PART II.
"Hiram the Architect Did all the Craft direct How they should build."
It is the considered view of those well qualified to speak with authority
that the Masonic Order is swiftly evolving to greater things than the majority
of its members yet realise, and that at some not distant date the germinal
doctrine will ripen to widespread recognition. Hitherto, they declare, the Craft
has preserved the witness of the Mysteries through an epoch in which
intellectual materialism has temporarily eclipsed the perception of spiritual
values. But, as a branch of initiate science instructs us, times and seasons are
providentially appointed for all things; the sea of spiritual knowledge has its
ebbs and flows, and today the far-receeded tide is fast returning; carrying the
Ark of the Mysteries towards us on its incoming waves. Hence, we may safely
predict that ere many years have passed the pristine function of those Mysteries
will become revived in a form adapted to our time and to present intellectual
needs, and then, is aforetime, men will seek and be granted initiation into the
secrets and mysteries of ultimate Being as now they apply for admission into the
schools and colleges of secular learning. Indeed; it is awaiting this time, and
when "circumstances permit", that our great world-wide Brotherhood has
been designed and provided by those far-seeing Founders who, concealing their
identity but with wisdom and foreknowledge, projected the Craft some three
centuries ago.
IV. - THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF THE CRAFT.
Continuing the analogy in the Craft to the Seven Principles of Man, we
come to the next proposition:-.
(9)..The Craft, like the individual man, has, its higher or immortal, and
its lower or mortal principles; the former, being, a triad, and the latter a
quaternary, and those form seven principles analogous to those of man.
In the first part of this Paper we have already demonstrated that the
Craft has an outward visible organic body which is a living entity. If, then,
there be a material body of Freemasonry wherein a spiritual individuality is
manifesting, these must involve seven principles, and accepting the ordinary
classification they should comprise a triad and a quaternary.
The demonstration, so far as it relates to the Craft may be expressed in
these terms:- There exists a visible organised association, the reason for
whose existence is the promulgation of certain teaching. Like a material human
teacher, it has a physical body and a guiding spirit. The physical body is
necessary for the purpose of communicating to those of its members now in
earth-life the teachings which are put forth by the guiding spirit. It follows
from this that the student or the critic, either for motives of learning or of
argument, should regard the Craft as they would a human teacher, and in the
first place should ascertain carefully what that teaching is; bringing intuition
to bear in order to recognise under the outward form of the words, the character
and doctrine of the guiding spirit. The postulate is that the guiding spirit
speaks through the material organism of the Craft as a "whole", as
distinctly and clearly as the imperfection of a material vehicle allows. But,
it has never been declared that the guiding spirit speaks through anyone member
of the Craft, or any group of members less than the whole. Now, in order, to
judge, fairly of a human, teacher we first ascertain what his own thought is of
himself, what his commission to teach is, and upon what subjects he can give
instruction. This information forthcoming, we then have two questions to solve;
(1) whether such knowledge that he is prepared to impart is for the benefit of
humanity; (2); whether the teacher himself fulfils his own theory of his
commission. These questions being answered in the affirmative, we may proceed to
analyze the teaching. Applying this method to the Craft; we find that the theory
of the Craft itself is that its commission to teach arises from the inspiration,
guidance and occult direction of the Spirit of Wisdom. Moreover, the Craft
regards itself merely as the vehicle for giving material expression to the
teaching of this Spirit, just as a man's body may also be regarded as the
vehicle for giving material expression to the spiritual monad incarnated
therein. The instruction to be given by this means will obviously be limited to
such truths as all men may learn with benefit to themselves, the sole condition;
test, and training being the humility which is necessary for a disciple (the
devotion to one's Guru of the Eastern sages), without which no knowledge is
attainable at all. And bearing in mind the official description that
Freemasonry is "a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and
illustrated by symbols", no objection should be raised if the statement is
made that in the present state of the advancement of humanity only a
comparatively small amount of Masonic teaching can be fully and publicly given
out in clear and definite words. Indeed, the student who investigates the matter
for himself, will soon come to know that the amount of teaching which the Craft
as an Institution has put forward in exoteric form, is exactly that amount which
can, for the benefit of humanity, be safely promulgated.
With regard to the lower principles of the Craft, after the
demonstrations following the propositions set out in the first part of our
Paper, the identification of the principles of the lower quaternary need not be
difficult. The individual members of the Craft correspond to the cells, or
better perhaps, to the molecules of the human body, and when referred to the
collective entity of the Craft these are its physical body (Sthula Sharira). The
binding force which holds the individual members together ("esprit de
corps"), is the life or Prana of the Craft, and it should be noted that as
in the human body there is a life of the cell, semi- independent and conceivably
conscious, which unites the molecules, and that these themselves have a life of
their own; so the collective life of the Craft is not the life of individual
Lodges, still less the life of individual members, but is the uniting force
("the mystic tie") constituting a distinct entity of the whole Craft.
