Lodge Burroughs Strange No. 87
Vijayawada, India

Freemasonry does not present itself in exactly the same manner to any two masons.

To some the Lodge is a haven of rest where they may go for an hour's quiet from the rush of everyday life and there can be no better place for the proper restoration of body and mind than a well regulated and harmonious Masonic Lodge.

To others Freemasonry affords an opportunity for social intercourse and the strengthening of friendship and no sincere friends can be found anywhere than from the members of the masonic fraternity.

Many find in the masonic ceremony food for thought and reflection which prompts them to apply the tenets and principles inculcated therein to their own betterment and for the uplift of those among whom they live and labour.

These certain principal when properly pointed out, appeal to all, and to some of them your attention may be directed.

I Freemasonry, Brotherly Loves, Relief and Truth are the Grand Principles upon which our Order is founded, but there are many things besides these in Freemasonry.

There is no other society whose influence is as world-wide or whose principles are as noble and as sublime as those upon which Brotherhood of Masons is established.

Freemasonry stands for Patriotism - the love of one's country, devotion to its welfare and interest, and a determination to sacrifice one's self in its service if necessary. Freemasonry has over stood and will always stand for this kind of patriotism.

Freemasonry also stands for Tolerance. Everyone has a perfect right to form his own pinion and to hold it. It demands mutual desire for each other's welfare, regard for each other's rights and regret for each other's misfortunes.

Freemasonry stand for Equally. If draws it members from every rank and occupation.

Freemasonry also stand for friendship. Friendship for all, no matter to what country or colour one belongs, provided he is a good man and true and obedient to moral law.

Freemasonry claims for one and all, Civil and Religious Liberty. In the past Masonic influence was exerted in the long standing struggle for liberty and freedom in the world. Masons were always for the oppressed people and masons always gave support and encouragement to every movement which had for its object the emancipation of mankind from every form of civil of religious tyranny. A Mason will never be found engaged in plots and conspiracies against any Government based upon the principles of Liberty and Equality. But a Mason will strive to advance the cause of human progress, to give freedom and equal rights to the people.

Freemasonry also stands for Brotherhood. There is to-day an urgent longing for a real and genuine Brotherhood, which shall promote goodwill, peace, and harmony in this sorely troubled world. Brotherhood means putting aside the primary thought of self and ceasing to struggle for our own interest and welfare and recognising that others have rights, as well as ourselves. It means that we acknowledge it as a duty to others, to act on the square in all our dealings, never to take advantage of the ignorance of others but always to deal in as honest and straightforward a manner as we would wish in similar circumstances they should deal with us. We must be just and merciful and taking the masonic principles included inculcated in the Lodge into the busy world and applying them, uplift the oppressed and the needy by raising those who have been beaten down in the battle of life and by directing the rays of cheery sunshine on all who sit in the darkness.

Freemasonry stands for Religious faith. The principal foundation of brotherhood is belief in God, and no one can be admitted in Freemasonry unless he has faith in the Great Architect of the Universe, and upon this foundation we construct the religious faith, 'Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of man and the Immortality of the soul'.

Freemasonry also stands for the exercise of Faith, Hope and Charity, the three cardinal virtues, and no man an be a true Mason without the exercise of these virtues. He must have Faith in God, also faith in himself and his fellow-man, and faith in the ultimate happiness of mankind. With this faith, a true Mason has Hope ; Hope for that in which he has Faith, Hope for his fellows and all mankind and also for himself ; Hope so firmly rooted that it is steadfast and enduring to the end. And lastly Charity, the rarest of all jewels that adorn the life of a true Mason. To bring help to a suffering humanity, to relive the distressed, to throw a veil over the faults and failings of the weak souls, to shelter those whom a censorious world has cast out, is the concept of Charity placed before us.

Brethren, these are some of the things which Freemasonry should practice in their daily lives as they are all worth living for, worth working for , with all our soul, with all our heart and with all our strength.