings my Father told to
me.
Children that play with fire get their fingers burned'
Stay alert and you won't get hurt'
Play nice and others will play nice with you'.
Like many of you, these days I seem to go to a funeral
about once a Month, to be honest it does not get any
easier. I started life in Freemasonry some time back and
I can remember seeing my name printed on the bottom
of the Lodge summons. I can remember how I looked
up to all those names that were before me. I am now
about 3 down from the top of the summons. A whole
generation has gone, that makes me sad and happy at
the same time, sad they have gone and Happy they
made a difference. As a Freemason I am the sum total
of who and what they were.
Bill McElligott
Book of the Dead is the common name for ancient
Egyptian funerary texts known as The Book of
Coming or Going Forth By Day. The name "Book of
the Dead" was the invention of the German
Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius, who published a
selection of some texts in 1842.
The Books were text initially carved on the exterior
of the deceased person's sarcophagus, but was later
written on papyrus now known as scrolls and buried
inside the sarcophagus with the deceased,
presumably so that it would be both portable and
close at hand. Other texts often accompanied the
primary texts including the hypocephalus (meaning
'under the head') which was a primer version of the
full text.
Books of the Dead constituted as a collection of
spells, charms, passwords, numbers and magical
formulas for the use of the deceased in the afterlife.
This described many of the basic tenets of Egyptian
mythology.
They were intended to guide the dead through the
various trials that they would encounter before
reaching the underworld. Knowledge of the
appropriate spells was considered essential to
achieving happiness after death. Spells or
enchantments vary in distinctive ways between the
texts of differing "mummies" or sarcophagi,
depending on the prominence and other class factors
of the deceased.
Books of the Dead were usually illustrated with
pictures showing the tests to which the deceased
would be subjected. The most important was the
weighing of the heart of the dead person against
Ma'at, or Truth (carried out by Anubis). The heart of
the dead was weighed against a feather, and if the
heart was not weighed down with sin (if it was
lighter than the feather) he was allowed to go on. The
god Thoth would record the results and the monster
Ammit would wait nearby to eat the heart should it
prove unworthy.
The earliest known versions date from the 16th
The Book of the Dead
continued next page
Mortality
4
century BC during the 18th Dynasty (ca. 1580
BC-1350 BC). It partly incorporated two previous
collections of Egyptian religious literature, known as
the Coffin Texts (ca. 2000 BC) and the Pyramid
Texts (ca. 2600 BC-2300 BC), both of which were
eventually superseded by the Book of the Dead.
The text was often individualized for the deceased
person - so no two copies contain the same text -
however, "book" versions are generally categorized
into four main divisions - the Heliopolitan version,
which was edited by the priests of the college of
Annu (used from the 5th to the 11th dynasty and on
walls of tombs until about 200); the Theban version,
which contained hieroglyphics only (20th to the 28th
dynasty); a hieroglyphic and hieratic character
version, closely related to the Theban version, which
had no fixed order of chapters (used mainly in the
20th dynasty); and the Saite version which has strict
order (used after the 26th dynasty).
This is a beautiful color version of the Papyrus of
Ani, one of the books of the dead which were often
buried with the dead person who could afford to have
one written, to ease his/her way into eternal life.
Above is a picture from the book. Ani (man with his
wife bowing to the gods), while Anubis weighs his
heart against Maat's feather of truth, and Thoth
records the event, and Ammit the devourer waits
patiently. There are several books by E. W. Budge
about this papyrus. But Faulkner's version is better
and more beautiful. And, considering the page after
page of beautiful color pictures, this paperback
version is amazingly inexpensive. You may find
yourself just sitting and marveling at it for hours and
hours, maybe years and years.
The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript written
in cursive hieroglyphs and illustrated with color
miniatures created in the 19th dynasty of the New
Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, (1240s BC). Full
pictorail can be viewed on line at :-
http://projects.vassar.edu/bookofthedead/
Egyptians compiled an individualized book for each
person at their death, called the "Book of Going
Forth by Day". This book is more commonly known
as the Book of the Dead. It usually contained
declarations and spells to help the deceased in their
afterlife. The "Book of the Dead" for scribe Ani from
Thebes is the manuscript called the Papyrus of Ani.
It was purchased in 1888 by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge for
the collection of the British Museum where it remains
today. Before shipping the manuscript to England,
Budge cut the 78 foot scroll into 37 sheets of nearly
equal size, damaging the scroll's integrity at a time
when technology had not yet allowed the pieces to be
put back together.
Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (July 27,
1857 November 23, 1934) was an English
Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked
for the British Museum and published numerous works
on the ancient Near East.
Budge's works, particularly his translation of the
Egyptian Book of the Dead, which was very important
to such writers as the poet William Butler Yeats and
James Joyce. Budge's works on Egyptian religion have
remained consistently in print since they entered the
public domain; this is most likely because Budge was,
himself, a proponent of liberal Christianity and devoted
to comparative religions, and his works often appeal to
those who are similarly interested.
So the connections between freemasonry and the
Ancient Egyptian's have been referenced by many.
W.L. Wilmshurst, we find the statement:
I am acquainted, for instance, with an Egyptian
ceremonial system, some 5,000 years old, which taught
precisely the same things as Masonry does,...
In the book, Freemasonry Its Hidden Meaning, by
George H. Steinmetz, we find the statement:
Regardless of the origin of the modern lodge, or of the
name "Freemason," we can, after freeing the
symbolism of modern adaptations, discern in
Freemasonry the outline of the teachings of the ancient
mysteries of Egypt.
5
In the same book Mr. Steinmetz makes the statement connecting Freemasonry and the Egyptian mysteries.
If the symbols can be consistently interpreted in this manner, throughout the three degrees we have confirmed
Freemasonry to be the reincarnation of the Ancient Mysteries of Egypt".
33" Mason Manly P. Hall
relates the efforts of early Masonic historians to link Hiram Abiff to the Egyptian Mystery Religion.
Early Masonic historians such as Albert Mackey, Robert Freke Gould and Albert Pike were of a single purpose
in their efforts to establish a definite correspondence between the Hiramic legend of Freemasonry and the Osiris
myth as expounded in the initiatory rituals of the Egyptians.
From The Lost Keys of Freemasonry by 33 Manly P. Hall:
Man is a god in the making, and as in the mystic myths of Egypt on the potter's wheel he is being molded.
UNAS EATS MAGICAL CHARMS
Behold, Unas eateth of that which the red crown "sendeth forth, he increaseth, and the magical charms of the
gods are in his belly;
The following quote is a comment on the texts about King Unas by the translator of the Egyptian Book of the
Dead, E.A. Wallis Budge:
The notion that, by eating the flesh, or particularly by drinking the blood, of another living being, a man absorbs
his nature or life into his own, is one which appears among primitive peoples in many forms.
Ref:
* 1. Wikipedia
* 2. Crystalinks
6
The Articles of Nelson King
http://nelsonking.ca/
Confessions of a Born Again
Fundamentalist, Freemason
I confess that I am a Born Again,
Fundamentalist, Freemason.
Now before you have a cardiac arrest, or a
stroke, let me explain what a Born Again,
Fundamentalist, Freemason is. I used to be a
very [for want of a better word] liberal
Mason. I am now a very Conservative or
Traditionalist, Freemason. Therefore, I am
Born Again. By Fundamentalist, I mean that I
believe that no one has a right to be a
Freemason.
I believe those who want to be Freemasons must be good and true men,
free born and of a mature and discreet age and sound judgment, no
bondsmen, no women, no immoral or scandalous men, only men of good
report.
I believe that a man who wants to be a Freemason must believe in the
existence of God, and take his Obligation on Volume of The Sacred Law
of his choice and that he owes a duty to that God and to his fellow man no
matter what their creed, color, or religion.
I believe that a Freemason is obliged to obey the moral and civil law.
I believe that a mans religion or mode of worship should not exclude him
from the Order of Freemasonry, provided he also believes in the existence
of a Supreme Being, and that Supreme Being will punish vice and reward
virtue.
I believe that a Freemason is bound never to act against the dictates of his
conscience. I believe that Freemasonry is the center of union between
honest men and the happy means of conciliating friendship amongst those
who must otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.
I believe a Freemasons Lodge is the temple of peace, harmony, and
brotherly love; nothing is allowed to enter this Lodge which has the
remotest tendency to disturb the quietude of its pursuits.
I believe all preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and
personal merit only, therefore no Brother should be passed chair to chair,
whether it is in a Lodge or a Grand Lodge, just because he knows the right
people or has held the previous office for one year, no Grand Master,
Master or Warden is chosen by seniority, but only for his merit .
I believe that there is nothing wrong with Freemasonry, as laid down for
our instruction in our Ancient Charges.
I am a Born Again Fundamentalist, Freemason.
7
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The Articles of Nelson King
http://nelsonking.ca/
YABUTS
YABUTS are monstrous little beasts that inhabit the
meetings and conversations that take place all over our
Fraternity. A YABUTS purpose in life is to sap a team
of its competitive strength by killing any new ideas or
creative approaches as soon as they are suggested.
They do this by grabbing someones tongue and
making them say things like:
YABUT we tried that three years ago.
YABUT weve never done it like that before.
YABUT Grand Lodge will never go along with it.
YABUT the members will never buy into that kind
of idea
YABUT they [the ubiquitous they who control the
world] wont let us.
YABUT it might not work.
YABUT I think it says in the Book of Constitution
and /or the Bylaws we should do it this way.
Be aware that when they crawl onto the table during a
meeting or swoop down into a Lodge room
conversation, those YABUTS sometimes dont look
monstrous at all. Often, they adopt the appearance of a
cute, cuddly, perfectly acceptable, or even helpful
contribution to the discussion.
But If YABUTS are not recognized and stomped out
right away, they usually succeed in their deadly,
negative missions. The flow of ideas soon changes
from: This is how we can make it work. To How
can we make it work? and all the reasons it wont
work, and therefore, it isnt worth trying.
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The Articles of Tim Bryce
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
100 MASTER MASONS NIGHT
by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN
[email protected]
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"
Dunedin Lodge No. 192 F.& A.M. is a Masonic craft lodge located in
Dunedin, Florida, a town in the Tampa Bay area with a strong Scottish
heritage. Currently we have about 200 members of which approximately
thirty attend a stated or called communications;
forty on a good night. Having been Secretary of the Lodge, I noticed that
attendance is high in the spring but low in autumn (we are dark for the
summer). It isn't until November, when the "snow birds" return to
Florida and attendance starts to bounce back. Knowing this, I wanted to
try something different during my year in the East. Basically, I was
looking
for something to stimulate the Craft and give us some momentum going
into the Fall.
Believe it or not, the idea came from The Philalethes Society's Internet
discussion group where a member from the north reported his Lodge held
a "100 Master Mason Night" to encourage attendance. To me, this was
the idea I was looking for and seized on it. In June, just before our
summer recess, I called a meeting of our officers and suggested the idea
which was
warmly received. Consequently, I scheduled August 17th, our first
meeting back from recess, for our version of "100 Master Mason Night"
and began to promote it in our newsletter and printed up flyers which I
distributed to Lodges in our area. I also brought it to the attention
of our Masters & Wardens Association who embraced the idea.
I personally invited local Masonic VIPs, including area Worshipful
Masters, the President of the Masters & Wardens Association,
representatives of the local High 12 Club, and members of the Grand
Lodge. All were introduced accordingly.
Realizing this was not going to be an ordinary stated communications, I
started to prepare checklists with assignments for my officers who
pitched in without question. I also formed a telephone committee to
contact the Craft about the meeting. Between this, along with an e-mail
campaign, people started to register for the meeting, slowly at first, but
then faster as we moved closer to August 17th. By the morning of the
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day of the meeting, we had 132 reservations. Although
we expected some "no shows" we came close to the
mark with 126 people in attendance.
Because we were expecting a large crowd, I wanted to
keep the program concise, upbeat, and to the point.
One variable I had not anticipated was that our new
District Deputy Grand Master, who happens to be a
member from our Lodge, wanted to use this date to
make his first official visit with his entourage. At first,
I thought this would drag things out, then I realized it
would be a golden opportunity to help our DDGM
kick start his year. Consequently, I kept him advised of
our plans as they unfolded. In fact, we went so far as to
schedule a rehearsal with his people so that everyone
knew their parts.
Knowing that it was important to put on a first class
dinner prior to the meeting, our Junior Warden stepped
up to the plate without batting an eye and did a great
job. Not only did he secure the services of his stewards
and other volunteers, but he contacted a Lodge member
who was a restaurateur who greatly assisted in the
laying out of the menu, ordering the supplies, and
orchestrating the kitchen.
Because of the Lodge's Scottish background, our
Senior Deacon, who is a superb bagpiper, piped into
the Lodge the Masonic VIPs along with the District
Deputy and his entourage. This stirred the attendees
noticeably.
As this was a stated communications, the Lodge
naturally had some business to attend to which we
expedited as quickly as possible. Other than normal
Lodge business, theprogram included:
* As Worshipful Master, I began with some
introductory remarks discussing the need for
more Freemasonry, not less (see speech below).
* First time visitors were presented west of the alter
where I met each one
individually on the level (a local Lodge custom).
* A Master Mason catechism examination was
conducted by the Lodge Instructor for two Brothers.
Following this, they were presented their white leather
aprons. Interestingly, one of the Brothers returning his
catechism was the son of the District Deputy, who was
proud to present him with his apron, a very moving
moment in the Lodge.
* Another high point was the presentation of a 70 year
Masonic service award to a Brother who hadn't been
back to Lodge in the last few years as his health had
been slowly declining. Nonetheless, there was a
twinkle in his eye as we presented his 70 year pin and
rendered grand honors to him. I received an e-mail
from his wife the next day saying how excited he was
to sit in Lodge again and receive the award.