The ideal form or conception of the Craft, the form so to speak into which the
life unites the members, is the astral body (Linga Sharira), and this, like the
astral body of the human being, when looked at apart from its outward and
visible form, is to a large extent plastic, and may be moulded by him who
contemplates it; many misconceptions of the Craft arise from mistaking this
astral form, moulded by the imagination of him who sees it, for the actual
visible Craft. Finally, all action and thought and desire of the Craft as a
living body, which spring from or belong to its material and lower principles,
constitute its Kama Rupa or body of desire; this is the "self" of the
Craft, and the fertile source of most of its corruption. Such is the material
instrument through which the mind of the Craft, corresponding to the incarnating
monad, expresses itself in an outward perceptible and human manner. If it be
objected that the Craft as a teacher should not evince human defects, the answer
is that such defects are an intrinsic part of the system, which is based on the
belief in a teaching-spirit assuming a human instrument in order to speak as man
to man, the ultimate object being the re-uniting in each individual member of
the incarnating monad with what is known as the Higher Self - this operation
being termed the At-one-ment, or the making at one what before was separate.
Hence, the destiny of the Craft is to make its outward visible form the exact
reflection of its spirit, uniting thus its intellect (Lower Manas) with its
Higher Self, and perfecting its own at-onement as an entity; also to make each
individual member a microcosmic reflection of itself, his personality uniting
with, and becoming merged, in his Higher Self and his at-one-ment being
accomplished.
This brings us to the next proposition:-
(10)..The Divine Unity, the Spirit of Wisdom, which guides and animates
the Craft is represented in the Order rituals by the traditional "Three
Grand Masters," Solomon, King of Israel; Hiram, King of Tyre; and Hiram
Abiff. Thus according to the doctrine of the Craft, the Divine Spirit, the
"Spirit of Freemasonry," is its Higher Self or Triad, and the visible
Craft is the "body of Freemasonry" or the lower quaternary.
For the purpose of Masonic doctrine the indissociable triadic
constituents of the Divine Unity (the upper triad - Atma - Buddhi - Manas of the
Eastern schools) are personified by three quasi historical characters:-
1..SOLOMON; KING OF ISRAEL: representing WISDOM contriving creation
subjectively and ideally.
2..HIRAM, KING OF TYRE: representing STRENGTH - projecting the world of
Nature as the material out of which the creative idea is to take shape in the
creature.
3..HIRAM ABIFF: representing BEAUTY - 'the architectonic and geometrical
power which finally moulds the idea into objective form and perfection.
A further word of explanation is here necessary as to the concealed
significance of the Masonic Trinity. Solomon, personifies the primordial
Life-Essence or substantialised Divine Wisdom which is the basis of our being.
It is defined in the Hebrew "Book of Wisdom", as "a pure
influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty, the brightness of the
everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God and the image of His
goodness". It is described as a "king" because it must needs
transcend and over-rule whatever is inferior to itself, and as "king of
Israel" because "Israel" itself means "co-operating or
ruling with God", as distinct from being associated with beings or affairs
of a sub- divine order. To conjoin this transcendental "Life-Essence to a
vehicle which should give it fixity and form required the assistance of another
dominant or "kingly" principle, personified as Hiram, King of Tyre,
who, supplied the "building material". Now inasmuch as we are dealing
with purely metaphysical ideas, it will be obvious that the Tyre in question has
no relation to the Levantine sea-port of that name. The word Tyre in Hebrew
means "rock", and the strength, compactness and durability which we
always associate with rock, whilst the same word recurs in Greek as
"Turos" and in Latin is "Terra", and as "Durus",
implying form, consistency and durability. "King of Tyre", therefore,
is to be interpreted as the cosmic principle which lives solidity and form to
the spiritual fluidic and formless Life-Essence, and which is comparable to a
cup intended to hold liquid. Solomon and Hiram of Tyre having contributed their
respective properties of Life-Essence and durable form ("building
material") as the groundwork of the soul, it is then made functionally
offective by the addition of the third principle described as Hiram Abiff, and
personifying the active intellectual principle or Manas. Hiram Abiff represents
the Cosmic Builder; the Great Architect "by whom all things are made",
the "Son of the Carpenter", to use an expression which is common to
both the Hindu Puranas and the Christian Gospels. The name Hiram Abiff,
sometimes given as Adoniram, means the representative or messenger from the
Lord. ("Adonai") or Father ("Abba") i.e. from the Higher
Self or paternal spiritual principle; it is the Hebrew form of the Greek,
"Hermes" (the son of the All-Father, Zeus), the messenger and
intermediary between the gods and men. In Craeco- Alexandrian scriptures Hiram
is called both Hyrmes and Thoth (the Divine Thought or Creative Mind), and
appears as the great Initiator and Teacher of hidden knowledge; Hermes (instead
of Hiram) is also mentioned in some of the old Masonic charges. Hiram Abiff,
then, is the Christ-principle immanent in every soul; crucified, dead and buried
in all who are not alive to its presence, but none the less resident in all as a
saving force - "Christ in you, the hope of glory".
