Lodge Burroughs Strange No. 87
Vijayawada, India

Life is an eternal struggle full of sorrow and searing pain. Our very existence is a fleeting moment which will never never come again. Best out of the tumult and strife of this our mundane existence, we have to find our own way towards a better realisation of our own self and our mission in this life and in the life hereafter.

The search for TRUTH in a philosophical and religious sense is the real object of Freemasonry. This TRUTH is therefore symbolized by the "WORD", and with his first entrance as an apprentice in the Lodge, until be attains the highest rank, this search is continued. Mason starts his search in the First degree with Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth as three great tenets of a Mason's profession; then proceeds onwards towards that Truth which is termed as a "Divine Attribute - the foundation of every moral and social virtue" and which is synonymous with sincerity, honesty of expression and plain straight-forward dealing. Finally he proceeds in search of that Truth which "pervades the whole Masonic system and which is symbolized by the "WORD" and it is late which is properly expressed to a knowledge of God."

Divine Truth is the greatest quest our Masonic system preaches for. the search for the WORD that was lost is the search for the Truth. "There is no religion, no path sublimer than Truth" - preaches Holy Avesta. This Truth which a Mason is constantly enjoined to seek diligently and eventually to find it in the very centre of its own being, is the Spirit of God, the "Mukt-Atma", the "Fravashi", the Divine Spirit, which is always there dwelling within you, me and all of us, awaiting dormant to be enkindled into a glowing light reflecting its brightness into the lives of those around us, or else to be disregarded or even be covered up so that it would appear to be impossible for it ever to shine forth.

The secrets of the most profound truths in masonry are not revealed in the Lodge at all. The real secrets lie concealed in the ancient symbols of Freemasonry, as heavily belied to a Mason as to any other. The Key to these secrets lie in the study of the sciences of symbolism in general and Masonic symbols in particular. Each of our symbols points to a moral lesson and is used as an example for the material life, but there are other interoperations having reference to the spiritual, and until one 'ardently' "seeks" and finds that inner meaning and applies it spiritually, his goal towards enlightenment, his awakening, remains as distant as ever.

In our entanglements of our present material life we find it an uphill task to study and concentrate on the spiritual aspects of life and to fine the Universal Truth. Yet there remains the premises contained in the Rules of our faith and practice to assist us in our quest, as the Gospel (Matthew 7:7) guides us: - “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

As Masons we are recommended "to study such of the liberal arts and sciences as may lie within the compass of our attainment". Now the study is purely a matter of personal endeavour - something we can neither purchase nor delegate to others. It can only come from within ourselves as the result of our own inclinations and efforts. It is at ask which demands liberal application of mind, concentration, time and above all the initial appreciations of the fundamental and basic principles of the subject we desire to pursue. We have not to leave any stone unturned in our endeavour to find the key to the mysteries and symbols which veil the profound beauty and glory of this Truth.

Man having been gifted with intelligence has freedom of decision and freedom to plan, and imperfect creature that he is, his decisions and planning can go wrong. With our limited vision we cannot definitely judge to what extent moral good is stimulated by an equivalent recompense, or moral evil punished by a proportionate recoil, but we definitely know that we do in variably pay the price for our mistakes, for our stupidity, for our ignorance of the right comprehension, of right actions.

Action in the right direction is the means of progress while proper knowledge is the outward sign of inward growth and that a general desire for self-knowledge, following the worldly knowledge, leads ultimately to that, in which both meet together and find their common ground - the God-knowledge. The Knowledge of man's being is the knowledge, which the world needs most today. It is this knowledge with which men can bring about the most good in all spheres and activities of life.

The seat of Truth is in our secret hearts and not in the tongue which often imparts falsehood. It is manifestly apparent therefore that our study in the quest of Truth must commence from within the heart - with the Centre" - and we must in the first instance start to scrutinize, examine, search and endeavour to discover something of our own being The Bible says, "Truth is God and It Truth". Truth is in nature itself as it came from the Divine Creator and it is open to be read with the same unbiased mind, the same open eye when we search for the universal human good and the divine interpretation of God's creation In order to find and gain the knowledge of Truth, the adulterations and artificial accumulations of generations, beliefs and dogma have to be carefully checked and wherever necessary, must be weeded out and eliminated as they cannot be relied upon and consideration as Truth. They are totally opposed to the Immutable Laws of the Universe.

"Man may become co-worker" indicate Hersheshta, the old wise men of Egypt, "with both Nature and Divinity on higher places of he will He may sit in the Councils of Destiny and help to shape the progress of the human race, or he may crawl like a worm and be trodden under foot, till through misery and pain he struggles to the Light," Ardent search therefore is the keynote and a lead is provided for us at one installation for a general desire for knowledge and later on when our attention is drawn to that "most interesting of all human studies - the knowledge of yourself."

Progressing further in the course of our studies, we come across a guideline - an injunction written over the Temple of the Mysteries :- "Man know thyself, and thou shalt know the Universe and God". Pope also speaks in the same tone in his "Essay On Man" :-

"Know then thyself-presume not God to scan The proper study of mankind is man."

Man in his right domain is limitless. He knows no lights of time nor space when he knows himself. He is not obliged to toil wearily along.

"Man being born out of the bosom of the Divine", says George Kaufmann, "his conscious life has its source beyond the threshold of his consciousness. The world be sees around him through his external senses is unintelligible in its wholeness except in relation to a larger whole, extending beyond the threshold of self perception. he has a fundamental need to pass the threshold or to gain some Inner relationship to the realities that the beyond it."

But when are we to realise our Source - our Divine Creator, because in action we are far below His diving principles, much less are we trying to understand what that is which is to keep pure ? We might say we must keep our MIND pure, but let us question, have we understood what is mind? We go on talking parrot like without understanding and therein lies our failure. We must attempt to give our mind - our lower self - second place and consciously attempt to improve ourselves by the dictates of our heart.

The heart is our Sun and the mind is our Moon and both of them are the All-pervading Eyes of the G.A.O.T.U. We do not refer to the physical Sun and Moon which we see everyday. "The real Sun and the real Moon are as invisible as the real Man" says the Secret Doctrine. Now our Moon is out of focus at present and therefore we refuse to listen to the voice that comes from within our heart - the Golden Gate. We have to attempt to open that gate and find out the way. Rather than allowing it to be clogged by subjugating it to the Lower Mind, we must let the mind be controlled by the heart. Then through the heart will the Light from the Divine Source shine, the Golden Sun will rise in all its splendour, the doors will open, the truth will be out and we are perhaps face to face with our Divine Master.

Brethren, let us then "toll on, and in our toil, rejoice", and play our part in making a highway towards that world in which there shall be one language and that language be Truth; one law, and that law be love; one task and that task to do unto others as we would that others should do unto us, so that when our sojourn on this planet comes to an end and death the leveller strikes the hour of high twelve to summon, us to the Grand Lodge Above, we may proceed on our onward journey with a happy heart to be welcomed by the Celestial Grand Master saying, "Well done, thou true and faithful servant. Enter, free and of good report." S.M.I.B