* For Masonic Education and to improve awareness
about our lodge, we showed a new MS PowerPoint
presentation featuring a brief history of Dunedin Lodge
(about 9 minutes
in length).
* Knowing our Secretary was celebrating his 55th
birthday on this day, I surprised him by having him
escorted west of the altar and led the Craft in singing
him "Happy Birthday."
The Master's gavel was then turned over to the District
Deputy Grand Master who conducted his program.
Following the meeting, many of the attendees
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adjourned to nearby Dunedin Brewery which
was specially opened for the Masons.
This was an interesting experiment. Hopefully, this
will not only invigorate Freemasonry in Dunedin, but
it will also stimulate all of the Lodges in our area (a
few are considering a similar meeting in their own
Lodge). My officers did an outstanding job and I
cannot thank them enough for their efforts which, as
an aside, kept them organized and motivated during
the summer months. The spirit of cooperation was
truly infectious. For example, our chaplain was
called away on an emergency at the last minute and a
chaplain from a neighboring Lodge quickly
volunteered his services. Likewise, our organist was
out of town and another readily filled in for him. It
seemed everyone wanted to take an active part in this
historic evening.
Through this program of "100 Master Masons" the
message I tried to communicate was twofold in
nature: that our Lodge had its act together, and; that
a Masonic Lodge meeting need not be boring.
Hopefully, the evening's spirit of Masonic goodwill
will rub off and encourage others to redouble their
efforts for the fraternity.
I don't know who exactly it was from The Philalethes
Society that came up with the idea,
but thanks! It works.
WORSHIPFUL MASTER'S REMARKS - WE
NEED MORE FREEMASONRY, NOT LESS - by
W:.Tim Bryce, PM
My Brothers, these are indeed strange times we live
in. The economy has been shaken to its foundation,
people are out of work, companies are closing their
doors, morality is crumbling, we have considerable
political wrangling and backbiting underfoot, we
have grave concerns about health care and the
national debt, the country is still on guard against
terrorism, and the nuclear threat has never dissipated.
Obviously, we can ill-afford to conduct business as
usual. If we are to survive, we must find new and
imaginative ways to grow and evolve. Maintaining
the status quo is simply not an option.
As we have learned, stagnation means death.
The critics of our fraternity claim that Freemasonry
has outlived its usefulness; that it is no longer in step
with the times; that it is actually an evil society that
must be stamped out. I vehemently disagree.
Although we are an imperfect society with our own
unique set of problems, I hardly believe we are an
obsolete institution.
Now, more than ever, the world needs more
Freemasonry, not less.
We need more patriotism and civic pride, not less.
We need more cooperation, loyalty, and teamwork,
not less.
We need more religious tolerance, not less.
We need more Faith, Hope, and Charity, not less.
We need more positive examples of ethics and pride
in workmanship, not less.
We need more Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly
Love, not less.
To do all this, we need more honest and respectful
debate, not less.
Yes, we need more Freemasonry, not less.
Maybe I'm old fashioned; maybe I'm wrong, but this
is how I see True Masonry; a universal and beautiful
concept embraced by men around the world. We
must remain the example for others to emulate. We
must practice what we preach.
11
And Brothers, consider this: If not us, who?
Our Politicians? The media? Religious zealots?
Who?
Freemasonry is uniquely qualified to lead the charge.
We are not a religious or political
organization, we represent a cross-section of people
from all social stratas, located around
the world, with honorable intentions. We are well
established and have a strong historical
background. As long as we do not deviate from the
basic tenets of Freemasonry, we'll be fine.
I therefore admonish all of you to redouble your efforts
as Masons and help perpetuate
this great fraternity and make the world a better place.
Thank you.
Keep the Faith!
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my
own and do not necessarily represent
the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic
jurisdiction or any other Masonic related body.
As with all of my Masonic articles herein, please feel
free to reuse them in Masonic
publications or re-post them on Masonic web sites
(except Florida).
When doing so, please add the following:
"Article reprinted with permission of the author."
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it
is produced.
To receive notices of Tim's writings, subscribe to his
private Discussion Group at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/timbryce/
Also be sure to check out Tim's "Pet Peeve of the
Week" (non-Masonic related) at:
12
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Italian lodges that run their business with AASR open the
with the VSL on the Prologue of St. John, upon which
the square and compasses are placed.
Indeed, St. Johns gospel has a Gnostic and esoteric
feature, also the universal content which goes far beyond
any religious and clerical perspective.
Word, Light, Life
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made.
In him was life,
and that life was the light of men.
In the traditional doctrine, the Word is the Prologues
theoretical core; it is the source of all that is created, or
better, of the universal manifestation. The spiritual light
which stems from Fiat Lux1 is the first creation itself. At
human level, id est in the world where we live, such a
spiritual light is the subtle states one, their vital
principle.2
Synthetically, this is the Logos essential doctrine, which
man finds in all traditions, in various forms, though.
Johns gospel and the Gnsis
Western society knew Logos doctrine through the
platonic thought, which marked Christianity in exoteric
terms, as they were defined by the Council of Nicea, and
also in the various Gnostic forms.
In a short essay man cannot evaluate the various Gnostic
doctrines, the contents of which reveal a very deep
knowledge of metaphysics and cosmology, that man can
hardly grasp by the Roman Catholic exoterism.
Over centuries man could know the Gnostic schools
teachings through the fathers of the Church, their fiercest
adversaries. The situation lasted till recent times and
partially changed after the discovery of old Gnostic texts,
which man found in the Egyptian upper desert. These
texts are known as the Nag Hammadi library.
On St. Johns Prologue
By: Piero Vitellaro Zuccarello
13
Esoteric
Kurt Rudoph, a keen scholar of Gnosticism, thinks
that the lgos shows a Gnostic background, and
probably also derives from a Gnostic hymn.3 In his
opinion, Rudoph Bultmann and other scholars
validated his theory.
The Trimorphic Protennoia, a Gnostic text which is
part of the Nag Hammadi library, is
surprisingly similar to the
Prologue:
I am the Word who dwells in the ineffable Voice. I
dwell in undefiled Light and a Thought revealed itself
perceptibly through the great Speech of the Mother,
although it is a male offspring that supports me as my
foundation. And it (the Speech) exists from the
beginning in the foundations of the All.
But there is a Light that dwells hidden in Silence, and
it was first to come forth. Whereas she (the Mother)
alone exists as Silence, I alone am the Word, ineffable,
unpolluted, immeasurable, inconceivable. It (the
Word) is a hidden Light, bearing a fruit of life,
pouring forth a living water from the invisible,
unpolluted, immeasurable spring, that is, the
unreproducible Voice of the glory of the Mother, the
glory of the offspring of God; a male virgin by virtue
of a hidden Intellect, that is, the Silence hidden from
the All, being unreproducible, an immeasurable Light,
the source of the All, the root of the entire Aeon. It is
the foundation that supports every movement of the
Aeons that belong to the mighty glory. It is the
foundation of every foundation. It is the breath of the
powers. It is the eye of the three permanences, which
exist as Voice by virtue of Thought. And it is a Word
by virtue of Speech; it was sent to illumine those who
dwell in the darkness.
Now behold! I will reveal to you my mysteries, since
you are my fellow brethren, and you shall know them
all.
(5 lines missing)
I told all of them about my mysteries that exist in the
incomprehensible, inexpressible Aeons. I taught them
the mysteries through the Voice that exists within a
perfect Intellect, and I became a foundation for the
All, and I empowered them.
The Second time I came in the Speech of my Voice. I
gave shape to those who took shape, until their
consummation.
The Third time I revealed myself to them in their
tents as Word, and I revealed myself in the likeness
of their shape. And I wore everyones garment, and I
hid myself within them, and they did not know the
one who empowers me. For I dwell within all the
Sovereignties and Powers, and within the angels, and
in every movement that exists in all matter. And I hid
myself within them until I revealed myself to my
brethren. And none of them (the Powers) knew me,
although it is I who work in them. Rather, they
thought that the All was created by them, since they
are ignorant, not knowing their root, the place in
which they grew.
I am the Light that illumines the All. I am the Light
that rejoices in my brethren, for I came down to the
world of mortals on account of the Spirit that remains
in that which descended (and) came forth from the
innocent Sophia. I came, and I delivered [...], and I
went to ...
(5 lines missing)
... which he had formerly, and I gave to him from the
Water of Life, which strips him of the chaos that is in
the uttermost darkness that exists inside the entire
abyss, that is, the thought of the corporeal and the
psychic. All these I put on. And I stripped him of it,
and I put upon him a shining Light, that is, the
knowledge of the Thought of the Fatherhood...4
The text is quite cryptic and incomplete, nevertheless
it contains very important metaphysical and
cosmological subjects, which are expressed by
symbolic language.
All traditions ground the human sufferance on a
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Esoteric
cosmic drama, consisting in the intellectual dimming of
the Spiritual Man; exoteric religions know it as the
original sin.
The cosmic manifestation is parted. There is a spiritual,
bright part and another one which is dark.
The Spiritual Man Adam Kadmn in the Jewish
Cabbala, Universal Man in the Islamic esotericism is
originally the lord of the creation and of the cosmic
powers that is, impersonal psychic powers which
serve the function of displaying the cosmic
manifestation.
Due to an intellectual darkening process, the Spiritual
Man, once undivided, identifies with the dark and thick
side of the creation, thus losing his freedom. He then
lives as a common human being, divided within,
prisoner of a solidified nature, slave of cosmic powers,
unable to communicate with the Fathers spiritual
world, which seems to be very far and therefore
inaccessible.
There is, however, still a glimmer of hope. In each
human being there is a bright, divine spark which
enables him to receive the Word, that he perceives as a
message of freedom coming from the spiritual, upper
world. Through this message he becomes aware of his
deep, bright nature and can restore his original
undivided state.
Bela Hamvas wrote: The traditional doctrine of mens
two types was secret and hidden. In each tradition,
initiations core consisted in that, that on one hand there
was a man coming from heaven, with his royal nature,
on the other hand there was another man, coming
grassroots, who wandered the Powers corrupted
existence... for the time being, it suffices to say that the
two men are still linked. Both remained One, but
Oneness sank so much that material men could not see
it any longer. The spiritual man is aware of Oneness.
He acts like the Eternal Man who spreads the forces
from above on the lower layers, thus elevating them. It
is the secret of the primordial sacred man, the holy
king, the high priest, the bard, the prophet, the
ascetic.5
The Cosmic Duality
The light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not understood it.
This passage pertains to the cosmic duality between
light and darkness as well as to the relationship
between opposites.
On this purpose, Meister Eckhart the giant of
medieval mysticism wrote a profound commentary
on Johns gospel. Here below I quote some excerpts:
The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not
understood it means that light is God himself, and all
that which is divine and perfect. Darkness is all that
which is created... One cannot see the transparent
element of light, unless he has added something
opaque to it, such as pitch, lead or something
similar... The light shines in the darkness because the
principle hides into itself, but shines and reveals itself
through the manifestation... evil is always in the good,
and man cannot see it; it is however shining in the
goods light. So man knows falsity through truth,
want through possession, negation through
affirmation. Man however reads afterwards but the
darkness has not understood it. Actually, nothing is
thoroughly evil or false. Every false doctrine is
intermingled with something true, says Beda in a
homily.
The same is valid for other things, such as possession,
affirmation and so on. Furthermore, the darkness has
not understood it means that evil does neither upset,
nor alters, nor influences, nor names the good in
which it rests. And so for any other thing.
Eckharts words adapt to the Tessellated Pavement,
the Masonic symbol which hints at the cosmic duality
and embraces all the couples of opposites. It has the
same meaning as the Yin-Yang in the Far-East.
Eckharts teachings match those of Muhyid-din Ibn
Arabi, the great Sufi master, who wrote as follows:
When the possible was dyed in light, it turned
towards the left and saw non-being. It began to
examine it. It was like the shadow of an individual
which emanates from him when exposed to light. The
possible exclaimed, What is this? The light
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answered the possible from the right, It is yourself. If
you were pure light, there would have been no
substantial basis for the shadow. I am pure light and I
have no shadow. The light which is in you is due to a
certain portion of you facing me. You should know
that you are not I, for I am light without shadow. You
are mixed light, for a part of you is towards me and
the other towards non-being. So you are between
being and non-being and between good and evil...
God is pure light. The impossible is pure darkness.
Light is never turned into darkness and darkness is
never turned into light. The creature is a demarcation
between light and darkness. It is not attributed with
light or darkness by itself. It is the mixed middle
which is governed by both the sides. Therefore, God
gave man two eyes and led him along two roads
because he is between two roads. With one of his eyes
and from one side he receives light and faces it
according to his capacity. With the other eye and from
the other side he receives darkness and faces it
similarly. By himself he is neither light nor darkness.
He is neither existent nor non-existent. He is a
powerful obstacle which prevents pure light from
driving away light. These two sides join in him. From
the side of light he gets the attribute of being and
from the side of darkness he gets the attribute of non-
being. He is protected on both the sides and he
protects both of them.6
The Prologue, by which we ritually begin to run our
masonic business, is therefore a casket containing an
important part of the masonic doctrine.
Such a doctrine is just a particular expression of the
Unique Tradition and marks both rituals and symbols.
It is not closed like any modern philosophical
systems, or any other dogmatic thought, be it lay or
religious. It is grounded on various symbols and is
therefore open to the highest ideas. Any Mason can
grab it if he interprets symbols with intellectual
clearness and sincerity, and the Prologue is helpful for
this purpose.