It would be utterly impossible within the limits of this Paper, to enter
on a disquisition of all the various ideas, noted and connoted, in the word
Christ, and in the ancient mystic Christos, the Path, and the Purifier, union
with whom was the object of the early Initiates. Moreover, the student who
engages in this wide field of speculation should be prepared to study the
etymology and history, both of the name and the idea itself, through the
cosmogony and mythology of every great race which has yet lived on earth,
tracing also the inter-relation of these races, as well as their language and
philosophy. Short of this a partial knowledge must certainly land him in a
fallacy. However without dealing fully with this aspect of our subject, the
following will probably not be contested. All historic religions have assumed a
higher state to which individuals should aspire, and an endeavour on the part of
the best of mankind to attain such state themselves and help others to attain
it. Further, in the schools of the Mysteries, as also in the great religions of
the world, the actual attainment of this spiritual goal is enacted or taught
under the veil of a tragic episode analogous to that of the Craft third degree;
and in each there is a Master whose death the aspirant is instructed he must
imitate in his own person. In the Craft system that prototype is Hiram Abiff:
but it must be made clear that there is no historical basis whatever for the
legendary account of Hiram's death. The whole story is symbolical and was
purposely invested for reasons of the Craft teaching. If you will examine the
Craft central legend closely, you will at once perceive how obvious the
correspondence is between this narrative and the story of the death of the
Christian Master as related in the Gospels. In the one case the Master is
crucified between the two thieves; in the other he is done to death between two
villains. In the one case appear the penitent and the impenitent thief; in the
other we have the conspirators who make a voluntary confession of their guilt
and were pardoned, and the others who were found guilty and put to death. As
every Christian is taught that in his own life he must imitate the life and
death of Christ, so every member of the Craft is "made to represent one of
the brightest characters recorded in the annals of Freemasonry but as the annals
of Freemasonry are contained in the Volume of the Sacred Law and not elsewhere,
it is not difficult to see who the character is who is alluded to. Moreover, as
that great authority and initiate of the Mysteries, St.Paul, taught, we can only
attain to the Master's resurrection by "being made conformable unto His
death", and we "must die with him if we are to be raised like
Him": and it is in virtue of that conformity, in virtue of being
individually made to imitate the Grand Master in His death, that Freemasons are
made worthy of certain "points of fellowship" with Him: for the
"five points of fellowship" with Him: for the "Five points of
fellowship" of the Craft third degree are the five wounds of Christ. The
three years' ministry of the Christian Master ended with His death, and these
refer to the three degrees of the Craft which also end in the mystical death of
the Masonic candidate and his subsequent raising or resurrection. The death,
then, to which Freemasonry alludes, using the analogy of bodily death and under
the veil of a reference to it, is none other than that death-in-life to mans'
own lower self to which St. Paul also made allusion when he protested "I
die daily", for it is over the grave not of the dead body but of the lower
self, that the aspirant must walk before he can attain the heights. In the
terminology of Freemasonry, the perfect cube must pass through the metamorphosis
of the Cross, thereby signifying that complete self-sacrifice and
self-crucifixion are, as all religions teach, essential before the soul can be
raised "from a figurative death to a reunion with the companions of its
"former toils". The soul must, in other words, pass voluntarily and
consciously through a state of utter helplessness from which no earthly hand can
rescue it, and in trying to raise him from which the grip of any succouring
human hand will but "prove a slip": until at length Divine Help itself
descends from the Throne above and, with the "lion's grip" of almighty
power, raises,the faithful and regenerated soul to union with itself in an
embrace of reconciliation and at-one-ment.
We cannot, in this short Paper, discuss the extremely interesting
questions which are involved in a study of the period of transition from
prechristian to Christian religion. Neither can we attempt to explain why or
how the Christian Mysteries are the efflorescence of the earlier ones and
transcend them. Nevertheless, we must point out that in their central teachings,
as well as in the philosophic method of life they demand, the two methods are
identical. The differences between them are only such as are due to
amplification and formal expression, for, as it is written, Christianity came
not to destroy, but to fulfil and expand. Now, when properly understood, that
fulfilment and expansion are found to be consequent upon an event of cosmic
importance which is spoken of as The Incarnation, and by that event something
happened which affected the very fabric of our planet and every item of the
human family. What that something was, and the nature of the change it wrought
is too great and deep a theme to develop here, but, to illustrate it by Masonic
symbolism, it was an event which is the equivalent of, and is represented by,
the transference of the Sacred Symbol of the Grand Geometrician of the Universe
from the ceiling of the Lodge, where it is located in the elementary grades of
the Craft, to the floor, where it is found in the Royal Arch Degree surrounded
with flaming lights and every circumstance of reverence and sanctity. For the
purpose of our present study, it is essential to recognise that in this piece of
symbolism, Freemasonry is giving affirmation and ocular testimony to precisely
the same fact as the churchman affirms when he recites in his Creed the words,
"He came down from heaven, and was incarnate and was made man." Here
we must direct attention to the fact that there is one ever-recurring Divine
Event which is always the theme of the great rituals; it is the sacrifice of the
Logos, "who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven".
