Lodge Burroughs Strange No. 87
Vijayawada, India

Few would deny that the world is in chaos. The difficulties among which we are struggling are increasing day by day. In an attempt to solve one problem, other problems arise. There is rivalry, hatred and fear among the nations of the world Science and Technology have advanced so far that our weapons of destruction are such that we can destroy ourselves as a species. While talking of peace, the Super-Powers are continuing to manufacture more and more deadly weapons.

Wherever we look round today both in or country and throughout the world, we find signs of disharmony, disunity, jealousy and hostility between class and class, caste and caste, community and community, region and region, nation and nation and race and race. There is considerable turmoil and aggressive assertion, even by violence, of rights (real or imaginary) without any regard to one duties.

There is a tendency in the present day world to relegate religion and spirituality to the background and follow modern science in the hope of finding life's fulfilment. The individual man is mainly interested in material enjoyment. Modern technology, by providing many gadgets and amenities, has, undoubtedly, brought man many physical comforts and pleasures. And yet, not man appears to be truly happy. A man with material possessions is as unhappy as the one who is poor. Both a man with power and one without power are unhappy. All classes of society - the capitalist and the labourer, the landlord and the tenant, the teacher and the student, the clerk, the businessman, one belonging to a learned profession, an official, and a politician - all are expressing dissatisfaction. There is deep discontent and frustration around. Through seemingly there is order, there is decay. Any why? It is because, I subman has forgotten and has failed to live accordance with the Eternal Values of life.

Now, can Freemasonry help man to me satisfactorily the problems that confront he and guide him towards eternal and true happiness?

Freemasonry is a science of life and it postulates and inculcates certain eternal, spiritual immortal and timeless Truths and Principle. The object of Freemasonry is perfect the individual and guide mankind towards a better a more harmonious development. To become a perfect individual one must understand the purpose of life and the unity of man.

Our Rituals of the several Degrees contain Cosmic furthers the cream of all that is best the religious and ethical system of the cultured peoples of the world. Then must be read, studied and pondered of reverently, deeply and intently. It is sufficient to read them superficially and content with the meaning conveyed on surface. The deeper one dives into the passage in the Rituals, the greater the hidden a inner meaning, he will find in them.

Some see in Freemasonry only an expression of rational and humanitarian principles; there are, however, others who see in it a reflection the things beyond our normal range of vision namely those Truths which take us nearer to Great Architect of the Universe. Each won and each act in the ceremonies conducted our Lodges and Holy Royal Arch Chapters carries a true and sublime lesson to each of us, if we will but open our eyes to see, our ears to hear and our hearts to accepts . Very little occurs in the working of a Lodge that is of small significance.

We all know that, before admission into Freemasonry, one must have an abiding faith in the existence of One Supreme being who rules the Universe. Now, this faith must be deep, firm and unwavering. A candidate on entering into a Lodge is asked. "in all cases of difficulty and danger, in whom do you put your trust." The answer is "In God." Often times, this answer is given mechanically, as a result of traditional background or because the Junior Deacon has prompted him. But what is necessary is that the faith and trust in God must be so intense and consuming that one must feel and realise His Presence everywhere and at all times. He is the Eternal Witness, (Satchi). He knows all our thoughts, words and deeds. As Milton says we are ever in the "Great Task Master's Eye." Nothing an be hidden from Him. We are taught in the Ritual that "our words and actions are observed and recorded by the Almighty Architect to whom we trust give an account of our conduct through life" Again in the Holy Royal Arch, we pray that - "God unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known and form whom no secrets and hid." He is the indwelling Controller of all that is, was or, will be -- of all that lives and moves in this our great and wonderful Universe. He is both immanent and transcendent. It is, therefore, not enough to have a vague feeling that there must be Conscious Awareness of His presence at all times and in every place. The greater there is this conscious awareness of His presence the wider will be our vision and our approach to the external world will be from an deeper level of consciousness.