1 Let there be light [ED]
2 Ren Gunon, Verbum, Lux & Vita, in Perspectives
on Initiation, Sophia Perennis, p.291
3 Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis. The nature & history of
Gnosticism, Harper & Row, p. 149
4 Translated by John D. Turner. http://
www.gn?sis.org/naghamm/trimorph.html
5 Bela Hamvas, Scientia Sacra, Edizioni AllInsegna
del Veltro, p. 122-123 [translated from Italian, ED]
6 Muhyid-din ibn Arabi, al-futuhatu l-makkyyah, in
S. A. Q. Husaini, The pantheist monism of ibn al-
Arabi, Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, Lahore, p. 131-132
16
Esoteric Shakti and Shkta
by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe)
Chapter Seven
Is Shakti Force?
There are some persons who have thought, and still
think, that Shakti means force and that the worship of
Shakti is the worship of force. Thus Keshub Chunder
Sen (New Dispensation, p. 108), wrote:
Four centuries ago the Shaktas gave way before the
Bhaktas. Chaitanya's army proved invincible, and
carried all Bengal captive. Even to-day his gospel of
love rules as a living force, though his followers have
considerably declined both in faith and in morals. Just
the reverse of this we find in England and other
European countries. There the Shaktas are driving the
Bhaktas out of the field. Look at the Huxleys, the
Tyndalls and the Spencers of the day. What are they but
Shaktas, worshippers of Shakti or Force? The only
Deity they adore, if they at all adore one, is the Prime
Force of the universe. To it they offer dry homage.
Surely then the scientists and materialists of the day are
a sect of Shakti-worshippers, who are chasing away the
true Christian devotees who adore the God of Love.
Alas! for European Vaishnavas; they are retreating
before the advancing millions of Western Shaktas. We
sincerely trust, however, the discomfiture of devotion
and Bhakti will be only for a time, and that a Chaitanya
will yet arise in the West, crush the Shaktas, who only
recognize Force as Deity and are sunk in carnality and
voluptuousness, and lead natures into the loving faith,
spirituality, simplicity, and rapturous devotion of the
Vaishnava.
Professor Monier Williams ("Hinduism") also called it
a doctrine of Force.
Recently the poet Rabindranath Tagore has given the
authority of his great name to this error (Modern
Review, July, 1919). After pointing out that Egoism is
the price paid for the fact of existence and that the
whole universe is assisting in the desire that the "I"
should be, he says that man has viewed this desire in
two different ways, either as a whim of Creative Power,
or a joyous self-expression of Creative Love. Is the fact
then of his being, he asks, a revealment of Force or of
Love? Those who hold to the first view must also, he
thinks, recognize conflict as inevitable and eternal. For
according to them Peace and Love are but a precarious
coat of armor within which the weak seek shelter,
whereas that which the timid anathematize as
unrighteousness, that alone is the road to success.
"The pride of prosperity throws man's mind outwards
and the misery and insult of destitution draws man's
hungering desires likewise outwards. These two
conditions alike leave man unashamed to place above
all other gods, Shakti the Deity of Power -- the Cruel
One, whose right hand wields the weapon of guile. In
the politics of Europe drunk with Power we see the
worship of Shakti."
In the same way the poet says that in the days of their
political disruption, the cowed and down-trodden
Indian people through the mouths of their poets sang
the praises of the same Shakti. "The Chandi of
Kavikangkan and of the Annadamangala, the Ballad
of Manasa, the Goddess of Snakes, what are they but
Paeans of the triumph of Evil? The burden of their
song is the defeat of Shiva the good at the hands of
the cruel deceitful criminal Shakti." "The male Deity
who was in possession was fairly harmless. But all of
a sudden a feminine Deity turns up and demands to be
worshipped in his stead. That is to say that she
insisted on thrusting herself where she had no right.
Under what title? Force! By what method? Any that
would serve."
The Deity of Peace and Renunciation did not survive.
Thus he adds that in Europe the modern Cult of
Shakti says that the pale anaemic Jesus will not do.
But with high pomp and activity Europe celebrates
her Shakti worship.
"Lastly the Indians of to-day have set to the worship
Europe's Divinity. In the name of religion some are
saying that it is cowardly to be afraid of wrong-doing.
Both those who have attained worldly success, and
those who have failed to attain it are singing the same
tune. Both fret at righteousness as an obstacle which
both would overcome by physical force." I am not
concerned here with any popular errors that there may
be. After all, when we deal with a Shastrik term it is
to the Shastra itself that we must look for its meaning.
Shakti comes from the root Shak "to be able," "to do".
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Esoteric
Shakti and Shkta
It indicates both activity and capacity therefor. The
world, as word, is activity. But when we have said that,
we have already indicated that it is erroneous to
confine the meaning of the term Shakti to any special
form of activity. On the contrary Shakti means both
power in general and every particular form of power.
Mind is a Power: so is Matter. Mind is constantly
functioning in the form of Vritti; Reasoning, Will and
Feeling (Bhava) such as love, aversion and so forth are
all aspects of Mind-power in its general sense. Force is
power translated to the material plane, and is therefore
only one and the grossest aspect of Shakti or power.
But all these special powers are limited forms of the
great creative Power which is the Mother (Ambika) of
the Universe. Worship of Shakti is not worship of these
limited forms but of the Divine will, knowledge and
action, the cause of these effects. That Mahashakti is
perfect consciousness (Cidrupini) and Bliss
(Anandamayi) which produces from Itself the
contracted consciousness experiencing both pleasure
and pain. This production is not at all a "whim". It is
the nature (Svabhava) of the ultimate.
Bliss is Love (Niratishayapremaspadatvam
anandatvam). The production of the Universe is
according to the Shakta an act of love, illustrated by the
so-called erotic imagery of the Shastra. The Self loves
itself whether before, or in, creation. The thrill of
human love which continues the life of humanity is an
infinitesimally small fragment and faint reflection of
the creative act in which Shiva and Shakti join to
produce the Bindu which is the seed of the Universe.
I quite agree that the worship of mere Force is Asurik
and except in a transient sense futile. Force, however,
may be moralized by the good purpose which it serves.
The antithesis is not rightly between Might and Right
but between Might in the service of Right and Might in
the service of Wrong. To worship force merely is to
worship matter. He however who worships the Mother
in Her Material forms (Sthularupa) will know that She
has others, and will worship Her in all such forms. He
will also know that She is beyond all limited forms as
that which gives being to them all. We may then say
that Force is a gross form of Shakti, but Shakti is much
more than that "here" (Iha) and the infinite Power of
Consciousness "there" (Amutra). This last, the Shakti
of worship, is called by the Shastra the Purnahambhava
or the experience "All I am".
Chapter Seven
Is Shakti Force?
Chapter Eight
Cinacara (Vashishtha and Buddha)
It has been the subject of debate whether the Tantrik
Pacatattva ritual with wine and so forth is a product
of Buddhism, and whether it is opposed to Vaidika
Dharma. Some have supposed that these rites
originally came from yellow Asia, penetrated into
India where they received its impress, and again made
their way to the north to encounter earlier original
forms. I have elsewhere put forward some facts which
suggest that these rites may be a continuance, though
in another form, of ancient Vaidik usage in which
Soma, Meat, Fish and Purodasa formed a part.
Though there are some Maithuna rites in the Vedas it
is possible that the Bengal Shakta ritual in this respect
has its origin in Cinacara. Possibly the whole ritual
comes therefrom. I have spoken of Bengal because
we should distinguish it from other forms of Shakta
worship. The matter is so obscure at present that any
definite affirmation as to historical origins lacks
justification. Most important however in the alleged
Buddhist connection is the story of Vashishtha to be
found in the Tantras. He is said to have gone to
Mahacina (Tibet), which, according to popular belief,
is half way to Heaven. Mahadeva is said to be visible
at the bottom of the Manasarova Lake near Kailasa.
Some of the Texts bearing on it have been collected in
the Appendix to the edition of the Tara Tantra which
has been published by the Varendra Anusandhana
Samiti. The Tara Tantra opens (l. 2) with the
following question of Devi Tara or Mahanila-
Sarasvati: "Thou didst speak of the two Kula-
bhairavas, Buddha and Vashishtha. Tell me by what
Mantra they became Siddha'. The same Tantra (IV.
10) defines a Bhairava as follows: "He who purifies
these five (i.e., Pacatattva) and after offering the
same (to the Devata) partakes thereof is a Bhairava."
Buddha then is said to be a Kula-bhairava. It is to be
18
Esoteric Shakti and Shkta
noted that Buddhist Tantriks who practice this ritual are
accounted Kaulas. Shiva replied, "Janardana (Vishnu)
is the excellent Deva in the form of Buddha
(Buddharupi)." It is said in the Samayacara Tantra that
Tara and Kalika, in their different forms, as also
Matangi, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, and Dhumavati
belong to the northern Amnaya. The sixth Chapter of
the Sammohana Tantra mentions a number of
Scriptures of the Bauddha class, together with others of
the Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishnava, Saura and Ganapatya
classes.
Vashishtha is spoken of in the XVII Chapter of the
Rudrayamala and the 1st Patala of the Brahmayamala.
The following is the account in the former Tantrik
Scripture:
Vashishtha, the self-controlled, the son of Brahma,
practiced for ages severe austerities in a lonely spot.
For six thousand years he did Sadhana, but still the
Daughter of the Mountains did not appear to him.
Becoming angry he went to his father and told him his
method of practice. He then said, "Give me another
Mantra, Oh Lord! since this Vidya (Mantra) does not
grant me Siddhi (success); otherwise in your presence I
shall utter a terrible curse."
Dissuading him Brahma said, "Oh son, who art learned
in the Yoga path, do not do so. Do thou worship Her
again with wholehearted feeling, when She will appear
and grant you boons. She is the Supreme Shakti. She
saves from all dangers. She is lustrous like ten million
suns. She is dark blue (Nila). She is cool like ten
million moons. She is like ten million lightning-
flashes. She is the spouse of Kala (Kalakamini). She is
the beginning of all. In Her there is neither Dharma nor
Adharma. She is in the form of all. She is attached to
pure Cinacara (Shuddhacinacararata). She is the
initiator (Pravarttika) of Shakticakra. Her greatness is
infinitely boundless. She helps in the crossing of the
ocean of the Samsara. She is Buddheshvari (possibly
Buddhishvari, Lord of Buddhi). She is Buddhi
(intelligence) itself (Buddhirupa). She is in the form of
the Atharva branch of the Vedas
(Atharvavedashakhini). Numerous Shastric
references connect the Tantra Shastra with the
Atharvaveda. (See in this connection my citation
from Shaktisangama Tantra in Principles of Tantra.)
She protects the beings of the worlds. Her action is
spread throughout the moving and motionless.
Worship Her, my son. Be of good cheer. Why so
eager to curse? Thou art the jewel of kindness. Oh,
son, worship Her constantly with thy mind (Cetas).
Being entirely engrossed in Her, thou of a surety
shalt gain sight of Her."
Having heard these words of his Guru and having
bowed to him again and again the pure one
(Vashishtha), versed in the meaning of Vedanta,
betook himself to the shore of the ocean. For full a
thousand years he did Japa of Her Mantra. Still he
received no message (Adesha). Thereupon the Muni
Vashishtha grew angry, and being perturbed of mind
prepared to curse the Mahavidya (Devi). Having
sipped water (Acamana) he uttered a great and
terrible curse. Thereupon kuleshvari (Lady of the
Kaulas) Mahavidya appeared before the Muni.
She who dispels the fear of the Yogins said, "How
now Vipra (Are Vipra), why have you terribly cursed
without cause? Thou dost not understand My
Kulagama nor knowest how to worship. How by
Chapter Eight
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mere Yoga practice can either man or Deva get sight of
My Lotus-Feet. My worship (Dhyana) is without
austerity and pain. To him who desires My Kulagama,
who is Siddha in My Mantra, and knows My pure
Vedacara, My Sadhana is pure (Punya) and beyond
even the Vedas (Vedanamapyagocara). (This does not
mean unknown to the Vedas or opposed to them but
something which surpasses the Vaidik ritual of the
Pashu. This is made plain by the following injunction
to follow the Atharvaveda.) Go to Mahacina (Tibet)
and the country of the Bauddhas and always follow the
Atharvaveda (Bauddha deshe' tharvaveda Mahacine
sada braja). Having gone there and seen My Lotus-Feet
which are Mahabhava (the great blissful feeling which
in Her true nature She is) thou shalt, Oh Maharisi,
become versed in My Kula and a great Siddha".
Having so said, She became formless and disappeared
in the ether and then passed through the ethereal
region. The great Rishi having heard this from the
Mahavidya Sarasvati went to the land of China where
Buddha is established (Buddhapratishthita). Having
repeatedly bowed to the ground, Vashishtha said,
"Protect me, Oh Mahadeva who art the Imperishable
One in the form of Buddha (Buddharupa). I am the
very humble Vashishtha, the son of Brahma. My mind
is ever perturbed. I have come here (Cina) for the
Sadhana of the Mahadevi. I know not the path leading
to Siddhi. Thou knowest the path of the Devas. Seeing
however thy way of life (Acara) doubts assail my mind
(Bhayani santi me hridi: because he saw the (to him)
extraordinary ritual with wine and woman). Destroy
them and my wicked mind which inclines to Vaidik
ritual (Vedagamini; that is, the ordinary Pashu ritual).