Without this voluntary self-sacrifice and limitation of God, the universe cannot
exist for all objects, animate and inanimate, exist only because God
"died" to the fullness of His nature. But, as the great rituals are
designed to keep prominently before the human memory, His self-chosen
"death" was and is only in order that, through the co- operation of
those for whom He died, He may rise to a more glorious existence - more glorious
because those He died for live with Him in a conscious communion. There are
three great rituals which show this archetypal basis of true ritualism; they
come from Egypt, India and Europe. Widely different though they may seem to be
in externals, Freemasonry, the Prajapati ritual of ancient Hinduism, and the
Mass of the Christian Church, all three tell of the primordial sacrifice of the
Logos. As this Paper is written for members of the Craft, we need but take the
Prajapati ritual and the Mass for comparison. In the former, God as Prajapati,
"Lord of Creatures", lays Himself down on the altar as a voluntary
victim, to be slain and dismembered by the Devas, the elder children of His
family, and from the dismembered parts then arise all creation; men exist in
their individual natures only because He was slain. It is this sacrifice of
Prajapati which is commemorated each day in the great ritual, and as the
dismembered Godhead can be made whole and resurrected from the dead only by God
Himself, man (who is God) must perform the commemorative sacrifice and
"make Father Prajapati whole once more". The Mass in Christianity
commemorates the voluntary sacrifice of God as Christ; He is called "the
victim" "hostia", or Host); He came foreknowing His crucifixion,
and it is only because of His crucifixion that men can be saved; every act of
His life was foreordained, and He was "the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world". Therefore His whole mission, from the Descent from heaven
to the Ascent, was but a reflection of a Divine Procession of events in the
heavenly worlds. The most exalted aim of religion is the intimate union of man
with God; and in the great rituals there is always the climax when Divinity
reveals Himself through the ritual; this is the moment of the "Real
Presence", and it is this alone that makes a ritual really sacramental. The
obstacle is the case of sacramental mysticism is naturally incorrect performance
of the ritual; every act in the series must be performed, and if one of them is
omitted, the mystic magic will not create the necessary force. Knowledge has
little to do with the magic; as the turning of a switch will set a hundred
electric bulbs alight, provided one knows where the switch is, so anyone who is
taught the ritual can perform the magic. However, in order to achieve the
results he must perform it according to the rubric, keeping to the ancient
landmarks; to omit or to add mars the ritual and hinders the magic, for the
rubric was carefully made by those who knew in what way each part of it should
point to an event in the heavenly world, and sacramental mysticism ceases to be
sacramental when there is not the perfect mirroring of heavenly acts by earthly
actions. The ideal of sacramental mysticism is the priest; he must of course be
formally consecrated for his function because the magic will not work unless the
operator is a true priest. In Hinduism a man must be consecrated as a priest;
in Christianity he must be ordained; and in Freemasonry the Worshipful Master
must be duly installed. Here comes in the great question of the validity of
Orders" in Christianity, and the regularity or irregularity of Masonic
bodies, but this matter goes deeper into occultism than may be considered to be
within the scope of this treatise.