Freemasonry teaches us the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man and the immortality of the soul. The divine origin of man is continually inculcated in us at every step in or rituals. Man is a spark from the Divine Flame, infinite and eternal. The exhortation is "to continue to listen to the voice of Nature, which bears witness that even in this perishable frame resides a vital and immortal principle, which inspires a holy confidence that the Lord of Life will enable us to trample the King of Terrors beneath our feet, and lift our eyes to that bright Morning Star, whose rising brings Peace and Salvation to the faithful and obedient of the human race." The "vital and immortal principle" is the Atman and it resides in the "perishable frame" of each one of us. We are all divine sparks emanating from the same source (the Divine Flame) and ultimately dissolve in the same sphere. The "Lord of Life" is the Paramatman. All the individual souls (the vital and immortal principles, as we have in the Ritual) are part of the Universal Soul "the Lord of Life" and come into the world from the Paramatman. The individual is the Focus of the Universe. The individual is the whole Universe; the individual is the whole world, not a separate part of the world.

If we wish to discover the mystery of our life, we must explore the interior of ourselves. The resolution of the great enigma of life lies in the perfect union of the individual soul (the vital and immortal principle) with the Immortal Consciousness (Paramatman) which is the ultimate reality and form which they are sustained and into which they finally dissolve.

The Ritual calls upon us to "guide your reflections to that most interesting of all human studies, the knowledge of yourself." It is self knowledge that will enable us to realise the unity of life. Great Saints and Sages have said, when asked for enlightenment, "know Thyself". Self knowledge is the key for all problems. So long as man does not understand himself, so long as he does not fathom the fullness of himself, there in no self knowledge. Our task is to understand and realise the totality of life. In the fulfilment of man's individuality is the totally of life.

Freemasonry propounds the noblest ideals of World Brotherhood by instilling into those who seek its portals the science that is requisite for man's understanding of himself. The term "Brotherhood" does not merely convey physical association or the pressure of necessity much more. It carries with it a sense of communion.

How many times have we used the word "Brother" and never gave any thought to its real meaning or derivation ! It is a word that is very much taken for granted. It implies everything that our Order stands for. We must not let this feeling of brotherliness become incidental in our Order but should rather make it a purpose. Let us not use the word "Brother" lightly but use it with all sincerity. It is more than just a term of greeting; it implies our feelings and aims with regard to our fellowmen.

If man is not this "perishable frame" and if he is "vital and immortal principle that resides in him", then there is no death for him. If we live in accordance with the principles of Freemasonry, then the "Lord of Life" will enable us to trample the Kind of Terrors beneath our feet." When the corruptible man becomes incorruptible, then, "as it has been said, there shall be brought to pass the saying that is written "Death is swallowed up in Victory." If man is consciously aware that all beings are not distinct from his own Self and his own Self as the Self of every being, then by virtue of that awareness, he does not hate anybody. Hatred is born of self interest which in its turn has its basis in separateness. Whom has he to hate when he is in all and all are in him? There will be no room for jealousy, envy, greed and animosity. There will be no discontent and frustration in the individual. We must integrate Ourselves in ourselves and into human unity. As the Upanishads say the attainment of Divinity is the birthright of every man. Eternal bliss is man's birthright." A mere intellectual acceptance of these Truths will not help man but one must make them part and parcel of his nature and truly happy and realise transcendental bliss. It is the purpose of Freemasonry to bring about the unity of man.

We all desire to render social service but it can be rendered more effectively and widely, if one transcends in himself the limitations set up by his conditioning.

We all talk about the problems that confront us - calling them political problems, industrial problems or social problems but they are all human problems. We think we can solve them on the knowledge level or intelligence level or interest level of our lives. But Primarily they are all human problems and must be solved on the basis of the oneness of humanity.

We are enjoined to practise 'Brotherly Love.' Love is not merely a feeling, a temporary emotion, a sensation or passion. Someone once said that "Love" is the most worked word and the most underworked emotion in the history of mankind. Love is not jealous and boastful; it is not arrogant. It is not resentful or irritable. It is not personal. A man's love towards another must not depend on the other man's conduct or attitude towards him; then it ceases to be love. It is a state of mind. It is a state of affectionate detachment from everything else. "Love" is chaste and it has no frontiers.

There are, Brethren, many more sublime and eternal Truths embedded in our Rituals and it should be our earnest endeavour to seek and realise their deeper and inner meaning and live accordingly. Therefore, Brethren, let each of us unite himself in himself and thereby become one with humanity.