Oh Lord in Thy abode there are ever rites which are
outside Veda (Vedavavahishkrita: that is, the Vaidik
ritual and what is consistent with Veda as Vashishtha
then supposed). How is it that wine, meat, woman
(Angana) are drunk, eaten and enjoyed by naked
(Digambara) Siddhas who are high (Vara), and awe-
inspiring (Raktapanodyata). They drink constantly and
enjoy (or make enjoy) beautiful women (Muhurmuhuh
Chapter Eight
Shakti and Shkta
20
Esoteric
prapivanti ramayanti varanganam). With red eyes they
are ever exhilarated and replete with flesh and wine
(Sadamangsasavaih purnah). They are powerful to
favor and punish. They are beyond the Vedas
(Vedasyagocarah). They enjoy wine and women
(Madyastrisevane ratah)" (Vashishtha merely saw the
ritual surface).
Thus spoke the great Yogi having seen the rites which
are outside the Veda (Veda-vahishkrita. v. ante). Then
bowing low with folded hands he humbly said, "How
can inclinations such as these be purifying to the mind?
How can there be Siddhi without Vaidik rites?"
Manah-pravrittireteshu katham bhavati pavani
Kathang va jayate siddhir veda karyyang vina prabho.
Buddha said, "Oh Vashishtha, listen the while I speak
to thee of the excellent Kula path, by the mere knowing
of which one becomes in a short time like Rudra
Himself. I speak to thee in brief the Agama which is
the essence of all and which leads to Kulasiddhi. First
of all, the Vira (hero) should be pure (Shuci). Buddha
here states the conditions under which only the rites are
permissible. His mind should be penetrated with
discrimination (Viveka) and freed of all Pashubhava
(state of an uninitiate Pashu or animal man). Let him
avoid the company of the Pashu and remain alone in a
lonely place, free from lust, anger and other passions.
He should constantly devote himself to Yoga practice.
He should be firm in his resolve to learn Yoga; he
should ever tread the Yoga path and fully know the
meaning of the Veda (Vedarthanipuno mahan). In this
way the pious one (Dharmatma) of good conduct and
largeness of heart (Audarya) should, by gradual
degrees, restrain his breath, and through the path of
breathing compass the destruction of mind. Following
this practice the self-controlled (Vashi) becomes Yogi.
In slow degrees of practice the body firstly sweats. This
is the lowest stage (Adhama). The next is middling
(Madhyama). Here there is trembling (Kampa). In the
third or highest (Para) stage one is able to levitate
(Bhumityaga). By the attainment of Siddhi in
Pranayama one becomes a master in Yoga. Having
become a Yogi by practice of Kumbhaka (restraint of
breath) he should be Mauni (given over to silence)
and full of intent, devotion (Ekanta-bhakti) to Shiva,
Krishna and Brahma. The pure one should realize by
mind, action, and speech that Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva are restless like the moving air
(Vayavigaticancalah). Quaere. Perhaps the transient
nature of these Devatas, as compared with the
supreme Shakti, is indicated. The man of steady mind
should fix it on Shakti, who is consciousness
(Cidrupa). Thereafter the Mantrin should practice
Mahavirabhava (the feeling of the great hero) and
follow the Kula path, the Shakti-cakra, the Vaishnava
Sattvacakra and Navavigrah and should worship
Kulakatyayani, the excellent one, the Pratyaksha
Devata (that is, the Deity who responds to prayer)
who grants prosperity and destroys all evil. She is
consciousness (Cidrupa), She is the abode of
knowledge (Jana) and is Consciousness and Bliss,
lustrous as ten million lightnings, of whom all Tattvas
are the embodiment, who is Raudri with eighteen
arms, fond of wine and mountains of flesh (the text is
Shivamangsacalapriyam, but the first word should be
Sura). Man should do Japa of the Mantra, taking
refuge with Her, and following the Kula path. Who in
the three worlds knows a path higher than this? By
the grace gained therein, the great Brahma Himself
became the Creator, and Vishnu, whose substance is
Sattva-guna, the object of adoration of all, highly
deserving of worship, the great, and Lord of
Yajurveda, became able to protect. By it Hara the
Lord of Viras, the wrathful one, Lord of wrath and of
mighty power, became the Destroyer of all. By the
grace of Virabhava the Dikpalas (Protectors of the
quarters) became like unto Rudra. By a month's
practice power to attract (Akarshanasiddhi) is
attained. In two months one becomes the Lord of
Speech. In four months one becomes like unto the
Dikpalas, in five months one becomes the five arrows
(probably masters the five Tanmatras), and in six
months he becomes Rudra Himself. The fruit of this
method (Acara) is beyond all others. This is
Kaulamarga. There is nothing which surpasses it. If
there be Shakti, the Vipra becomes a complete Yogi
Chapter Eight
Shakti and Shkta
21
Esoteric
by six months' practice. Without Shakti even Shiva can
do nought. What then shall we say of men of small
intelligence".
Having said this, He whose form is Buddha
(Buddharupi) made him practice Sadhana. He said, "Oh
Vipra, do thou serve Mahashakti. Do thou practice
Sadhana with wine (Madyasadhana) and thus shalt thou
get sight of the Lotus Feet of the Mahavidya."
Vashishtha having heard these words of the Guru and
meditating on Devi Sarasvati went to the Kulamandapa
to practice the wine ritual (Madirasadhana) and having
repeatedly done Sadhana with wine, meat, fish, parched
grain and Shakti he became a complete Yogi
(Purnayogi).
A similar account is given in the Brahmayamala. There
are some variants however. Thus while in the
Rudrayamala, Vashishtha is said to have resorted to the
shore of the ocean, in the Brahmayamala he goes to
Kamakhya, the great Tantrik Pitha and shrine of the
Devi. (The prevalence of Her worship amongst the
Mongolian Assamese is noteworthy.) It may be here
added that this Yamala states that, except at time of
worship, wine should not be taken nor should the
Shakti be unclothed. By violation of these provisions
life, it says, is shortened, and man goes to Hell.
According to the account of the Brahmayamala,
Vashishtha complaining of his ill-success was told to
go to the Blue Mountains (Nilacala) and worship
parameshvari near Kamakhya (Karma in Assam). He
was told that Vishnu in the form of Buddha
(Buddharupi) alone knew this worship according to
Cinacara. Devi said, "without Cinacara you cannot
please Me. Go to Vishnu who is Udbodharupi
(illumined) and worship Me according to the Acara
taught by Him." Vashishtha then went to Vishnu in the
country Mahacina, which is by the side of the
Himalaya (Himavatparshve), a country inhabited by
great Sadhakas and thousands of beautiful and youthful
women whose hearts were gladdened with wine, and
whose minds were blissful with enjoyment (Vilasa).
They were adorned with clothes which inspired love
(Shringaravesha) and the movement of their hips
made tinkle their girdles of little bells. Free of both
fear and prudish shame they enchanted the world.
They surround Ishvara and are devoted to the worship
of Devi. Vashishtha wondered greatly when he saw
Him in the form of Buddha (Buddharupi) with eyes
drooping from wine. "What" he said, "is Vishnu doing
in His Buddha form? This map (Acara) is opposed to
Veda (Vedavadaviruddha). I do not approve of it
(Asammato mama)." Whilst so thinking, he heard a
voice coming from the ether saying, "Oh thou who art
devoted to good acts, think not like this. This Acara is
of excellent result in the Sadhana of Tarini. She is not
pleased with anything which is the contrary of this. If
thou dost wish to gain Her grace speedily, then
worship Her according to Cinacara." Hearing this
voice, Vashishtha's hairs stood on end and he fell to
the ground. Being filled with exceeding joy he prayed
to Vishnu in the form of Buddha (Buddharupa).
Buddha, who had taken wine, seeing him was greatly
pleased and said, "Why have you come here?"
Vashishtha bowing to Buddha told him of his worship
of Tarini. Buddha who is Hari and full of knowledge
(Tattvajana) spoke to him of the five Makaras (M:
that is, the five commencing with the letter M are
Madya, or wine and so forth) which are in Cinacara
(Majnanam Cinacaradikaranam) saying that this
should not be disclosed (a common injunction as
regards this ritual and renders it from the opponents'
standpoint suspect). "By practicing it thou shalt not
again sink into the ocean of being. It is full of
knowledge of the Essence (Tattvajana) and gives
immediate liberation (Mukti)." He then goes on to
explain a principal feature of this cult, namely, its
freedom from the ritual rules of the ordinary worship
above which the Sadhaka has risen. It is mental
worship. In it bathing, purification, Japa, and
ceremonial worship is by the mind only. (No outward
acts are necessary; the bathing and so forth is in the
mind and not in actual water, as is the case in lower
and less advanced worship.) There are no rules as to
auspicious and inauspicious times, or as to what
should be done by day and by night. Nothing is pure
or impure (there is no ritual defect of impurity) nor
prohibition against the taking of food. Devi should be
Chapter Eight
Shakti and Shkta
22
Esoteric
worshipped even though the worshipper has had his
food, and even though the place be unclean. Woman
who is Her image should be worshipped (Pujanam
striya) and never should any injury be done to her
(Stridvesho naiva kartavyah).
Are we here dealing with an incident in which
Sakyamuni or some other Buddha of Buddhism was
concerned?
According to Hindu belief the Ramayana was
composed in the Treta age, and Vashishtha was the
family priest of Dasharatha and Rama (Adikanda VII.
4, 5, VIII. 6), Ayodhya-kanda V. 1). The Mahabharata
was composed in Dvapara. Krishna appeared in the
Sandhya between this and the Kali-yuga. Both
Kurukshetra and Buddha were in the Kali age.
According to this chronology, Vashishtha who was the
Guru of Dasharatha was earlier than Sakyamuni. There
were, however, Buddhas before the latter. The text does
not mention Sakyamuni or Gautama Buddha.
According to Buddhistic tradition there were many
other Buddhas before him such as Dipankara "The
Luminous One," Krakuccanda and others, the term
Buddha being a term applicable to the enlightened,
whoever he be. It will no doubt be said by the Western
Orientalist that both these Yamalas were composed
after the time of Sakyamuni. But if this be so, their
author or authors, as Hindus, would be aware that
according to Hindu Chronology Vashishtha antedated
Sakyamuni. Apart from the fact of there being other
Buddhas, according to Hinduism "types" as
distinguished from "forms" of various things, ideas,
and faiths, are persistent, though the forms are variable,
just as is the case with the Platonic Ideas or eternal
archetypes. In this sense neither Veda, Tantra-Shastra
nor Buddhism had an absolute beginning at any time.
As types of ideas or faiths they are beginningless
(Anadi), though the forms may have varied from age to
age, and though perhaps some of the types may have
been latent in some of the ages. If the Vedas are Anadi
so are the Tantra-shastras. To the Yogic vision of the
Rishi which makes latent things patent, variable forms
show their hidden types. Nothing is therefore
absolutely new. A Rishi in the Treta Yuga will know
that which will apparently begin in Kali or Dvapara
but which is already really latent in his own age.
Vishnu appears to his vision as the embodiment of
that already latent, but subsequently patent, cult.
Moreover in a given age, what is latent in a particular
land (say Aryavarta) may be patent in another (say
Mahacina). In this way, according to the Hindu
Shastra, there is an essential conservation of types
subject to the conditions of time, place, and person
(Deshakalapatra). Moreover, according to these
Shastras, the creative power is a reproducing
principle. This means that the world-process is cyclic
according to a periodic law. The process in one Kalpa
is substantially repeated in another and Vashishtha,
Buddha, and the rest appeared not only in the present
but in previous grand cycles or Kalpas. Just as there is
no absolute first beginning of the Universe, so
nothing under the sun is absolutely new. Vashishtha,
therefore, might have remembered past Buddhas, as
he might have foreseen those to come. In Yogic vision
both the past and the future can project their shadows
Chapter Eight
Shakti and Shkta
23
Esoteric
continued next page
into the present. Every Purana and Samhita illustrates
these principles of Yogic intuition backwards and
forwards. To the mind of Ishvara both past and future
are known. And so it is to such who, in the necessary
degree, partake of the qualities of the Lord's mind. The
date upon which a particular Shastra is compiled is,
from this viewpoint, unimportant. Even a modern
Shastra may deal with ancient matter. In dealing with
apparent anachronisms in Hindu Shastra, it is necessary
to bear in mind these principles. This of course is not
the view of "Oriental scholars" or of Indians whom
they have stampeded into regarding the beliefs of their
country as absurd. It is however the orthodox view.
And as an Indian friend of mine to whose views I have
referred has said, "What the Psychic research society of
the West is conceding to good 'mediums' and 'subjects'
cannot be withheld from our ancient supermen -- the
Rishis."
The peculiar features to be noted of this story are these.
Vashishtha must have known what the Vedas and
Vaidik rites were, as ordinarily understood. He is
described as Vedantavit. Yet he was surprised on seeing
Cinacara rites and disapproved of them. He speaks of it
as "outside Veda" (Vedavahishkrita) and even opposed
to it (Vedavadaviruddha). On the other hand the
connection with Veda is shown, in that the Devi who
promulgates this Acara is connected with the
Atharvaveda, and directs Vashishtha always to follow
that Veda, and speaks of the Acara not as being
opposed to, but as something so high as to be beyond,
the ordinary Vaidik ritual (Vedanamapyagocarah). He is
to be fully learned in the import of Veda
(Vedarthanipuno). It was by the grace of the doctrine
and practice of Cinacara that Vishnu became the Lord
of Yajurveda. The meaning there fore appears to be,
that the doctrine and practice lie implicit in the Vedas,
but go beyond what is ordinarily taught. Vishnu
therefore says that it is not to be disclosed. What
meaning again are we to attach to the word
Visnubuddharupa? Buddha means "enlightened" but
here a particular Buddha seems indicated, though
Vishnu is also spoken of as Udbodharupi and the Devi
as Buddheshvari. The Tara Tantra calls him a
Kulabhairava. As is well known, Buddha was an
incarnation of Vishnu. Vashishtha is told to go to
Mahacina by the Himalaya and the country of the
Bauddhas (Bauddhadesh). The Bauddhas who follow
the Pacatattva ritual are accounted Kaulas. It is a
noteworthy fact that the flower of the Devi is Jaba, the
scarlet hibiscus or China rose. As the last name may
indicate it is perhaps not indigenous to India but to
China whence it may have been imported possibly
through Nepal. This legend, incorporated as it is in the
Shastra itself, seems to me of primary importance in
determining the historical origin of the Pacatattva
ritual.