The point up to which these observations are meant to lead can now be
stated. It is that a group of men, themselves Initiates, were inspired to
devise and project the modern Craft in the 16th, and 17th. centuries, to keep
alive the universal tradition of Initiation and the Divine Mysteries at a
critical period when spiritual life was running low and the modern intellectual
mechanical, and industrial era was about to set in. Being guided by what may be
termed the prior history of the working of the Spirit, which in all ages has
induced men to strive after reunion with the higher Self, these men were led to
the idea of forming an association as a human vehicle for the promulgation of
the knowledge they were anxious to impart, in order that, as the Spirit had been
held to speak occasionally through a prophet, or seer, or master; and as the
individual monad assumes human personality, and manifests, itself thus to other
men, so this Spirit actuating them, might have a constant, visible human medium,
whereby men might speak to men and convey the words of the Spirit. Nothing is
here postulated with regard to an historic Master, save that the teachings
promulgated by (or ascribed to) Jesus of Nazareth, were adopted as the ethical
code of instruction. All we now affirm is that the Spirit of striving after
union with the Higher Self, called by a certain school of thinkers Christos or
Christ, was believed by them to urge or direct them to form a society for the
propagation of teaching tending to that end; and that they conceived the
relation between the society and the guiding spirit corresponded to that between
the higher and lower principles in man. Stated in other words, the Founders of
the Craft realised that before the true spirit and inward content of Speculative
Freemasonry could be appreciated upon a scale sufficiently wide to constitute
the Order a real spiritual force in the social body, it would be necessary in
the first instance to build up a great, vigorous and elaborate physical
organisation as a vehicle in which that spirit might eventually and
efficaciously manifest. In view of the importance of the ultimate object aimed
at it matters nothing that from two to three centuries have been needed to
develop that organisation, to build up that requisite physical framework, or
that the material of which it has been constructed has not been so far of ideal
quality. The growth of a great institution - a nation, a Church, a system of the
Mysteries - is a slow growth, proceeding from material apparently unpromising,
and involving continual selection, before something becomes finally sublimated
from it and is forged into an efficient instrument. To take a most appropriate
analogy -the erection of Solomon's Temple was a work of years, but it was not
until it was completed, dedicated, and consecrated as a tabernacle worthy of the
Shekinah, did that Presence descend upon it, illuminating and flooding the whole
House and enabling the earthly vehicle to fulfil a spiritual, purpose. So, with
the Masonic Order; as a physical vehicle, a material organisation, it is as
complete, as elaborated and as efficiently controlled as perhaps it can ever be
expected to be. It now stands awaiting illumination, and that illumination must,
come from within itself, even as the Divine Presence manifested within thy
symbolic Temple.
V._ - CONCLUSION: THE OBJECT AND MISSION OF THE CRAFT.
In the last section we have traced out the seven principles of the Craft
according to the ordinary classification of the "Seven Principles of
Man" as understood by the Eastern schools. It would be profitless
speculation to undertake to distinguish more accurately and sharply the
principles of the Higher Triad, from one another, inasmuch as the Craft has
never by authoritative utterance attempted to do so. It should, however, be
possible for students to discern that the Triad (Solomon and the two Hirams)
considered together forms the Higher Self of that entity called the Craft (or to
express the same thought in the language of the Church, forms the Church
Triumphant, wherewith the Church Militant or the visible association of human
beings is seeking union), and it has been indicated by eminent Freemasons, such
as W.Bros. W.L.Wilmshurst and A.E. Waites that the metaphysical, intellectual
and moral aspects of this Higher Self correspond with the three higher
principles.
Briefly recapitulating the position, we see that the craft is a living
composite entity, composed of living human units, as the human body is composed
of living semi-independent cells. That this entity has its own organic life and
has evolved its own Constitution and rules of being. That its right to evolve
such a Constitution is in accordance with the undoubted right possessed by every
Association to formulate its own rules and laws; and to expel from membership
all who refuse to be bound by those laws. That it has an organic voice by means
of which certain definite declarations have been made in the name of the Craft,
and that these declarations (issued by the authority of Grand Lodge representing
the whole Craft) must necessarily be accepted by all members; not-withstanding
that upon other matters affecting Freemasonry they may lawfully differ. That the
United Grand Lodge of England is a Sovereign and independent Body practising
Freemasonry only within the limits defined in its Constitution as "pure
Antient Masonry". That from time to time the Grand Lodge has deemed it
desirable to set forth in precise form the aims of Freemasonry as consistently
practised under its Jurisdiction since it came into existence as an organised
body in 1717 and also to define the principles governing its relations with
other Grand Lodges with which it is in fraternal accord. That the first
condition of admission into, and membership of, the Craft is a belief in the
Supreme Being, and that by the very nature of the teaching this is essential and
admits of no compromise. Finally, that there is no secret with regard to any of
the basic principles of Freemasonry, although it must be freely acknowledged
that the one point which stands out conspicuously in the teachings of the Craft
is the Law of Love - love for all nations and of all men, this is clearly
defined in the Instruction Lectures as follows:-
"By the exercise of Brotherly Love, we are taught to regard the
whole human species as one family, the high and the low; the rich and the poor,
created by the same Almighty Being, and sent into the world for the mutual aid,
support, and protection of each other. On this grand principle Freemasonry
unites men of every country, sect, and opinion, and, by its dictates,
conciliates a true friendship between those who might otherwise have remained at
a perpetual distance." (First Lecture, Sixth Section).
It now remains to conclude this study that the object and mission of the
Craft should be appraised in their relation to the general social life
surrounding the Order; for the Craft is not something apart and detached from
that life but an integral element of it, and between the two there is perpetual
interaction and reaction. The Masonic system was devised three centuries ago, at
a time of widespread unrest and change, as a preparatory infant school in which
once again the alphabet of a world-old "Gnosis" might be learned and
an elementary acquaintance made with the science of human regeneration. However
misunderstood and misapplied have been its rites, the Craft exists as an occult
society whose object is the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, the perfection of
the Human Ego, and its reunion with its Higher Self. Moreover, the Craft is a
Society which is prepared to impart the means whereby this may be accomplished:
which offers to every candidate admitted the essential teaching to enable him to
reach his owner Higher Self, and therewith the far more priceless privilege of
aiding it the regeneration of humanity. We need, then, express no surprise when
our investigations reveal that the Spirit that has from its inception animated
the Craft, finds as St, Paul found "a law in its members warring against
the law of the spirit". Indeed, such being the mission of the Craft, it is
inevitable that the Spirit which animates the corporate body must always be
opposed to the will of the lower principles, and for this reason the primary
work of each individual Craftsman is "to learn to rule and subdue his
passions"; in other words, to subordinate his lower to his higher nature.