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George Washington the Man and Mason
By Carl H. Claudy,
Washington was so obviously a
mans man, a soldier, a statesman, a
farmer, a thinker of
great thoughts of his government
and of his people. Its no wonder that
the fraternal side of life made to
Washington a powerful appeal, no
wonder that the ancient craft of
Freemasonry should have become
so interwoven with his life.
Yet, particularly is it natural, that a
man who so loved his home, and
whose religious feelings were so
strong should turn to his lodge for
that particular variety of spiritual
strength which to many men comes
from no other place.
The effect upon character produced
by a mans religion and church
affiliation can only be
measured by the yardstick of a
mans reputation, few great men
have set down in black and white
those things of the spirit which,
intimate and personal, are the very
man himself.
The same may be said of a mans
Freemasonry. What it is in his heart
can only be judged
by the externals. Judging by this
standard, Washington frequently
expressed his love and veneration
for his Masonry and his Lodge.
Many of his closest friends and
associates, his generals and military
aides in the revolution were
members of our ancient craft, and
his whole life of consecration and
service to his fellow man carried out
the ideals which radiate from our
Masonic
altar. We members of this Ancient
25
Craft understand why Freemasonry made so great an
appeal to this great leader. But, my brethren, anyone
who will read even a little of the history of
Freemasonry will understand why this body of truth,
this organization of such great teaching and
high endeavor, this society with such strict moral
ideals, was at once a magnet and a comfort to the
man whom we honor this evening, on the 200th
anniversary of his birth, Worshipful Brother George
Washington.
Eulogy delivered by MW Carl H. Claudy in the
George Washington Masonic National Memorial
On February 22, 1932, the 200th Anniversary of the
birth of George Washington, Past Master of
Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22
Note: MW H. Bruce Green told MW Donald M.
Robey, that he was in attendance at this meeting in
1932, when he was WM of Columbia Lodge No. 285
and his father, MW Harry K. Green, was
Grand Master of Masons in Virginia. He said when the
President of the GWMNMA called upon
Claudy to deliver the Eulogy on George Washington,
that he could hear the groans from the audience. It
seems that Claudy had a reputation as a long-winded
speaker. Claudy approached the Altar in the center of
the floor in the Main Auditorium, and just
contemplated for a few moments before speaking. He
then delived the above Eulogy in his deep, loud voice.
When he finished, he paused for a moment of
contemplation before returning to his seat. There was
total silence in the room, as all were startled at the
power of the words he had spoken and that he did not
take advantage of the fact that he could have spoken
much, much longer. The President of the United States,
Herbert Hoover, was on the stage and came to his feet
and began a slow, methodical clapping of his hands and
this prompted all to come to their feet in a thunderously
loud applause for the Eulogy that they had just heard
delivered by Carl H. Claudy on this historic day.
George Washington
the Man and Mason
By Carl H. Claudy,
26
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Have you ever had one of the
moments when you are talking
to someone about some issue
and suddenly you realize you
are uttering the answer to a
problem that has been vexing
you? I had one of those
moments with my wife five
years ago, in answering her
question about a few brothers
and their actions regarding Freemasonry when I said:
It's not about me changing them, it's about me changing
me.
Well, yesterday, another one of those moments occurred
during an email answer to a brother in Iraq regarding
his issue with the Grand Lodge of Kentucky and a
Prince Hall Lodge.
For instance, regarding the whole Prince Hall
Recognition issue. We all know, of should know by
now that there are 13 Grand Lodges in the United States
that do not yet recognize Prince Hall Masonry as
regular Masonry. The coincidence that the 13 Grand
Lodges were ALSO core Confederate States in the
southern United States is also not lost on the casual
observer.
This is NOT to say that all the brethren in the southern
United States are racists! A point must be made here
that this is a complex issue.
There is also a somewhat logical argument that can be
offered and rationally defended that it is ALSO about
territorial sovereignty, and not about race. As an
example of that, I have been reliably informed that men
of color and and have joined lodges in Florida, and
served as officers and are treated as good and true
brothers as they should be, yet the GLoFL is one of the
13 that does not recognize Prince Hall Masonry.
By the way, I have never liked the term "Mainstream
Masonry". Its very use denigrates all other "Masonries".
Calling the 51 United States grand lodges UGLE lodges
is incorrect, since we are all independent grand bodies.
We refer to the one other regular Masonic group in
the United States as "Prince Hall Lodges" or PHA
(Prince Hall Affiliation) and a perfectly good term
was offered recently: George Washington Masonry.
THis seems a more appropriate designation than that
of "Mainstream Masonry" since the later term says
that PHA is NOT "Mainstream" and by implication
Regular.
Wr. George Washington was once offered the Grand
Mastership of a group to be called the Grand Lodge
of America and he is arguably the single most famous
"UGLE Type" Mason. Therefore, I will henceforth
refer to the larger group of regular Grand Lodges,
GLoCA, GLoNV, GLoCo for example, as "George
Washington Masonry".
The very real fact that not all Prince Hall Grand
Lodges WANT to be recognized. There are
considerations for them, to wit they have fought long
and hard against racism and long odds to survive and
thrive while ignored, resented and yes, attacked in
courts and elsewhere, by George Washington
Masonry. There is a thought that if they accept
recognition, intervisitation and amity, their member
base will slowly erode into the George Washington
system and they will just vanish. There is also, truth
be told, some racism in the Prince Hall lodges.
This information is not offered to surprise anyone, or
make a point one way or the other regarding Prince
Hall recognition, but to lay the foundation for the
epiphany, if it can be called that, I had the other day.
Bear with me as I lay another course in that
foundation.
I have, in the past, called for the George Washington
Grand Lodges to withdraw recognition from any of
A Solution
By: Theron Dunn
27
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their Grand Lodge that do not recognize Prince Hall Masonry as regular in
all respects. However, on careful reflection, I realized that this would be
counter productive, and have said so here .
My thoughts not withstanding, it has been brought to my attention that
there is at least one (and it may be several from other reports) Grand
Lodge that will be, in the next two years, entertaining a vote by the
brethren to withdraw amity/recognition of regularity from any Grand
Lodge anywhere that does not at least recognize Prince Hall Masonry as
regular. That train IO once advocated is now arriving, for good or bad and
we can only watch to see how it plays out. I cannot at this time reveal the
Grand Lodges that are contemplating this legislation, but it will become
obvious over the next year. ESPECIALLY if the legislation passes.
Now that the foundation is laid, let
me present to you my epiphany:
What would happen if a progressive
Grand Lodge were to remove its
residency requirement for joining a
lodge under it for any Master
Mason in good standing? For this to
work effectively, it would also
almost be necessary that a "Grand
Master's" Lodge be created (an
additional financial incentive to the
Grand Lodges as well...) so that a
brother from outside the state would
not need to find a lodge inside the
state willing to be a "host".
This "Grand Masters" lodge has
been offered in my grand lodge
previously, as a potential solution to
other issues, but has been turned
down because it would burden a
lodge with members for which it
was receiving no financial support.
This rational alone is one reason
why I think it would make a serious
impact on the Grand Lodges the
brethren left to join the "open"
grand lodge. Therefore, the "Grand
Master's" Lodge would have to be
restricted to members outside the
open Grand Lodge. That is a detail
for legislative consideration,
however.
28
Based on the current rules of visitation, if this rule were
removed (and perhaps a Grand Master's Lodge created
for these out of state brothers) any Master Mason in
good standing in a regular lodge in amity with that
Grand Lodge would be able to petition for membership
in the "Grand Master's Lodge"... and then if he desired,
dimit from the Grand Lodge he is currently a member
of without impacting his lodge meetings.
He could continue attending his lodge, though of
course, he could no longer be an officer. A good brother
would continue to support his lodge with "donations"
instead of dues, because the lodge is not the problem,
and the donations would not go to the grand lodge.
What this means in real terms is that if a brother is
unhappy with his Grand Lodge, for whatever reason
(and to hear it on the smoldering stub, all the posters
there hate their grand lodges and policies and
procedures) they could join a different Grand Lodge,
without residency, and no longer be "restricted" by their
own Grand Lodge.
If we consider Freemasonry as a product for a moment
(a concept I personally find anathema, but it will do as
a metaphor) and we are not happy with the product as it
is being presented by the "company" presenting it, then
if we have a choice in what "company" to buy it from,
market forces will effect change. What we have today
is Freemasonry as it existed in the 1700s. Local. Issues
were dealt with by the lodges locally then, but today,
we have Grand Lodges that span hundreds of
thousands of square miles. Look at a map, the Grand
Lodge of Rhode Island operates pretty much the same
way as the Grand Lodge of Texas or California.
Today, we have telephones and internet, which makes
all issues local, whether is a lodge in Bangor, Big Sur,
Los Angeles or Dallas. Yet the Grand Lodges still
operate on territorial boundaries, and to a certain
extent, that is a good thing. But it also means that if a
Grand Lodge is unresponsive, or "repressive" of the
needs or perceived needs of the brethren in that
jurisdiction, the brethren have no choice.
If even one Grand Lodge dropped its residency
requirement, other Grand Lodges would follow, they
would HAVE to, market forces would drive them.
Market forces... remember that term.
If the Grand Lodge of XYZ would not allow a
brother to speak or run a web forum, for whatever
reason, and he quit that Grand Lodge and joined
another, the Grand Lodge could STILL silence him,
for make no mistake, the Grand Master is still
sovereign in his territory no matter where your
dues card is from, but the Grand Lodge would not
be receiving income from your membership. If
enough brethren quit the grand lodge that was
repressive over its policies, it would either suffer
from a declining membership (income) to itself and
its constituent lodges (and imagine the influence
the lodges, suffering from declining paying
membership and eligible brothers because of Grand
Lodge policies will have with the Grand Lodge).
Market Forces would drive the Grand Lodge that is
not responsive to learn to become responsive, or
fade away while the membership in its state
maintains or even grows. A logical progression of
this is the survival of progressive, responsive,
responsible Grand Lodges, and the withering of...
other Grand Lodges.
If this works, this simple concept may be the acorn
from which a new Freemasonry grows, it may be a
turning point which our future brethren may look
back and say: Like the 1717 meeting, THAT is
where Freemasonry made the second turn which
made it viable into the digital age.Have you ever
had one of the moments when you are talking to
someone about some issue and suddenly you
realize you are uttering the answer to a problem
that has been vexing you? I had one of those
moments with my wife five years ago, in
answering her question about a few brothers and
their actions regarding Freemasonry when I said:
It's not about me changing them, it's about me
changing me.
Well, yesterday, another one of those moments
occurred during an email answer to a brother in
Iraq regarding his issue with the Grand Lodge of
Kentucky and a Prince Hall Lodge.
A Solution
By: Theron Dunn
29
For instance, regarding the whole Prince Hall
Recognition issue. We all know, of should know by
now that there are 13 Grand Lodges in the United
States that do not yet recognize Prince Hall Masonry as
regular Masonry. The coincidence that the 13 Grand
Lodges were ALSO core Confederate States in the
southern United States is also not lost on the casual
observer.
This is NOT to say that all the brethren in the southern
United States are racists! A point must be made here
that this is a complex issue.
There is also a somewhat logical argument that can be
offered and rationally defended that it is ALSO about
territorial sovereignty, and not about race. As an
example of that, I have been reliably informed that men
of color and and have joined lodges in Florida, and
served as officers and are treated as good and true
brothers as they should be, yet the GLoFL is one of the
13 that does not recognize Prince Hall Masonry.
By the way, I have never liked the term "Mainstream
Masonry". Its very use denigrates all other
"Masonries". Calling the 51 United States grand lodges
UGLE lodges is incorrect, since we are all independent
grand bodies. We refer to the one other regular
Masonic group in the United States as "Prince Hall
Lodges" or PHA (Prince Hall Affiliation) and a
perfectly good term was offered recently: George
Washington Masonry. THis seems a more appropriate
designation than that of "Mainstream Masonry" since
the later term says that PHA is NOT "Mainstream" and
by implication Regular.
Wr. George Washington was once offered the Grand
Mastership of a group to be called the Grand Lodge of
America and he is arguably the single most famous
"UGLE Type" Mason. Therefore, I will henceforth refer
to the larger group of regular Grand Lodges, GLoCA,
GLoNV, GLoCo for example, as "George Washington
Masonry".
The very real fact that not all Prince Hall Grand Lodges
WANT to be recognized. There are considerations for
them, to wit they have fought long and hard against
racism and long odds to survive and thrive while
ignored, resented and yes, attacked in courts and
elsewhere, by George Washington Masonry. There is
a thought that if they accept recognition,
intervisitation and amity, their member base will
slowly erode into the George Washington system
and they will just vanish. There is also, truth be told,
some racism in the Prince Hall lodges.
This information is not offered to surprise anyone,
or make a point one way or the other regarding
Prince Hall recognition, but to lay the foundation for
the epiphany, if it can be called that, I had the other
day. Bear with me as I lay another course in that
foundation.
I have, in the past, called for the George Washington
Grand Lodges to withdraw recognition from any of
their Grand Lodge that do not recognize Prince Hall
Masonry as regular in all respects. However, on
careful reflection, I realized that this would be
counter productive, and have said so here .
My thoughts not withstanding, it has been brought to
my attention that there is at least one (and it may be
several from other reports) Grand Lodge that will
be, in the next two years, entertaining a vote by the
brethren to withdraw amity/recognition of regularity
from any Grand Lodge anywhere that does not at
least recognize Prince Hall Masonry as regular. That
train IO once advocated is now arriving, for good or
bad and we can only watch to see how it plays out. I
cannot at this time reveal the Grand Lodges that are
contemplating this legislation, but it will become
obvious over the next year. ESPECIALLY if the
legislation passes.
Now that the foundation is laid, let me present to
you my epiphany: What would happen if a
progressive Grand Lodge were to remove its
residency requirement for joining a lodge under it
for any Master Mason in good standing? For this to
work effectively, it would also almost be necessary
that a "Grand Master's" Lodge be created (an
additional financial incentive to the Grand Lodges as
well...) so that a brother from outside the state would
not need to find a lodge inside the state willing to be
a "host".
A Solution ??
By: Theron Dunn
30
Continued Next page
This "Grand Masters" lodge has been offered in my
grand lodge previously, as a potential solution to other
issues, but has been turned down because it would
burden a lodge with members for which it was
receiving no financial support. This rational alone is
one reason why I think it would make a serious impact
on the Grand Lodges the brethren left to join the
"open" grand lodge. Therefore, the "Grand Master's"
Lodge would have to be restricted to members outside
the open Grand Lodge. That is a detail for legislative
consideration, however.
Based on the current rules of visitation, if this rule were
removed (and perhaps a Grand Master's Lodge created
for these out of state brothers) any Master Mason in
good standing in a regular lodge in amity with that
Grand Lodge would be able to petition for membership
in the "Grand Master's Lodge"... and then if he desired,
dimit from the Grand Lodge he is currently a member
of without impacting his lodge meetings.
He could continue attending his lodge, though of
course, he could no longer be an officer. A good brother
would continue to support his lodge with "donations"
instead of dues, because the lodge is not the problem,
and the donations would not go to the grand lodge.
What this means in real terms is that if a brother is
unhappy with his Grand Lodge, for whatever reason
(and to hear it on the smoldering stub, all the posters
there hate their grand lodges and policies and
procedures) they could join a different Grand Lodge,
without residency, and no longer be "restricted" by their
own Grand Lodge.
If we consider Freemasonry as a product for a moment
(a concept I personally find anathema, but it will do as
a metaphor) and we are not happy with the product as it
is being presented by the "company" presenting it, then
if we have a choice in what "company" to buy it from,
market forces will effect change. What we have today
is Freemasonry as it existed in the 1700s. Local. Issues
were dealt with by the lodges locally then, but today,
we have Grand Lodges that span hundreds of
thousands of square miles. Look at a map, the Grand
Lodge of Rhode Island operates pretty much the same
way as the Grand Lodge of Texas or California.
Today, we have telephones and internet, which
makes all issues local, whether is a lodge in Bangor,
Big Sur, Los Angeles or Dallas. Yet the Grand
Lodges still operate on territorial boundaries, and to
a certain extent, that is a good thing. But it also
means that if a Grand Lodge is unresponsive, or
"repressive" of the needs or perceived needs of the
brethren in that jurisdiction, the brethren have no
choice.
If even one Grand Lodge dropped its residency
requirement, other Grand Lodges would follow, they
would HAVE to, market forces would drive them.
Market forces... remember that term.
If the Grand Lodge of XYZ would not allow a
brother to speak or run a web forum, for whatever
reason, and he quit that Grand Lodge and joined
another, the Grand Lodge could STILL silence him,
for make no mistake, the Grand Master is still
sovereign in his territory no matter where your dues
card is from, but the Grand Lodge would not be
receiving income from your membership. If enough
brethren quit the grand lodge that was repressive
over its policies, it would either suffer from a
declining membership (income) to itself and its
constituent lodges (and imagine the influence the
lodges, suffering from declining paying membership
and eligible brothers because of Grand Lodge
policies will have with the Grand Lodge).
Market Forces would drive the Grand Lodge that is
not responsive to learn to become responsive, or
fade away while the membership in its state
maintains or even grows. A logical progression of
this is the survival of progressive, responsive,
responsible Grand Lodges, and the withering of...
other Grand Lodges.
If this works, this simple concept may be the acorn
from which a new Freemasonry grows, it may be a
turning point which our future brethren may look
back and say: Like the 1717 meeting, THAT is
where Freemasonry made the second turn which
made it viable into the digital age.
A Solution ??
By: Theron Dunn
31
Throughout history, as an instrument of justice, truth,
equality and firmness, swords have been used at every
great event and have become imbued with great
symbolism. For this reason, freemasons use swords in
all their ceremonies. This beautiful MASONIC
SWORD compiles many of the symbols used in the
craft: the compass and square set, the plumb line and
the hammer, the sacred book and the eye of the
Supreme Being, and the five-pointed star inscribed in
the capital "G" of the Great Architect. "WHAT YOU
MAKE MAKES YOU"
Masonic swords have been used by Freemasons
throughout medieval history and have carried with
them symbolic meaning for the order of Freemasons.
Freemasons would use their swords in all their
ceremonies. Masonic swords are highly decorative with
various symbols and emblems that have represented
rank and other qualities unique to the masons and their
societies. Those swords used by the Knights Templar
during the crusades would not have been as decorated.
As part of their societies, Masonic swords have
becomes status objects representing justice, truth,
equality and firmness. Their construction and design
have allowed each sword to have a unique meaning and
symbol. Masonic swords have traditionally been used
during ceremonies and events of the Masonic societies,
which would have added on to their symbolism and
importance. Article continues after the break.
Masonic swords are often used symbols in
Freemasonry, but are also used in Masonic rituals and
ceremonies. Some Masons also collect these swords,
which are often embossed with symbols that represent
justice, honor, might, integrity and truth the tenets
that Masons aspire to be.
BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS GUARDED
BY THE TILER'S SWORD
That Sword over the Book is this little old sword lying
here on the table beside me. You know, this sword isn't
any good to hurt anybody with, but it is just a symbol
by which Freemasonry protects itself against cowan's
and evesdroppers. So it is just a symbol of Masonry on
guard and, as the Book of Constitutions is a symbol of
constitutional government, the Tiler's Sword is a
symbol of Masonry on guard. Do you see what I'm
getting at? I believe the Book of Constitutions
Guarded by the Tiler's Sword teaches us that Masonry
should always be the Guardian of Constitutional
Government.
http://www.masonicworld.com/education/files/
artjan02/bookofconstgbytilersword.htm
Carl Claudy wrote:
THE BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS, GUARDED BY
THE
TILER'S SWORD
Before the door of all lodges stands a Tiler "with a
drawn sword in his hand." Customarily it is a straight
blade; such a shining shaft of steel as was carried by
knights of olden time. According to Mackey it should
have a snake-like shape in allusion to the
"Flaming sword which was placed at the east of the
Garden of Eden which turned every way to keep the
way of the tree of life."
"The Book of Constitutions, guarded by the Tiler's
sword," is a comparatively modern symbol; its
introduction has been traced to Webb, about 1800.
It reminds us to be "ever watchful and guarded in our
words and actions, particularly when before the
enemies of Masonry, ever bearing in remembrance
those truly Masonic virtues, silence and
circumspection." But the Book of Constitutions is not
a secret work. It was first ordered printed by the
Mother Grand Lodge, and a few original copies as
well as uncounted reprints of the Old Charges and the
General Regulations of 1723 are in existence to be
seen by Mason and profane alike. Obviously neither
silence nor circumspection regarding this particular
Masonic volume is necessary. Some read into Webb's
symbol the thought that it expresses the guardianship
of constitutional government by the Masonic
Fraternity but this seems rather farfetched.
It is easier to think that the Tiler's sword admonishes
us to brook no changes in our ancient landmarks, to
be guarded lest our words and actions bring the
foundation book of Masonic law into disrepute before
the enemies of Masonry, applying to the Book of
Constitutions as well as to the secrets of Freemasonry
"those truly Masonic virtues, silence and
The Tylers sword
By: Annon
32
circumspection." The second edition of Anderson's
Constitutions sets forth that in 1731 the Grand Master,
the Duke of Norfolk, presented to the Grand Lodge of
England the old trusty sword of Gustavus Adolphus,
king of Sweden, that was worn next by his successor in
war, the brave Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, with
both their names on the blade, which the Grand Master
had ordered Brother George Moody (the king's sword
cutler) to adorn richly with the arms of Norfolk in
silver on the scabbard, in order to be the Grand
Master's sword of state in the future.
Early prints of lodge meetings on the Continent show
the sword in use in the ceremonies; in this country the
sword was never worn in the lodge room even during
that era when a sword was as much a necessary article
of a gentleman's dress as shoes or gloves. It was
deemed then as now incompatible with meeting upon
the level. Either as a weapon which made its possessor
stronger than the man who was unarmed, or as a badge
of rank, the sword has no place in the lodge, except that
it is usually presented to the Tiler in the lodge at
opening. It is almost universal for the Tiler to request
military men in uniform to leave their swords without
the lodge before entering. This custom, comparatively
little known in this country because few military men
in times of peace go to lodge in full uniform, was often
broken during the war when soldiers clanked up and
down lodge rooms with their arms at their sides. But it
is as Masonically inconsistent to wear a sword in lodge
as to appear therein without an apron. The Tiler's sword
is wholly symbolic; whether it was always so is a
matter lost in the mists which shroud ancient history.
The Tiler of the operative lodge may well have been
armed with a sword for actual defense against the
cowan, who wanted the word and the secret of the
square without the necessity of serving a long period as
an Apprentice and labouring to produce a satisfactory
Master's Piece. The modern Tiler keeps off the cowan
and the eavesdropper by the simple process of refusing
to admit those he does not know; if they still desire to
enter the tiled door, they must either be vouched for or
request a committee. The Tiler's sword is but the
emblem of his authority, as the gavel is the symbol of
that possessed by the Master.
From a Masonic perspective, the tyler continued this
"guarding" tradition. In the 1723 "First Book of
Constitutions", Dr. James Anderson mentioned
"another brother to look after the door, but shall not
be a member of it" and in Regulation XXVI charged
the use of "porters or doorkeepers." The English
Grand Lodge, in 1728, ascribed him more importance
as an "officer who kept the door" and in its minutes of
June 8, 1732, initially referred to his specific title as
"the Tyler." In 1738 he was described as "brother the
doorkeeper to lock up all aprons." The word "tyler"
first appeared in print in new Regulation XXVI of the
1738 "Second Book of Constitutions." Here Anderson
recalled "Old Regulation XIII" of the first Grand
Lodge of 17l7, which required that "another brother
and Master Mason, should be appointed the Tyler, to
look after the door." And so our ritual today tells us
that he is "a brother without the door."
The early tylers wore very colorful clothing. The
Grand Lodge Tyler of 1736, for example, was
described as wearing a red waistcoat under a dark
blue coat trimmed with gold lace, yellow trousers and
a large triangular hat. He even wore this uniform in
public, as when delivering summonses or in
processions, and was often subject to ridicule.
The Tylers sword
By: Annon
If you can keep respect
when all about you are loosing theirs
If you can call a man Master and not feel inferior
If you can call a man Apprentice
and not sound superior
If you know that Compassion and Integrity
walk hand in hand
You are a Freemason my son.
With apologies to Rudyard Kipling I offer this
little Masonic Shortie
33
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Interview with Stephen on next page
Morgan:
The Scandal That Shook
Freemasonry
By Stephen Dafoe With A Foreword By Arturo De Hoyos
Was William Morgan Murdered By Masons?
On September 11, 1826 William Morgan was arrested
for petit larceny and taken from his home in Batavia,
New York to answer the charge. He never saw his
home or family again. What became of Morgan after he
was freed from a Canandaigua jail cell in the middle of
the night forms the basis of one of the great unsolved
mysteries of American history, made all the more
mysterious by the circumstances that preceded it.
Several months before his arrest, Morgan had begun
work on a book on the Freemasons, a group with which
he had recently had a falling. The problem for Morgan
and his book was that it sought to expose Masonic
secrets, something the local members of the fraternity
wished to prevent at all costs.
This book is the story of William Morgan, his
associates and the book they proposed to publish. It is
the story of how a handful of young, impetuous
members of the Masonic fraternity took matters into
their own hands to prevent its publication and how
their plans took a deadly fork in the road, nearly
exterminating the very organization they sought to
protect. It is also a book written by a member of the
Masonic fraternity.
Praise For Morgan
Stephen Dafoes account is unique. It is not dry
history. Written in a narrative form, it conveys the
elusive balance which historians demand while
remaining a damn good read.
- Arturo De Hoyos
Grand Archivist and Grand Historian
The Supreme Council, 33, Southern Jurisdiction
More from Stephen Dafoe
Trade Paper - 484 pages
With 25 B&W Illustrations
Cornerstone Book Publishers
ISBN: 1-934935-54-9
ISBN 13: 978-1-934935-23-1
Product Dimensions: 6 X 9
Two-minute documentary trailer for Stephen
Dafoe's book Morgan: The Scandal That Shook
Freemasonry.
http://lodgeroomstore.com//
product_info.php?cPath=102&products_id=852
sample Chapter available here
35
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Stephen Dafoe interviewe by Bill McElligott
Question: OK Stephen, thank you for agreeing to this interview, I guess
you know there is still a lot of interest in your writing after the success of
your previous books.
Question : When last we talked, your agent was shopping Morgan. Bring
us up to speed on how that came together.
Morgan was an extremely difficult book to find a home for because it is a
book that takes a contrary view as to what really happened to William
Morgan after he was kidnapped in 1826. Masonic publishers including my
own publisher Lewis Masonic were interested but leery on publishing a
book that claimed freemasons killed Morgan, lest it alienate customers.