The method or "way of attainment" comprehends exercises on all the
planes of being; "by a prudent and well regulated course of discipline;
"by contemplation"; and participation in ceremonies which have
distinct psychic effects in either reducing the strength or purifying the nature
of the bodily wants. Freemasonry neither estimates the problem of human
relationships. St. Paul found it necessary to remind the early Christians that
they were all members of one body, although they might differ in gifts and
qualifications. As, however, no one member of the human body can boast its
independence of other members - the eye, for instance, cannot boast of its
independence of the hand or foot - no more is the individual independent of the
other members of the group. Freemasonry drives home this truth by another
metaphor; Freemasons are taught to think of themselves us "living
stones" of a vast, social structure, and that the value of the individual
unit lies in his contribution to the larger edifice. Hence the insistence on
personal discipline; each stone must be squared, levelled and plumbed if
strength, symmetry and safety are to be known. Now this condition of complete
individualisation is not attained without time, or without the struggle and pain
inevitable to all growth, and we need not be impatient at the slow development
of that inner permanent Masonic "superstructure, perfect in all its parts
and honourable to the builder", which is to be reared upon the Craft
foundation. At this stage of progress we do not attempt to deny that an
observer looking at the Craft from without easily detects many deficiencies
among the members, including jealousies, intolerance and bigotry, and it is also
true that these things often deter genuine seekers from investigating further;
but we are surely entitled to ask, can any initiation be achieved without a test
or a trial? And if this first trial discomforts the intending novice, he most
certainly will not obtain that which is promised on admission to the Order, for
what the Craft really is, and the real value of its teaching and training, can
only be known from the inside. Even in the case of a material temple the rough,
unsightly stones are outside, while the within - it is folly to stand outside
and affirm that the glory does not exist. In the case of the Craft, those who
are within know better and those who are without, if they are deterred from
entering by such protestations, have not yet come up to the level of the first
initiation.
"Many are the candidates seeking Initiation, But few are the
perfected Initiates."
APPENDIX
AN ELEMENTARY NOTE ON THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES.
The members of this Study Circle are acquainted with the axiom that Man
is a Microcosm of the Macrocosm, and have grown familiar with the idea that in
some mysterious manner Man is an epitome of the Universe. Nevertheless, it may
be helpful to students to note in this place that the word "Microcosm"
is a Greek compound signifying "Little Arrangement", i.e. "little
world"; and is a term applied by ancient and modern mystics to Man when
considering the seven aspects or organic parts of his constitution. Over the
temples of initiation of antiquity was inscribed the sentence "Know thyself
and thou shalt know the Universe and God", a phrase which implies in the
first place that the uninitiated man is without the knowledge of himself, and in
the second place that when he attains to that knowledge he will realise himself
to be no longer the separate distinctified individual he now supposes himself to
be, but a Microcosm or summary of all that is and to be identified with the
Being of God. Our modern Masonic system of Initiation perpetuates this maxim by
recommending self-knowledge to candidates as "the most interesting of all
human studies", while the Instruction Lectures provide the first lesson in
that knowledge by directing attention in a cryptic manner to what is called
"the form of the Lodge". This is officially described as "an
oblong square; in length between East and West, in breadth between North and
South, in depth from the surface of the earth to its centre, and even as high as
the heavens", all of which is to be interpreted as alluding to the human
individual. Man himself is a Lodge, and just as the Masonic Lodge is stated to
be "an assemblage of brethren met to expatiate upon the mysteries of the
Craft.", so the individual Freemason is a composite being made up of
various properties and faculties assembled together in him with a view to their
harmonious interaction and working out of the purpose of life. Accordingly, the
Masonic Lodge is sacramental of the candidate as he is when he seeks admission
to the Order, and a man's first entry into a Lodge is symbolical of his first
entry upon the science of knowing himself. The human organism is, symbolised by
a four square or four sided building, and this is in agreement with the very
ancient philosophical doctrine that four is the arithmetical symbol of
everything which has manifested or physical form. Spirit, which is unmanifest
and not physical, is expressed by the number three and the triangle, but Spirit
which has so far projected itself as to become objective and wear a material
form or body is denoted by the number four and the quadrangle or square. The
Lodge, however, is shown to be an oblongated (or duplicated) square, because
man's organism does not consist of his physical body, alone. The physical body
has its "double" or ethereal counterpart in the astral body, which is
an extension of the physical nature and a compound of the four basic
metaphysical elements (fire, water, air and earth) in: an impalpable and more
tenuous form. Hence the oblong spatial form of the Lodge must be considered as
referable to the physical and ethereal nature of man in the conjunction in which
they in fact consist in each of us. The "depth" of the Lodge
"from the surface of the earth to its centre" - alludes to the
distance or difference of degree between the superficial consciousness of our
earthly mentality and the supreme divine degree of consciousness resident at
man's spiritual centre. The "height" of the Lodge "even as high
as the heavens" -implies that the range of consciousness possible to us,
when we have developed our potentialities to the full, is infinite.