Non-Masonic publishers who take on Masonic themes rejected the idea
for the same reason fearing the alienation of Masonic book buyers. The
irony of that oxymoron did not escape me at the time. An esoteric
publisher liked the idea but felt it wasnt esoteric enough for their readers,
which prompted me to ask if I should have channeled Morgans ghost to
write it.
Only one publishing house had the courage to allow me to tell a story that
will not be popular with some Masons and that was Cornerstone Book
Publishers in the United States. From start to finish Mike Poll was a joy to
work with and encouraged me through the rough spots and second
guessing that the book might bring him undue criticism.
In the end we wound up with a book of nearly 500 pages that is the most
detailed and authentic account of the Morgan Affair to date.
Question : Is there a difference in Morgan: The Scandal That Shook
Freemasonry to your previous work, Stephen?
There is a vast difference between this book and anything else Ive ever
written. My previous books, whether speculative or straightforward
histories, have been written in a conventional nonfiction style. That is to
say - in my own voice. Morgan is quite different because it is written in a
narrative. That is not to say that it is a work of fiction. It certainly isnt.
But the book reads like a novel and yet has copious endnotes for those
who want to check my work or know more.
I really struggled with doing the book the way I did because it was such a
departure from my previous work. In the end I concluded that a narrative
voice was the only was the book could be written because for 180-some
years the story of Morgan was told through the biases of mason and anti-
mason alike. The only way to truly tell the story was to let the people
involved tell it in their own voice.
As a result you get to be there with William Morgan when he sits a long
way from his family and reads the letter his wife wrote him telling him of
36
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the death of their infant child.
It was important to me to humanize the players in the drama on both sides
of the lodge door because for nearly two centuries both sides have been
dehumanized and even demonized by the opposing camp.
Question: What would you like the reader to take from this book?
That the story we have told and the story the anti-masons have told about
what happened to William Morgan after he was arrested on September 11,
1826 is not the whole truth. That somewhere between the two extremes
lays a story that is like a Shakespearean tragedy.
I think one of the most important things Id like Masonic readers to take
away from the book is that the story Rob Morris told that Morgan was
deported to Canada with $500 and a new horse is improbable if not
implausible. Although I wrote the book in a narrative form, there is an
afterword of some 10,000 words in which I offer my own opinion on the
likely chain of events and how the Morris story was a fabrication.
Question: What prompted you to write Morgan: The Scandal That Shook
Freemasonry and who is the probable reader?
I think like all Freemasons, I developed my own interests of an historical
nature over the years. Morgan was certainly the one for me, largely
because I have travelled through the region where the events happened,
even sitting in lodges that once were closed as a result of the Morgan
Affair.
The more I researched into the history of the event, the more I came to
realize that the story being told didnt stack up. On one side Freemasons
were claiming we were the good guys helping this Morgan chap out. On
the other were the anti-Masons claiming it was an organized Masonic
conspiracy. They both couldnt be right, and - as it turned out - both were
wrong.
Question: Can you give us some insight into how you constructed
Morgan: The Scandal That Shook Freemasonry?
Like all books, Morgan started out with a tremendous amount of research.
I acquired virtually every book written on the subject, certainly the ones
written close to the time of his abduction and disappearance. From there I
expanded to newspaper accounts, court documents depositions,
affidavits and the like. The Chancellor Robert Livingston Library of the
Grand Lodge of New York was a big help in making the papers of Victor
Birdseye available to me. Birdseye was the last special commissioner
hired to investigate the matter and his papers include a number of letters
37
between lawyers and from the men who were sent to
track down the masons who fled the scene to avoid
prosecution.
I cannot tell you how exciting it was to hold in my
hands a copy of the handwritten trial notes that were
copied down during one of the major trials.
From there, I began researching the cast of characters
apart from the Morgan Affair. For example histories of
Western New York State provided a wealth of
information on people like David C. Miller who was
Morgans publisher and a man who the masons also
tried stealing away. The historical information allowed
me to understand that Miller was not the villain we
have made him out to be.
Question: Who or what was your inspiration in the
writing of Morgan: The Scandal That Shook
Freemasonry?
As heretical as it may seem to some members of the
fraternity, William Morgan himself and a quest to find
the truth were the real inspiration as I worked on the
book. I have never been more emotionally invested in a
book project than I was on this one. As the story
unfolded I found myself feeling anger, pity, sadness and
compassion for and towards characters on both side of
the fence.
Question: Can you tell our audience what books have
influenced you?
I think any book I read has an influence on me.
Whether it is showing me a better or worse technique
for writing, or opening my eyes and mind to new ideas,
books simply expand the mind. Having said that, I
really cannot think of one book or one author that has
shaped my writing as it exists today, although I feel
most writers imitate other styles until they develop a
voice and style of their own.
Question: What or who do you draw on when engaged
in the task of writing?
I used to draw on a pipe dangling perpetually from the
side of my mouth. But I gave up that habit about a year
ago. Now I draw on good music and if the writing
is getting on late in the evening some fine single
malt scotch.
The key to writing is discipline and the ability to
park ones backside on a chair for long periods of
time. I generally write books in the winter and lock
myself away for three to six months. In summer, I do
as little as possible in that regard because summers
are so short here in north-central Alberta. I think the
time I spend freely in the summer, apart from my
regular freelance work, allows me to pour it on in
winter when I have a book to write.
Question: What other books can we look forward to
from Stephen Dafoe in the future?
I am under contract with Lewis Masonic to do a third
illustrated book, which will complete a trilogy of
sorts. It is a straight up illustrated history of the
Knights Templar. Beyond that, I am working on a
couple of compilation books with fellow Albertan
Randy Williams and a novel series with Kevin Noel
Olsen from Montana.
Question: any other projects?
This fall will see the release of the Templar Tarot:
The Journey. This is a project I recently completed
and one Im really excited to hold in my hands. Allen
Chester of Virginia is this insanely talented artist
from whose work I was asked to select 22 major
arcana cards and provide the interpretations. I
divided the cards into three groupings of seven, with
each section depicting and chronicling part of the
Templar story birth, life and death. Each of the
cards has an historical context as well as a symbolic
context, and then there are the traditional divinatory
and reverse interpretations. Even if you think Tarot is
some form of quackery, the major arcana cards can
be laid out to pictorially tell the historical story of the
Templars. As a meditative and introspective tool, the
deck is just going to be phenomenal.
Beyond that there is the Templar comic book series
Outremer which I am doing with artist Bob Prodor.
Im hoping to have issue 2 out later this year.
38
Book Review
More Light - Masonic Enlightenment
Series
Foreword by Michael R. Poll
6 x 9 Softcover 194 pages
ISBN 1-934935-36-0
Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers.
This is the a follow-up to the popular book Masonic
Englightenment. Includes the inspired Masonic
essays: Mythology and Masonry by R.J. Meekren;
Geometry of God by Joseph Fort Newton; The
Suppression of the Order of the Temple by
Frederick W. Hamilton; Was William Shakespeare a
Freemason? by Robert I. Clegg; The Religion of
Robert Burns by Gilbert Patten Brown; Hysteria in
Freemasonry by WM. F. Kuhn; The Square and the
Cross by A.S. MacBride; Toleration and
Freethinking by H.L. Haywood and more.
SAMPLE CHAPTER AT STORE
There are some terrific Interveiws on Masonic Central:-
http://masoniccentral.blogspot.com/
and
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Masonic-Central
You can listen to Stephen Dafoe and many of the other
famous or some say infamous names we all know and
love.
You can add Masonic Central to your web sites with a
small piece of html code. You can get this off the above
sites.
The Masonic Central Pod Cast has moved.
You can find us at
Masonic Central on BlogTalk Radio
Listen to the show LIVE Sunday evenings at
9pm PST/6pm PST at the site above or on
You can contact the Guys on line and you can also phone
in.
You will find a number of the books andvertised here and
the Authors talking about their books, [as if you could
stop them talking about them]. On line all the time, for
your enjoyment.
39
Book Review
The Teachings of
Freemasonry
The Teachings of Freemasonry
By H.L. Haywood
Edited by Michael R. Poll
6x9 Softcover 144 pages
ISBN 1-887560-92-0
One of the most beloved and
respected Masonic educators
provides a true course in Masonic
education in this rare classic. This is
an excellent Masonic education
Haunted Chambers
By; Karen Kidd
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, THE
MOST COMPLETE WORK OF
EARLY WOMEN FREEMASONS
AND DETAILS ABOUT TEHIR
LIVES.
Cornerstone Book Publishers in New
Orleans, LA., recently announced the
soon-to-be released Haunted
Chambers: the Lives of Early Women
Freemasons. The books author,
Karen Kidd, is a Co-Mason and
member of a Seattle, WA-based
Lodge that works under the Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry,
American Federation of Human Rights, headquartered in Larkspur, CO.
Haunted Chambers is Kidds first book.
Kidd touches only briefly on what many will find as the real challenge in
this book: that these women existed at all. Instead, Haunted Chambers
provides the best evidence available that these women did exist and as
many details about their lives as is still available. The women in Haunted
Chambers include an American writer of womens rights, an early New
Brunswick settler, an Irish immigrant girl, a war hero, a countess and the
sculptress who created the statue of Abraham Lincoln that stands today in
the US Capitol Rotunda.
Lifting the Veil
Esoteric Masonic Thought
Created by Giovanni Lombardo for
Lodgeroom International
Foreword Two years ago, Robert
Theron Dunn (Theron), Bill
McElligott and I discussed how to
help the American Brethren who set
up Traditional Obedience lodges,
and others who merely desired to
improve their esoteric knowledge.
Myself, I am an Italian Freemason,
and my lodge runs its business with
the AASR ritual. Therefore, there
are some differences as far as the
ritual is concerned. I add that Italy
is, at an esoteric level, the heir of
the mysteries practiced in the
Mediterranean area years ago,
especially in Greece. There is a
different mentality involved and
different practices. To Masons who
dont practice within Italy, some of
our rituals can appear quite weird, if
they are unexplained and not
understood.
Our lodge involves our new
members in an educational process
from the start. We provide new
members with a booklet containing
various informative articles. These
articles cover both the general
aspects of Freemasonry and the
most common symbols which man
finds in our Temple.
40
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catalogue.php?shop=1
The Lodge of Perfection
by Albert Pike
Foreword by Michael R. Poll
Retail Price: $16.95
ISBN 1-934935-13-1
The degrees of the Lodge of Perfection are often viewed as the heart of
the Scottish Rite. In these degrees, Albert Pike explores human relations,
responsibilities and moral codes. We learn of how humans should
interact with each other, how we should govern ourselves and live within
our communities. "The Lodge of Perfection" provides each Masonic
student with a collection of reflective philosophical lessons which can be
used to grow as both a Mason and a member of the human family. The
text has been somewhat modernized making an easier reading
experience.
Masonic Orders of Fraternity
by Manly P. Hall
Originally published in 1976, an
exploration of the seventeenth and
eighteenth century revivals of the
Mystery Rituals, with information on
the influence on Masonic circles of
the Rituals of Memphis and
Illuminati, and the revival of
Egyptian Masonry.
Fat Masons Need Love
41
The average Mason, as well as the modern student of
Masonic ideals, little realized 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 modern 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 Solomons
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 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 without 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 the spirits of the dawn
who first tiled the Masters lodge.
The initiated brother realized that his so called
symbols and rituals are merely blinds fabricated by
the wise to perpetuate ideas incomprehensible to the
average individual. He also realized 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 that 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 t o those who
know, a great cosmic organism whose true brothers
and children are tied together not by spoken oaths
Freemasons and Rosicrucians -
the Enlightened
by Manly P. Hall
42
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 truth 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 brother 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 his symbols and pondering over the
beautiful allegories unfolded in his ritual, realized 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 realize 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 has 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 preservation 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 far 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 realized that
the work of the Mystery Schools in the world is of an
inclusive rather than an exclusive nature, and that the
only lodge which is broad 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
realized that the hierarchies laboring with him have
given him in his varying degrees the mystic spiritual
rituals of all the Mystery Schools in the world., and if
he would fill his place in 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
the Enlightened
by Manly P. Hall
43
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 lodge 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 operative
by living the life of the mystic Mason. His karmic
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 themselves upon the Masonic altar and
vowed by all they hold dear that they 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 who workers
have renounced the things of the 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 who did
pass between the pillars entered the temple, keenly
realizing his sublime opportunity, his divine
obligation, and the mystic privilege which he had
earned from 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 along are truly
Masons who, dedicating their lives and their fortunes
upon the altar 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 luster, 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.
Freemasons and Rosicrucians - the Enlightened
by Manly P. Hall
the Enlightened
by Manly P. Hall
Other Cornerstone
Books
44
The Threshing-Floor
A House Built
upon sand shall
neither stand well
nor stand long.1
Dr. John S. Nagy
Summary: King Solomons choice of location to Build
his Temple upon has many overlaying references that
have much significance to Masons. Examining its rich
history reveals Strong criteria for its selection. Masons
would do well to understand the connections this
Temple location has for any other Building they may
conceive, design and eventually Build.
Overview
Far too many Masons have grown up in cultures
that do not give full credence to the rich metaphors that
allow for instant understanding of the Masonic symbols
before them. The Threshing-floor is one such
metaphor of a special location for activity that all
Masons should be prepared to engage in very early in
their Masonic Journey.
On the Threshing-floor, the fruit of the harvest is
laid out before them; further Work is put forth to
separate the grain heads from the chaff that nurtured
the grain to maturity. Winnowing efforts are put forth
in this activity, forcing movement of the chaff away
from the grain so desired.
Like threshers from any era, Masons must also
learn how to separate that which is important from that
which is not. Without this vital skill, further
improvement in Masonry, a primary goal for Masons at
any stage, will not occur. Masons should learn this
skill early on as Entered Apprentice Masons and apply
it at all times from then on.
This crucial skill though is not pointed out as a
Foundation to which Masonry is Built upon. Archaic
references to the Foundation are few and modern day
Masons would be hard pressed to provide exact
connections to the Foundation if they were limited to
the Ritual references themselves.
The Threshing Floor
by Dr. John S. Nagy
Yet, if Masons took time to examine Ritual carefully
and look into the history of King Solomons Temple,
as provided by the Volume of Sacred Law and
specifically the land in which it was Built upon, they
would find a rich harvest of connections. Before
them would be an abundance of lessons that would
profit them and those they encounter. They would
have examples of human desire focused in grand style
to assure actions were honorable and respecting.
They would discover deeper meaning and
understanding that made for better choices in life.
They would also create a clarity and continuity
surrounding the Work that they endeavor to undertake
as Masons in Masonry.
We each Build a Temple that is our own. The plans
for that Temple are Masonic in origin and follow the
prototype of that which was Built by King Solomon
many years ago. That foundation is upon a mountain
called Moriah. The significance of that name is
important to all Masons. The significance of its
history is also as important.
History
The name Moriah occurs
first in our Volume of Sacred
Law in the Book of Genesis. It is
attributed to a mountain range
that has a rich history that
Masons would do well to know
and learn from. Traditionally, Moriah is the location
of a specific mountain but Rabbinical tradition often
attributes many significant occurrences directly to
Mount Moriah particularly; many of which Masons
would benefit from by knowing how they support
their Masonic Work.
Abraham
One such occurrence was the story of a man who
is credited to be the father of three monotheistic
religions. The Moriah mountain range was the
location to which the Friend of God 2 also known as
Abraham, intended to sacrifice his son Isaac to his
Lord. 3
As an interesting tangent to this, it is important to
know what the word sacrifice originally meant
45
many years ago. Its meaning was to make Holy. It
was believed at that time that gifts must be offered and
made to that which was revered and worshiped. To do
this, one must make Holy that gift in order for it to
be accepted. This often involved burning such
offerings; a practice which was believed to make that
gift transcend into the spiritual domain. The
unfortunate aspect of the word is that it has changed
over the years from its original meaning and shifted
semantically to mean to give up and hence loose
something; usually for a greater good.
True sacrifice though involves no loss whatsoever. It
only involves a willing act of glad-full giving. In this
respect, to truly sacrifice, Masons must willingly and
gladly make effort to make Holy that which they
have been blessed with; no greater gift in sacrifice
could be made.
As important as the act of sacrifice has been
emphasized to us over the years, the Volume of Sacred
Law tells us that sacrifice itself is not the most
desirable actions to take. If fact, it tells us that the
performance of charity4 and prudence5 is more
desirable to God than sacrifice.6 It also tells us that
Loving-kindness7 I desire, not sacrifice, and the
knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.8 As
many Masons will admit outright, much of these
sentiments are emphasized in Ritual throughout the
degrees.
freestones and made a pillow to support him in his
sleep. During his sleep that night, Jacob dreamt10
of a connection between Heaven and Earth called a
Sullam.11 Sullam means a graduated ramp,
staircase or ladder. It is the first and last time this
word is used within the Volume of Sacred Law. In
that dream, Jacob saw Gods Angels ascending and
descending this connection. Upon waking from his
dream, Jacobs said, Surely Jehovah is in this place;
and I knew not. This is none other than the House
of God, and this is the gate to heaven. Jacob
proceeded to rename the location Bethal, which
means House of God. He also set up the first of
two stone pillars to acknowledge this belief, saying,
This stone which I have set for a Pillar shall be
Gods House.
The Ladder of Jacobs dream is most significant to
Masons and their Work, especially at the EA level.
The ladder represents the connection between
Heaven and Earth. There are too few Masons that
know the double significance of this. The
Compasses and Square are symbolic of Heaven and
Earth too. The connection dreamt of by Jacob also
exists between these two. Masons associate the
rungs of Jacobs Ladder with the Seven Virtues that
are spoken of in the EA Lecture. The message
Masons should glean from these elements is that the
connection between Heaven and Earth, and hence
Masonry itself, is Strengthened through the practice
of these Virtues, as symbolized by the ladders
rungs.
Ornan
More Masonic significance occurred years later.
Mount Moriah came under ownership of a
Jebusite12 ruler named Ornan and whose Hittite
title was Araunah. Ornan used the location as a
threshing floor. In modern times, threshing-floors
are not what many Masons might be exposed to
much less have any experience with. In fact, a
random survey of Brothers may turn up only a few
who understand what the act of threshing is. For
many of us with a passing interest, we would look
up this word and find that threshing is the act of
breaking off the grain heads from the chaff that it
grew upon. Further investigation would reveal that
this act was followed by something called
winnowing; a divestment of the chaff from the
desired grain it was once connected to. This was
The Threshing Floor
by Dr. John S. Nagy
Jacob
The next event significant to Masonic Work came
with travels of the next generation. It was Jacob, the
grandson of Abraham, that subsequently had occasion
to visit Moriah and with grand significance to Masons.
It was while he was upon Moriah9 , that he took its
46
sometimes done by rigorously fanning the grain and
chaff but was best accomplished in a well lit open
space that had lots of wind. The wind was useful in
that it carried the lighter chaff away from the heavier
grain by merely throwing all of it up into the air.
Ornans Threshing floor was on the top of Mount
Moriah which had aspects of light and wind in
abundance.
Of course, Masons will recognize immediately the
significance of the threshing-floor. It is a place where
that which is important is separated from that which is
unimportant; truth from falsehood; that which nurtures
from that which doesnt; the very actions that Masons
must take upon themselves as they progress through
their Masonic Work. Obviously the use of Light and a
fair amount of directed Wind, in the form of Spiritual
guidance, is very useful in this activity. This should
start to occur immediately upon entering upon the
threshing-floor.
Of interest to note: The entrance of the threshing-floor
is called the reshold. Masons will recognize
immediately that the threshold is symbolic of the
entrance or porch to which all Masons must Pass
through to bring them to Light and Spirit; abundantly
found upon the Masonic threshing-floor within any
existing Temple.
Threshing and Winnowing are common metaphors for
the exercising of judgment13 and purification.14
They are also vital skills that help Masons Divest
themselves from the Vices and Superfluities of life.15
The threshing-floor also symbolizes blessings and
abundance for Masons. As stated in the Volume of
Sacred Law: And your contribution shall be counted to
you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor,
and as the fullness of the winepress.16 , The threshing
floors will be filled with grain; the vats shall overflow
with wine and oil.17 and When ye have heaved the
best thereof from it, then it shall be counted [to you] as
the increase of the threshing-floor, and as produce of
the winepress.18
This scripture echoes the
sentiments often heard within
the halls of Masonic discourse:
You get from Masonry what
you put in.
The Threshing Floor
by Dr. John S. Nagy
David
Yet further significance for Masons came into
play when King David had reign over the people of
this area in and around Mount Moriah. It was this
very mountain location, Ornans Threshing-floor,
that King David noticed an angel of the Lord.19
When King David took notice, this angel was
visiting a three day plague upon the surrounding
communities as punishment to King David for
taking a census of the war capable men within his
kingdom. God didnt like this and hence the angel
was sent. When King David first noticed the angel,
it was about to visit that plague upon King Davids
people in Jerusalem too. The angel held off though
and the prophet Gad instructed King David to Build
an Altar to the Lord God in thanks. King David
complied immediately without any hesitation of
mind in him whatsoever. The message of King
Davids actions should be clear to Masons: One
must take action without hesitation when the
instruction is sound and communicates Good
Orderly Direction.
There was of course the formality of Building upon
land that was not rightfully his. King David
recognized this issue and made effort to purchase
the threshing-floor from Ornan. Being subject to
King Davids rule, Ornan offered up the land freely
along with an array of suitable sacrifices 20 for the
intended Altar. King David would not hear of it; he
said to Ornan, No, but I will buy it for the full
price.21 His reasoning was straightforward. King
David would neither take for his Lord what was
someone elses, nor offer burnt offerings which cost
him nothing.22
His actions offered some Strong lessons for all
Masons to learn from. One lesson was that he made
sure that the Foundation he Built upon and what
47
was to be made Holy was procured fairly and
equitably before proceeding. Another lesson offered
was to treat others fairly and rightfully even if one
may reign over them. Yet another lesson that is
important for Masons to note is to deal in such a way
that there is never any question of ownership.
Solomon
Mount Moriahs significance to Masons doesnt
stop there. It is also the location where King Davids
son, King Solomon, Built a Temple and dwelling place
for the Most High. The Temple was Built upon what
was originally Ornans Threshing-floor, and surrounded
King Davids Altar, the eventual resting place of the
Arc of the Covenant.
Masons use the Building of King Solomons Temple as
a basis for many of the metaphors and symbols used
within Masonry. One such symbol, the checkered
pavement found upon the ground floor which occupies
the very place where threshing once occurred, reminds
Masons of the Wheat and Chaff that must be
separated in their own lives once they are initiated into
the fellowship; a skill that becomes more and more
valuable as other Work is taken on in higher degrees.
Candidates arriving at this threshing-floor, approach it
from the lofty towers of Babel, where language was
confounded and Masonry lost. Coming upon this
threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, they find that
language is restored and Masonry is found. Upon
initiation, Masons come out of the profane world, filled
with much darkness, ignorance and confusion, as there
was at the tower of Babel, and that they approach a
Masonic world, where there is Light, Understanding
The Threshing Floor
by Dr. John S. Nagy
and Order, as at the Temple Built upon Ornans
threshing-floor.
Review
Reviewing all these events should help bring
things into prospective as to the overall significance
of this Temple Mount location. The place where
Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac;
where Jacob dreamt and acknowledged; where King
Ornan threshed to separate; where King David Built
an Altar in thanks to the Lord; where King Solomon
built a Temple to House the Lord; all occurred upon
Moriah. As significant as all these events may now
seem to Masonic readers, the meaning behind this
specific location should bear far more significance.
For all of these events to unfold, specific aspects
needed to be in place. A willingness to make Holy
blessings was one such aspect. A willingness to
separate that which is important from that which is
not is another. A willingness to acknowledge Gods
presence and the connection between Heaven and
Earth was a third. A willingness to Build Sacred
structures was a fourth aspect. Masons may ask
themselves what was the driving force behind all
this willingness? And they would not have far to
look to find the answer.
Moriah means God is my Teacher. Strict
interpretation of the word conveys that it specifically
means ordained/considered by Yahweh. Being the
Foundation of so many events, it is clear that all of
them were supported upon the Instruction of God.
About the Article: This article is based on the

Masonic writings, The Threshing-floor and The
Threshing-floor Catechism written by Dr. John S.
Nagy. They are found in the book Building Boaz
Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic
Education by the same author. The book is
published by PG Publishing.
About the Author: Dr. John S. Nagy is a Master
Mason and member of Tampa Bay Lodge No. 252 in
Tampa Bay Florida and also the Florida Lodge of
Research. He is their Lodge Musician and
occasional Masonic Education provider.
48
1 Matthew 7:26-27
2Isaiah 41:8, 2 Chronicles 20:7
3Genesis 22:10
4 tzedakah
5 judgment
6Proverbs 21:3
7 mercy
8 Hosea 6:6
9 Although the location of this event is clearly stated as not
Moriah in the Volume of Sacred Law, Rabbinical tradition
states that this location was indeed accepted as Mount
Moriah.
10 Genesis 28:12
11 Those interested in the construct of Hebrew words would
do well to investigate the significance of the Hebrew letters
SLM.
12 1 Chronicles 21:15
13 Daniel 2:35
14 Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17
15 Hosea 13:3
16 Numbers 18:27
17 Joel 2:24
18 Numbers 18:30
The Threshing Floor
by Dr. John S. Nagy
What makes for really Strong Masons? What
Strengthens them so they may continue to do long
enduring Masonic Work? These are two of the many
questions that Masonic author Dr. John S. Nagy set out
to answer when he laid the Foundation for his new
book, "Building Boaz - Uncommon Catechism for
Uncommon Masonic Education."
With earnest effort, Dr. Nagy lays out a series of 12
informative Masonic Catechisms that tie together
aspects of the First Degree in Masonry and point to the
Strengthening Work Masons must complete before they
can successfully progress toward other degrees.
What he personally uncovered as a result of this Work
has changed his experience of Masonry.
Within the pages of his book, Dr. John reveals
connections to help Masons better understand...
* The background and Masonic significance of the
location of King Solomon Temple.
* How Masons actually Strengthen the connections
required for all future Work to succeed and last.
* Meanings behind the checkered pavement, Jacob's
Ladder and other symbols used within the first Masonic
degree that assist in Entered Apprentice Work.
* The connection between the Square and
Compasses and its significance in the Work of all
Masons.
* The specific Work Entered Apprentices must do to
Properly Prepare to be Passed to the next Degree.
Dr. Nagy provides Masons with an interesting and
thought-provoking guide to improve and strengthen
their Masonic awareness and clarity. He shares key
information and insights that helps readers better
understand how facets of the first Masonic Degree fit
together to help them in their Building.
This is a must have book for Entered Apprentice
Masons and all those Masons who mentor them.
Uncommon Catechism for Uncommon Masonic
Education .... Volume 2
12 concise chapters
of uncommon Masonic catechism
with over 180 pages of quality information
with footnotes and additional Masonic challenges
throughout the book.

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August 2009

Lodgeroom International Magazine

About the Article: This article is based on the

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