Consciousness, however, cannot exist without body, and in the same manner that
no Bother can enter the Masonic Lodge except he be clothed with the Apron
proclaiming his spiritual rank, so no one can enter any of the unseen worlds
without wearing an appropriate body. There are bodies terrestrial, adapted to
use on the lower planes of life, and bodies celestial or ethereal, adapted to
functioning on higher levels. Indeed, man is a composite of many, bodies, one
within the other, although ordinarily he is unaware of it and has not yet
organised them and come to know them separately. The physical body is but one,
and the grossest of the physical plane (terrestrial) bodies; it is but a plaster
of organised chemical particles, within and around which his subtler bodies
exist, and for which it forms a nexus of fixation-point. When totally discarded
at death it disintegrates; when partially abandoned as in sleep its energies
persist passively, and connection with it is kept by the cable-tow or
"silver cord". In each case the Ego, whether aware of it or not,
stands minus its physical sheath and enclosed in the remaining ones; and a
similar divesting of each successive body may take place until only the ultimate
Ego remains. That Ego, the ultimate Divine Principle in man, is represented by
the triangular flap of the Masonic Apron, because the triangle (or pyramid form)
is the geometrical symbol for Spirit or Fire, and the ultimate Spirit of man may
be likened to a pointed flame or tongue of fire. The succession of bodies or
forms which the Ego assumes on descending into manifestation is represented by
the lower quadrangular part of the Apron. The candidate's first investiture with
the Masonic Apron is symbolic therefore of his Ego's entrance into this world,
and becoming clothed with form or body; he is meant to realise himself as a
sevenfold being, his triangle of Spirit combining with the quadrangle of
materialised form to make up the perfect number seven.
It is now necessary to recall that throughout the Paper to which this
Appendix is attached, the septenary classification of the "Principles of
Man" as understood by the Eastern schools has been largely used for
purposes of analogy, and for the guidance of students we give an interpretation
of the seven principles as follows:-
The 1st. Principle STHULA-SHARIRA. (Dense physical Body).
STHULA-SARIRA (Sanskrit). "Sthul," means "coarse",
"gross", not refined, heavy, therefore conditioned and differentiated
matter. "Sarira" - "form", generally speaking. The lowest
substance - principle of which man is composed: the physical body.
The "Sthula Sarira" or physical hierarchy of the human body is
builded up of cosmic elements, themselves formed of living atomic entities,
which, although subject individually to bewilderingly rapid changes and
reimbodiments, nevertheless are incomparably more enduring in themselves as
expressions of the monadic rays than is the transitory physical body which they
temporarily compose.
Strictly speaking the physical body is not a "principle" at
all: it is merely a house, man's "carrier" in another sense, and no
more is an essential part of him than are the clothes in which his body is
garmented. Man is really a complete human being without the
"Sthula-Sarira"; and yet this statement while accurate must not be
taken too literally, because even the physical body is the expression of man's
constitution on the physical plane. The meaning is that the human constitution
can be a complete human entity even when the physical body is discarded, but the
"Sthula-Sarira" is needed for evolution and active work on this
sub-plane of the Solar Cosmos.
The 2nd. Principle. PRANA. (The Life-force),
PRANA (Sanskrit). - The word is derived from "pra"
prepositional prefix meaning "before"; and "an" - verb
meaning "to breathe", "to blow", "to live".
Usually translated "Life", but rather the psycho-electrical veil or
"psycho-electrical field" manifesting in the individual as vitality.
Commonly called "Life-Principle". The function of the life principle
is to hold together the elements composing "Sthula-Surira", but it
also comprehends the faculty of responding to what are known as etheric thrills
which in the East are termed "Tatwas". and which we in the West
recognise as the means whereby external objects appeal to the five senses, there
being a "Tatwa" (or system of thrills) for each sense.
The 3rd. Principle. LINGA SHARIRA. (The Astral Body). LINGA SARIRA
(Sanskrit). - "Linga" is a Sanskrit word which means characteristic
mark; hence "model", "Pattern", "Sarira"
"form", from a verb-root "sri", meaning "to
moulder", or "to waste away", the word thus signifying
"impermanence".
The Model-body, popularly called "astral body", because it is
but slightly more ethereal than the physical body, and is in fact the model or
framework around which the physical body is builded, and from which, in a sense,
the physical body flows or from which the physical body develops as growth
proceeds.
At death the "Linga-Sarira" remains in the astral realms, and
finally fades out, dissolving "pari passu", atom by atom, with the
atoms of the physical body. The "Linga-Sarira" is formed before the
body is formed, and thus serves as a model or pattern around which the physical
body is moulded and grows to maturity; it is as mortal as the physical body, and
disappears with the physical body. The dense and etheric bodies are not normally
separated during earth life; they ordinarily function together, as the lower and
higher strings of a single instrument when a chord is strick, but they also
carry on distinct though co-ordinated activities.
The 4th. Principle. KAMA-RUPA. (The Desire Body).
KAMA-RUPA (Sanskrit) - A compound word signifying
"desire-body". It is that part of man's inner constitution in which
dwell or inhere the various desires, affections, hates, loves, and, in brief,
the various mental and psychical energies. After death it becomes the vehicle in
the astral worlds of the higher principles of the man that was. But these
higher principles are nevertheless scarcely conscious of the fact, because the
rapture of the cord of life at the moment of the physical death plunges the
cognising personal entity into a stupor of unconsciousness, in which stupor it
remains for a longer or shorter period depending upon its qualities of
spirituality or materiality. It is this "Kama-Rupa" which legend and
story in the various ancient world religions or philosophies speak of as the
"Shade", and which it has been customary in the West to call the
"ghost". The "Kama-Rupa" is an exact astral duplicate, in
appearance and mannerism, of the man who died physically; it is his
"eidolon" or "image".
The 5th, Principle. MANAS. (Spiritual Self-Consciousness)
MANAS (Sanskrit). - The Sanskrit root of this word means "to
think", "to cogitate" "to reflect" - in short, mental
activity. "Manas" is the third aspect of the Divine Triangle or Higher
Triad ("Atma-Buddhi-manas") which overshadows the human personality,
and must not therefore be confused with what is ordinarily designated
"Mind" in popular language. This Principle is usually presented in
its dual aspect of Higher and Lower, and while this division is correct so far
as it goes, it leaves much to be desired; for in reality Mind, like all the
Principles, is septenary with three main divisions corresponding to body, mind
and Spirit viz. the Subconscious, the Rational, and the Spiritual or
Superconscious, Mind. It is the Spiritual or Superconscious Mind which is the
real 5th. Principle which overshadows the personality. The Higher Self
("Atma") being purely spiritual, can have no direct consciousness in
the physical world; hence, to enable it to complete its manifestation in all
worlds and to become a redeemer, it must send down a Ray of itself into the
human-animal body, in order that through this expression in matter it may
complete its destiny. In the East this Ray is called "Antaskarana",
meaning the bridge which joins the lower to the higher, the earthly to the
Divine; it is also called the bridge across the "Great Abyss", over
which the pilgrim must cross to the "eternal shore", The
6th Principle. BUDDHI. (The Spiritual Soul.)
BUDDHI (Sanskrit). "Buddhi" comes from a Sanskrit root
"Budh", commonly translated "to enlighten", but a better
rendering is "to perceive", "to cognise", "to
awaken" and therefore "to understand", "Buddhi" is the
Principle or organ in man which gives him spiritual consciousness, and in the
vehicle of the Most High part of man - the "Atma". "Buddhi"
is the faculty which manifests as understanding, judgment, discrimination. When
"Buddhi" (The Spiritual Soul) and "Manas the Spiritual Mind are
blended and illumined by the Divine Ray ("Atma"), they become the
Divine Trinity, the Higher Triad or Higher Self.
The 7th, Principle. ATMA. (The Divine).
ATMA (Sanskrit). - The root of the word "Atma" is hardly known;
its origin is uncertain, but the general meaning is that of "self". It
is the highest part of man; Self: Pure Consciousness "per se", and is
the essential and radical power or faculty in man which gives to him sentient
consciousness of Selfhood. This principle cannot be expressed in words, save by
some abstraction such as "Universal Soul", "All Father",
"Divine Spark". How it can be Universal and yet a Principle in each
individual man is a mystery only to be solved by the knowledge of
"Buddhi" - "No man cometh unto the Father but by me". Yet,
although a mystery, undoubtedly it is the case because union with the Universal
Soul is the aim of all the great religions, and unless such Universal soul were
already somehow part of ourselves, no idea of it would be possible. The union in
fact now exists but is rendered imperfect by separateness; and separateness
proceeds from the lower "self" whose home is in "Kama-Rupa",
but whose chief manifestation is in "Sthula - Sarira".
"In the midst of Solomon's Temple there stands a G, A letter for all
to read and see; But few there be that understand What means the letter G.
My friend, if you pretend to be of this Fraternity You can forthwith and
rightly tell what means that letter G.